Why?!!!

This is as in, "Why do kids do what they do?" and also as in why, when you ask a child, "Why did you do that?", the answer is ALWAYS "I don't know". Let me illustrate.

Tonight is Wed (Doug' has a meeting at church and then basketball night) and with that I get to get the boys ready, and to bed on my own. This isn't usually a big deal. I deal with much worse. But today I am very tired and my head hurts. I didn't get to sleep last night until 2:30 and then I've had the stress of organizing and preparing a meal for 65 women at church this week. Today I made (with some help) 4 pans of lasagna (add that to the 4 pans of lasagna I already made and froze last week), and I also forgot to eat all day with the exception of breakfast. Also my nursing schedule has been off schedule today so all day my chest felt like it was going to explode. Anyway, I got the boys in bed just fine with the warning of "if I come upstairs and you're goofing around I WILL separate you!". Then I settled down to feed Timmy and watch some TV.

Minutes later Thomas announces he has to go stinky. OK, he can deal with that just fine. Besides I'm still feeding Timmy. I hear the toilet flush and all is well. Until, my mommy ears detect giggling. Thinking that they are in their room goofing around I wait until Timmy is done, and proceed to catch them in the act.


Oh, I caught them in the act alright. You know the phrase, "caught with your hand in the cookie jar"? Well, they weren't in the cookie jar, they were in another porcelain container. Yep, that's right. I caught Matt swirling the toilet paper in the toilet. There's water on the floor and both their hands are wet and the Pj's are wet to the elbows. Why me?! Before you completely gross out, I have to tell you that the stinky had been flushed away, so it was just toilet paper. But still, it's pretty gross.


After we changed PJ tops and washed and sanitized our hands I separated them as promised. When I asked "Why did you put your hand in the toilet?" both boys said, "I don't know". (Must be brain damage). And to top it off when I came back downstairs Timmy was crying because he had stinky pants as well. ( I need to mention the he is the king of rolling around while getting his pants changed now). Doug's only been gone a little over an hour.


So, is there another way to ask kids these questions so you can get reasonable answers? Just don't say the word "Why." Should I have said, "what possessed you to do that?", or maybe "how did you feel when you did that?". However, both of these questions can also be answered with "I don't know" Anyone have good ideas of the correct way to ask a child a question without saying the word "why"?


I think I have some Samoa cookies hiding somewhere. Then when Doug gets home and asks "Why did you eat all the Samoas?" I'll answer "I don't know."