Fostering curiosity in kids (and their parents) since 2011

Posts from the ‘Questions’ category

On an average day, my daughter’s question-to-declarative sentence ratio clocks in at a healthy 5:1. In this section of the blog, I explore what happens when instead of saying “I don’t know,” I say “Let’s find out!”

“Why is it called Fifth Disease?”

Fifth Disease is one of those deliciously mild childhood illnesses that nearly all of us get at one point or another, that are most contagious before any symptoms appear, and that clear up (in most cases) on their own. By the time the rash alerted me to the fact that my daughter was sick, she was back to feeling (mostly) great. But in all the shuttling to and from the doctor, she had plenty of time to ask questions, including “Why is it called Fifth Disease?” If Fifth Disease doesn’t win the prize for Most Literal Name in Medicine outright, it should at least be given an Honorable Mention.

“Why is it called Walpole?”

Last weekend, while the citizens of Caterpickles Central were driving around Massachusetts in yet another attempt to find good Mexican food, we passed through a little town called Walpole. The Four-Year-Old, thought that was a pretty weird thing to call a town. “Why do they call it Walpole?”

“Do mice have eyebrows?”

This week I discovered Amigurumi, the art of knitting and/or crocheting small stuffed animals. The Four-Year-Old is highly enthusiastic about this art, as it promises to pad her collection of toys very nicely.While putting the finishing touches on my first mouse, the residents of Caterpickles Central got into a heated debate on the subject of eyebrows. Specifically, whether mice had them.

photo of cut open watermelons, showing their red insides and the occasional black seed

“Why is a watermelon red inside?”

My daughter is a watermelon fiend. Given the option, she would eat nothing but watermelon at every meal. In the midst of a recent watermelon binge, my daughter paused long enough to spit out a question along with a black seed. “Why are watermelons red inside, Mommyo?”

“Could sauropods swim?”

Last week, while watching the 1925 movie The Lost World, a lively debate broke out at Caterpickles Central about whether or not sauropods could swim. I will spare you the less informed arguments generated in our playroom in favor of cutting directly to the moderately informed arguments generated on the Web.