Isn’t it great when toddlers finally start to talk and you can have conversations with them? (Although sometimes you can’t understand them.) They say cute things and are excited to converse with you. But then comes the dreaded phase: your toddler asks why all the time. It is enough to drive anyone nuts! Here are three things you can do to keep your sanity.

What Do They Actually Want?

A lot of times when a toddler is asking why, they aren’t actually wanting to know why. Confusing, right? A lot of times, they might be simply looking to start a conversation. Toddlers aren’t skilled in the ways of conversations, so they use what they know to keep the talking going. They know that asking the dreaded question will get a response.

So what should you do? Try asking them a question and give them time to respond. Maybe they are referring to an animal. Talk about everything you know about the animal. Just talk to them.

Admit You Don’t Know

When a toddler in my classroom starts incessantly asking why, I will go along and answer to the best of my abilities. But at some point, we get to a stopping point. Either they ask about something I don’t know the answer to or the answer would be way, way too complicated and there is no way I can scale it down to their intellectual level. So instead, I admit I don’t know.

It is important that you as an adult show a child that it is okay to not have the answer. Many adults think they need to be seen as some sort of all-knowing supreme leader. Instead, adults need to be seen as humans who, while they should be respected, should also be relatable. As the child gets older, you can show them how to look for the answer, but at the toddler age, you can just say you don’t know and leave it at that.

Because I Said So

Okay, don’t say it quite like that. But sometimes it’s been a long day and you’ve already admitted you don’t know and your toddler just won’t let it drop. That is when you bring out the big parenting gun: “Because.” In some cases, it is fine to end a conversation with this biggie. Don’t use it all the time, but sometimes you need to maintain your sanity while you throw together dinner and you don’t wish to discuss the differences between snapping turtles and box turtles with your toddler.

Do you have any other tips to give? How do you deal when your toddler asks why all the time?