3 ms·

If I had the time (and I probably would because I consider it important), I would just go down the rabbit hole and explain the internet in the simplest terms po

by jolmg 8y ago

If I had the time (and I probably would because I consider it important), I would just go down the rabbit hole and explain the internet in the simplest terms possible. You press some buttons and other people around the world see the buttons you pushed and they press some buttons and you can see them too. With every new inevitable question, just keep explaining in terms the child is able to understand, and keep going until one gets tired of it. You can then say it's enough for then and you can continue some other time. I consider curiosity in a child to be a valuable resource to nurture. If you make it a positive experience for the child, he'll want to do it again. Careful not to appear annoyed, because then, as it resulted in a negative experience, the child will know to avoid doing such things in the future.

avip 8y ago
2YO kids do not ask that because they are curious to know how the internet works. They could not care less about the internet. They care about their parents' attention.
- jolmg 8y ago
  Right. And the parent can take advantage of that to nurture their curiosity. Asking questions and learning (however little or even just trying) == having a good time with dad. Making them associate that behavior of curiosity with having a positive experience is what I consider to be important here. Plus, you also get to flex those brain muscles. Even if nothing seems to stick now, I imagine it does help them learn in the long-run.
- crimsonalucard 8y ago
  I remember at 2, I asked these questions because I was genuinely curious and a simple answer wasn't enough and a complex answer was too hard for my primitive mind to comprehend so I just endlessly asked why.
- DoreenMichele 8y ago
  It is possible for a child to want parental attention and also be genuinely curious about the world.
- sh87 8y ago
  not just attention, they want to be involved in doing something 'with you'. Be it looking at cars, tickling and laughing, peeling oranges, piling up books just about any random activity. They just love to be involved.
themakermark 8y ago
I've found that when there's something that I can SHOW him, some cause/effect, simple explanations stick. For example, how keystrokes make matching letters and numbers appear on screen, how we can find a picture of a truck and print it out, or a model of his BRIO railroad and make it on the 3D printer. On the other hand, when the cause/effect is behind the scenes, not tangible, simple explanations end up leading him down a (funny) road of misunderstandings. I was trying to explain to him the idea of place values when reading numbers, which is surprisingly hard to explain short of memorizing numbers. He came up with some great questions, all of which indicated he was on a totally different page.
- jolmg 8y ago
  Maybe you can make the intangible tangible. A good tool for teaching place values when reading numbers could be an abacus. In those that have 10 beads per line, you can use each line as a place value. When one line reaches 10, have the rule that they must be replaced by 1 bead in the next line. When you teach addition, you can group 2 or 3 lines per place value. Write one number using the first line of each place value group, and then the other number using the second line of each place value group. For every ten beads in a place value group, replace it with 1 bead in the next group. When every group has less than 10 beads, you can write the result. I especially like those 10x10 abacuses that have 5 beads in one color and 5 beads in another color, switching the order after 5 lines. I got this one for my cousin: https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-10-Row-Rekenrek-Counting/dp/B01LX6K2CV https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-10-Row-Rekenrek-Co... It helps in visualizing a 1 digit number in more digestible pieces to help working with it in one's head. Another idea is to use money to emphasize the "worth" of each place value. For example, the first place value could represent pennies, the second dimes, and the third dollars, so each is worth 10 of the place/digit on the right. You can say that it's inconvenient to hold a lot of currency tokens. Why carry 100 pennies or 10 dimes when you can carry a dollar? So, making a number is like reducing the amount of coins or cash notes we carry for the same amount of money. Yet another idea is to simply show him a giant list of numbers and explaining the patterns in the sequence.

by jolmg 8y ago

avip 8y ago

2YO kids do not ask that because they are curious to know how the internet works. They could not care less about the internet. They care about their parents' attention.

jolmg 8y ago
Right. And the parent can take advantage of that to nurture their curiosity. Asking questions and learning (however little or even just trying) == having a good time with dad. Making them associate that behavior of curiosity with having a positive experience is what I consider to be important here. Plus, you also get to flex those brain muscles. Even if nothing seems to stick now, I imagine it does help them learn in the long-run.
crimsonalucard 8y ago
I remember at 2, I asked these questions because I was genuinely curious and a simple answer wasn't enough and a complex answer was too hard for my primitive mind to comprehend so I just endlessly asked why.
DoreenMichele 8y ago
It is possible for a child to want parental attention and also be genuinely curious about the world.
sh87 8y ago
not just attention, they want to be involved in doing something 'with you'. Be it looking at cars, tickling and laughing, peeling oranges, piling up books just about any random activity. They just love to be involved.

themakermark 8y ago

I've found that when there's something that I can SHOW him, some cause/effect, simple explanations stick. For example, how keystrokes make matching letters and numbers appear on screen, how we can find a picture of a truck and print it out, or a model of his BRIO railroad and make it on the 3D printer. On the other hand, when the cause/effect is behind the scenes, not tangible, simple explanations end up leading him down a (funny) road of misunderstandings. I was trying to explain to him the idea of place values when reading numbers, which is surprisingly hard to explain short of memorizing numbers. He came up with some great questions, all of which indicated he was on a totally different page.

jolmg 8y ago
Maybe you can make the intangible tangible. A good tool for teaching place values when reading numbers could be an abacus. In those that have 10 beads per line, you can use each line as a place value. When one line reaches 10, have the rule that they must be replaced by 1 bead in the next line. When you teach addition, you can group 2 or 3 lines per place value. Write one number using the first line of each place value group, and then the other number using the second line of each place value group. For every ten beads in a place value group, replace it with 1 bead in the next group. When every group has less than 10 beads, you can write the result. I especially like those 10x10 abacuses that have 5 beads in one color and 5 beads in another color, switching the order after 5 lines. I got this one for my cousin: https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-10-Row-Rekenrek-Counting/dp/B01LX6K2CV https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-10-Row-Rekenrek-Co... It helps in visualizing a 1 digit number in more digestible pieces to help working with it in one's head. Another idea is to use money to emphasize the "worth" of each place value. For example, the first place value could represent pennies, the second dimes, and the third dollars, so each is worth 10 of the place/digit on the right. You can say that it's inconvenient to hold a lot of currency tokens. Why carry 100 pennies or 10 dimes when you can carry a dollar? So, making a number is like reducing the amount of coins or cash notes we carry for the same amount of money. Yet another idea is to simply show him a giant list of numbers and explaining the patterns in the sequence.