I'm sure she's healthy but... - Children's Health Message Board

BffJill · 12-27-2007, 11:08 AM

I recently babysat my friend's 2 and a half year old daughter who would not stop asking questions she clearly already knew the answers to. (like, what color is this? where are you? what are you eating?)
When i finally started to ignore her she would ask the same question over and over without even taking a breath, it seemed.
I'm sure this is perfectly normal behavior, but can anyone explain to me why she is doing this? It's SO annoying and it better have some sort of benefit..

AlexaIn2006 · 12-27-2007, 02:50 PM

My husband take karate with a woman and her daughter is the same age and she does the same thing to me. They are naturally curious at that age and are becoming aware. This girl kept asking me the same questions over and over again. She is well behaved and polite, but curious. She was very curious about why women carry purses and if she should carry one to and what do we put in our bags......lol

mcr285 · 12-29-2007, 10:19 AM

at that age, they're still learning how to communicate. she probably figures it's how she is supposed to communicate because i'm sure someone in her life asks her those same questions over and over again too! i know i annoy my own children with questions like that all the time!!! "what color is this apple?" or "how do you spell cat?" or "what shape is this egg?" i know they know the answers, but i love to hear them give the right answer! perhaps this little girl has an annoying mommy like me, and so this is how she is learning to communicate like "grown ups." my oldest used to do the same thing until she got a little older and learned to express her own wonderful opinion about everything..... (sigh) i kind of miss those repetitive questions all day long!

kdel · 12-29-2007, 12:16 PM

Maybe she just wants your attention. I'm sure if you played a game with her or something it would distract her. And your last sentence states-"It's SO annoying and it better have some benefit". ????
Maybe if this little thing bothers you so much you shouldn't be babysitting.
She's only 2 1/2. She's curious and possibly bored.

lex jude · 12-29-2007, 02:29 PM

I think it has a lot to do with the limited communication skills at that point in their life--and when they CAN communicate something and understand it, they want to repeat it over and over out of sheer delight. It's not as if they can hold full blown conversations at that point--so they say what they can. Language is so new and exciting to them--and much more fulfilling than crying, grunting and pointing.

I agree with the distraction method. Getting frustrated with the child and yelling at her for doing something she is proud of might damage your relationship with her. Try to teach her NEW things when she is asking the same thing over and over again.