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Show Those Tough Questions Children Ask and you may find what he is really thinking Look beneath the surface of your youngster's whys and whats By FLORA RHETA SCHREIBER an One Sunday mother tened as her five-year-o- lis- Author of "Vow Oiitfi SpMcht A Practical Gukb to Pannta far llw First Ry Yw" ld son repeatedly emmowm iuuwiiiimiMiwmiwwiM asked, "Are you going to put the car in the I garage?" Instead of taking the. question at its face value, she finally realized that the child was really saying, "Are you going to stay home or are you going out for the evening!" Such moments, when rightly understood, can be an important aid in child care. Questions, which at tne Kindergarten level account for of all remarks, are clues to what " children really think. To answer a question, the parent must of course un- a. vrnea ai j i. i it.it. nn uersksnu ine two-jMd4jLaiigerinJualittle world, asks, "Who's that?" and "What's that?" he is trying to create a comfortable closeness to the person.he is addressing. By seeking names for the unfamiliar perhaps terrify-ingl- y unfamiliar people and objects around him he is attempting to make peace with them. Mor secure in his third year, the child proceeds to ask about facts) time, why people act the way they do, and what their intentions are. "Why" is one of the most im- - , I ' - one-ten- th four-year-o- WITH MAIL-I- . from Gold MedalFlolr. . .Belgian Begonia Bulb Imported! three-year-ol- Twirfflnt nrnw?a camellia-like- ) In the fourth year, a time when the child's language grows rapidly, he is concerned with "what for?" "whose?" and "which?" He wants to know what makes things run, what purposes '' things serve, who owns things, and specifically what is what and which is which. The fifth year brings marked change. Before then, only a very few ques- t ..VUlfWIfll Now, you can grow one of these enchanting begonias from the gardens of Belgium. FREE right now from Gold Medal Flour. Your begonia bulb comes potted, ready to grow.. No complicated instructions. Just water it. Bulb is or Gold Medal guaranteed to bloom by tummer-' will send you another. i Here's all you do: Just mail certificate from specially marked sacks of Gold Medal or Gold Medal Wondra Flour. OR, you can get one FREE plus five more imported begonia bulbs ; . . six different exquisite colors . . . all for just $1 and certificate. n f.l ' ;ii,wiiiiiiMiijniiiiiiiiiimiiiraiiiwiiiiiii8iaitiittiiuii d iiiiauntiitnniHma(WiimiUirtuiiruMiiTtiitiiniiti HiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiUit)UHii!iiiaiii!it(iti!ti:iiHaiii!iHuHitoiuitiiitHLi)i'tHtHiu!iiimnri!tmiiiiuiHnti iiiii:iiiiUuH!iimni niLiinHinmniim .miittitmii tions were genuine bids for asking. Now, however, nis questions have new purpose. Answers are what he wants. A boy's persistent questions can convert family life into a per- ld Family Weekly, February ld j , - 9 act-in- Lush, blooms year after year! Easy-to-gro- old-worl- information. The.child asked for the pleasure of 24 member, however, that yeu do have experience with related objects autos, for instance, or baby carriages. Just tell the child the wheels make the locomotive run. He will be satisfied. But answering a question satisfactorily is sometimes only part of the story. You think you've been clear and that the child has understood. But he keeps on asking the same question again and again. To do so is one of the games he plays to attract attention. Some parents turn questions back on the child as a means of getting him to think things out for himself. Usually, however, the technique doesn't Work. A study of two- - to nursery students shows that youngsters who have questions thrown back at them respond in one of two negative ways. The child "throws" the question to someone else, usually to another child (who is less competent than the parent) or just retreats into his shell, asking fetfer questions or perhaps none at all. The price is a congealed curiosity. How to respond to ques- tioiis depends upon know- ing what has gone before in the child's life. Does he seek reaffirmation or closeness? Does he betray feelg ing of rejection? Is he so because of parental friction? The parent must know before he can properly reply. Most baffling of all are questions that cut deep into philosophic problems and that emerge with the child's developing capacity to deal with abstract thought. Such questions are challenging. It is important, at the same time, not to read too much into every question. When, for instance, a year-old girl held up her doll and asked, "Where baby come from?" the father girded to answer with solemnity about the origin of the species. The little girl, however, was content with Mother's reply, "Woolworth's."e. -- petual quiz game. Mother explains how colds come from germs that are passed from one person to another only to be confronted with "But how did the first man get a cold?" Similarly her It, mi answer that babies come "from Mommy" naturally elicits "Where did Mommy from?" parents often find these questions embarrassing, for not infrequently the infor come mation sought doesn't come readily to mind. But it is important not to feign knowledge you don't have. about Suppose the child-aska locomotive, and you don't know how one works. Re- s " |