Children are typically always thinking- it is how they learn and grow. They see things, ask questions for clarification, and generally are learning with every moment. What happens when it goes beyond that though? When your child is CONSTANTLY thinking? I’m not just talking about “why is the grass green” or “how to animals survive in nature?”. I am talking about DEEP questions. Ones to which I don’t always have the answer.
My oldest daughter has always been curious, has had a thirst for knowledge. She once said to us- I don’t like school- it prevents me from thinking. The PBS show The Cat in the Hat taught her things that most kids couldn’t talk about at the age of 4. And there are lots of her questions that I can answer (either on my own or with the help of Google). But she will also bust out with very worldly questions- and I can just see her mind trying to figure it all out. This happens at any given moment, and totally catches us off guard. Sometimes it is the typical “How was the earth made?” (wait- is that typical? I feel like I should be surveying other moms.) But other times it is- What is the point of living? Why are we here? or questions about death and dying. I look into her eyes and can see the worry in her face, and I can only hope that I can soothe her fears, love and kiss her enough to make that worry go away.
I try my best to answer her questions without going too far into details. I obviously don’t want to worry her more, but I also don’t want to blow off her question like it doesn’t mean anything. But as a parent I worry. About her self esteem. About her anxiety. About how tough this world is and how she will handle it.
But with all her worry, she is an amazingly strong girl. She is smart. She is creative. Her heart is so big sometimes that it is hard to contain. And she has two parents (plus a whole other entourage of adults in her life) who are on her team, helping to guide her through her life, no matter how hard it can be, or how much thinking she does.
