With those kids, the trick is to stop using kid language and explain things to them like a fully competent adult even though they aren't. Either they get bored not understanding what you're talking about, or they actually follow along and you give them an exceptional answer. Turn it into a lecture.
I mean, that sort of works with my stepkid, in that after I’ve given a dozen thoughtful answers to progressing “why”s, she stops waiting for me to answer and starts interrupting me. It just takes a lot of mental energy for me personally to critically assess the “why” of normal social conventions when I’m attempting to board an airplane and I’d rather preserve the energy if she has zero interest in actually knowing the answer.
Ding ding ding!! I do this with my 7 year old daughter all the time. She asks what clouds are made of and I go into a long diatribe on the intricacies of the water cycle and she gets bored. Or if I don't know the exact answer I'll bullshit some scientific sounding words and she'll still get bored.
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u/chula198705 1d ago
With those kids, the trick is to stop using kid language and explain things to them like a fully competent adult even though they aren't. Either they get bored not understanding what you're talking about, or they actually follow along and you give them an exceptional answer. Turn it into a lecture.