The Conscious Parent

“Why does the moon shine so brightly?” or “Why do clouds look like
cotton?” Instead, capitalize on their state of curiosity, helping them
experience the priceless joy of being “about to discover.” For instance,
you might use one of the following responses to encourage your child to
remain suspended in a state of curiosity:
“What an imaginative question that is!” “I never thought of that
question”
“You always want to know more about life, which is such an admirable
quality”
We repeat the question, swirl it around on our tongue, and say, “What
an absolutely delicious question!”
Rather than focusing on the answer, when you teach your children to
enjoy the question, you demonstrate a love of learning and an insatiable
curiosity about life. You also teach them that reality is inherently
unquantifiable, unknowable, and can’t be pigeonholed. They learn it’s
okay not to have the answers and that they can still feel competent when
they don’t.
My daughter asked me, “Mommy, can you tell me how babies are born
—not the stork story, but how they are really born? How does the baby
get into it’s mom’s stomach?”
I felt the churnings of so many egoic thoughts, such as: “Ah, here is
my chance to be the enlightened parent who gives the matter-offact talk
to her daughter,” or, “We will have an empowering mother-daughter
conversation about the body and self-respect.” Instead, I said, “Hmm,
what a great question that is. Let’s look it up on the internet.” The reason
I didn’t jump in and provide the answer is that I truly wanted her to sit