The questions children ask

**jdf** · August 18th, 2004, 12:49 PM

Now, keep in mind...this kid won't turn 4 until the end of October.

But Lilli has always been full of questions. When she was about 20 months old, Emily played a soccer tournement out in Harrison, and we had to pass a cemetary on the way. She asked me what it was, and I told her. The explanation went something liek this: It's a cemetary, where people have to go when they die. "what are those things?" They are tombstones, to mark who is buried where. Now, keep in mind, for months after this, we had to drive out of our way to SEE cemetaries... And of course, theree are the occasional discussions about how everyone has to die somethime (they get old, sick, hurt...etc.).
Now, the other aspect that comes into play is the fact that she sees pictures around the house that she is not in, because they were taken before she was born. And the best way I have come up with tho explain to her where she was before I got pregnant with her, is that God had her in heaven until he gave her to me. (No...I do not want to get into any religious discussions over this. I felt it was the best way to explain to a three year old, given my beliefs, why we were a family even before she was alive...)

So...knowing these things, and knowing that a lot of this has been ongoing discussions over the last year or so...here are some questions I was feilding last night:

Will I die with my shoes on? I don't know Lilli. We have no way of knowing when it is time for us to die.

When I die and go to heaven, will I be a baby again? I honestly have no idea.

I don't WANT to go to heaven, I want to go to Megan M.'s house. Well, that's fine, Lilli, cause I am pretty sure that you don't have to worry about going to heaven any time soon (at least I hope not.)

When I die, and go to the cemetary, will I be next to you and daddy? Um....probably, Lilli. Those are arrangememnts you usually make when you get a bit older.

There were more...I was just so boggled by her, and trying to keep up with the constant barrage of questions, I truly felt overwhelmed.

And she's only 3. That's what scares me.

**gae** · August 18th, 2004, 01:08 PM

Will I die with my shoes on? I don't know Lilli. We have no way of knowing when it is time for us to die.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I'm putting my money on Lil being barefoot, if her behavior the last time she was here is any indication of the future.

Really, Kat, those questions are hillarious.

And, hey. Maybe Megan M.'s house IS heaven.

**jdf** · August 18th, 2004, 01:22 PM

actually, she had sandals on...

and I was gonna say something like that about Megen's house...but I wasn't concentrating too much on humour at that moment. She is too literal for humour like that.

One day last week, she asked Ken "how does God get down from heaven...does he take the stairs?"

And in the bathroom..."Why did God decide to make us girls?"

**gae** · August 18th, 2004, 01:24 PM

Originally posted by jdf:
actually, she had sandals on...

and I was gonna say something like that about Megen's house...but I wasn't concentrating too much on humour at that moment. She is too literal for humour like that.

One day last week, she asked Ken "how does God get down from heaven...does he take the stairs?"

And in the bathroom..."Why did God decide to make us girls?"

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Oh. I thought they both immediately took their shoes off.

And tell Lil that God has a special, invisible elevator. That'll give her something to think about. And then you can spend your spare time looking for it. [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

**jdf** · August 18th, 2004, 01:28 PM

nope...I just meant she had her sandals on when she asked the question...but she was looking at them very intently.

And yes...they are both hillbillies, so the minute we hit your property line, the shoes came off.

**reason** · August 18th, 2004, 02:02 PM

My grandmother died around 1970. I remember sitting in the car outside her house as my dad went in to visit in the late 60's, so I was no older than 5 at the time.

While Dad was inside visiting sick Grandma, I remember asking about her dying, and if we all die. It was the first time I recognized that we had a finite existence, and I remember how much it scared me - even at such an early age.

That conversation obviously stuck with me over the course of 36 years, as I remember it like it was yesterday.

**travelinman** · August 18th, 2004, 02:28 PM

I am going to die with my boots on.

**Lew** · August 18th, 2004, 10:41 PM

I remember when my niece was three, we were sitting in the living room watching local coverage of Tall Stacks. ANd my niece was looking at a book of JFK's assassination that contained some pretty graphic photos of the late president's body (my brother is a big JFK buff, but he doesn't do a good job of hiding stuff from children). Anyway, on the TV they had the Roger Bacon band, and right about the time they came on, my niece yells out "this is disgusting!"

And I was like "yeah, I know, I can't take this anymore" and changed the channel.

Only she wasn't looking at the TV but the book. And I thought it was interesting how her viewing the President's exit wounds caused the same nauseatic reaction in her as watching the Bacon band did in me...

**LanDroid** · August 19th, 2004, 09:57 AM

Priceless questions, JDF! Post some more as you get 'em! I think there is a "phase" in brain development that forces avalanches of questions. I don't remember specific questions my son asked, but I do remember him running out of them at one point, walking into the room and saying "Daddy whyyyy...." as he scanned around the room for something to ask about. He HAD to ask a question, but didn't have one in mind at the moment...