Oh no... it can't be... please tell me it's not possible...

[GordonTheGopher]

DS has entered the WHY phase (he's 2.4).

How many years does this last as it only started this morning and I'm losing the will to live.

[EachPeachPearMum]

DD (2.6) instead of saying- 'whats that Mama?' says 'I don't know what it is!' in a strange little voice Still waiting for the 'why' to start... she hasn't quite understood 'why' if I ask her a question 'why...' something.

[anotherdayyetanothernickame]

We have a good one at the moment always along the lines of:
Ds:Mummy what day of the week is it?
me:Wednesday ds,
ds: Why is it wednesday?
me: because it's the day after Tuesday and the day before Wednesday.
ds: why?

argh!

[melpomene]

DD2's why phase has lasted for about 18 months so far. The best ones include:

Me: It's nearly time to collect dd1 from school.
DD2: Why?
Me: Because the school will be closing soon.
DD2: Why?
Me: Because it's nearly half past 3.
DD2: Why is it nearly half past 3?

That one is repeated nearly every weekday in termtime, and I still haven't worked out a satisfactory answer to 'Why is it nearly half past 3?'.

Another time:
DD2: Can I do painting please?
[I start getting her paints out]
DD2: Why are you getting my paints out?

'Why do you think?' rarely works on her because she usually just says 'I don't know.'

[Janos]

Hmm, my DS is 3 and a half and he's STILL IN IT!

[ThatBigGermanPrison]

We're on No.

Nooooo mummy, no no no no no no no no NO! Mum! EEEEE!

[GordonTheGopher]

Trouble is he's too young to understand complex answers. So he just keeps saying it again and again!!!

[Flamesparrow]

we're on "what's that?" too.... a spider, a tree, another tree, my face, still my face, yes, also my face.... Argh!

[ThatBigGermanPrison]

I
Feel
Your
Pain

Ds1 did this from age 3.3 (late talker) - and although he has now slipped into a stream of consciousness style of speech aged 5, he did seem to say why an awful lot. He asked 'why' 240 times in 45 minutes once.

[TheArmadillo]

mine constantly asks why, rarely listening to or caring about the answer. Ask him what he thinks and he looks blankly at you before repeating the question. Ah, methinks, he wants a conversation. Sadly no. He just wants to drive his mother insane.

[allgonebellyup]

ds is 4 and is constantly WHY WHY WHY.

Everytime i tell him something, like "oh, i forgot to bring your sister's lunch with us"

"Why?"

"Because i was too busy running around and so i forgot."

"why?"

"cos i am a silly mummy" (please let this be the end of this)

"why?"

i think he just says it automatically without thinking - everytime i comment on anything, he immediately says "why?" without ever listening to my answer.

[Miggsie]

We had a rule, you were only allowed 3 "why" on any one topic.
Sanity requires this

[wulfstan]

DS1: what's that?
me:
DS1: what's that?
me:
DS1: what's that?
me: what do you think it is?

Usually works...

[skidaddle]

oh I quite like the why phase [wierd masochistic emotion]

i find giving a clearly wrong answer usually stops the flow (temporarily) as DD self-righteously corrects my ignorance

e.g.
DD: mummy why you making dinner?
ME: because I need to put it in the washing machine
DD: (brief heavenly pause) No you don't put it in washing maching, you eat it
(followed 2nd heavenly pause for reflection)

[Acinonyx]

Dd has a car-fiend friend like that. Dd asks me for the names of things all the time - things that just don't have names!

[TJ1976]

My ds is 2.6 yrs old. We do have the odd why mummy? but the latest thing is asking me what the name of each make of car is when we're walking along the road and driving! It drives me around the bend! There is no end to it! I don't even like cars! He is obsessed and would rather read a car magazine than his pepper pig or thomas books! I do have to laugh (wink)

[anotherdayyetanothernickame]

I quite like it - it's how they learn although I know you know that. Actually I MOSTLY like it...after the 15th why about the same thing it does get a bit tiresome.

It bugs me when he asks the same question I've just answered again.

[Shoegazer]

We're in the "What's that?" phase too scrappydappydoo its takes a bloody age to get round Sainsburys explaining what everything is. Apparently it also requires being finished with saying my name three times. DD's other favourite is to to point someone out and shout "What's 'im called mummy?" or "What's 'er called mummy?" which I obviously don't know the answer to. I thought I was being clever when I told her to ask, thinking she would be overcome with toddler shyness. Not likely, now she just hollers "What you called?" at the top of her voice. Not looking forward to adding "why?" to the repetoire!

[Lazycow]

I have to say ds did this so much I nearly went insane with it. Every single thing I did or said would be met with a why.

He still does it now but it is nowhere near as bad as it was from 2yrs to just over 3 years old.

I think most children do it, some more than others. Anyway Ds is now 3.8yrs old and as I say he still does it now about 10-15 times a day (sometimes more) but the constant stream of whys (It must have been hundreds of times a day) has stopped - Thank goodness

[TheCrackFox]

I think the "why phase" lessens once they leve home - only to be replaced with the "need money phase".

[Notquitegrownup]

If it is an interesting question, I liked answering whys, but if it is just for the sake of conversation, I used to find that a very earnest answer of: "Because it's Tuesday and the traindriver has radishes in his sandwiches today" illicited a very confused look and ds frequently decided to talk about something else instead.

[lyrasilver]

I generally just make something up... its easier that way!

[NotQuiteCockney]

DS1 is 6. His favourite conversational gambit is 'what is your favourite ...'. Only it's normally something to do with Star Wars or Command and Conquer, or something else I have no other real opinion about ...

[lyrasilver]

My eldest is nearly 14 and still asks why.. before going off in a huff.... so looks like its a long road. Also I have noticed that at around 8 years old the why's get extremely silly, usually about is this starwars or power rangers.