# Can your 3 year old answer questions?



## suz29

My ds will be 3 in May. He is very bright, can count and recognise numbers to 100, knows all the letters and sounds they make. My problem is he can't answer a question. If I ask him something like "what did we do today?" He won't answer at all, if I ask "did we go to the park?" He will answer yes even if we didn't, if I ask "what would you like for lunch pasta or a sandwich?" He can usually make a choice. Is this something I should be concerned about?


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## OmarsMum

Mine can, he answers complex questions & he can recall all what he did during the day. Like for example when he spends a day at my mum's he tells me everything he did there including the food he ate. When he Attends classes, I ask him what they did there & he tells me in details about the activities he did.


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## RaspberryK

I seem to recall a friends toddler doing the yes answer to everything and they've not had any problems. I can't remember what age this was, might have been just before the why stage. Lol. 
My lo understands such a lot and can answer complex questions by shaking his head, going and doing it or saying hmmmm, which seems to mean yes. He doesn't really speak yet though. 
Xx


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## eddjanuary10

Yes, Ihsan will tell you whatever you want to know lol. I remember him answering 'yes' to things that we didn't do when he was around 2 years like if DH asked if we went to the bouncy castle that day and we didn't sometimes he would say yes I think because he didn't understand the word 'today'. He now frequently uses the words today, yesterday & tomorrow in sentences and can tell you what we did/are going to do if you ask him x


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## lozzy21

Niamh is nearly 2 and a half and can answer questions, she somtimes needs little reminders but can then say more than what we have just said.


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## _Vicky_

Yes they do but seriously the difference between 34 months and 38 months (yours and mine) is astounding! Language and understanding just explodes!!!


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## MrsT&Ben

My little boy will normally always answer the 'what did you do today' question with 'nothing' he can answer questions like 'what would you like to eat' and that kind of thing.


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## Foogirl

She can. But often she chooses not to and it drives us nuts.

I wouldn't worry about it. Sometimes even though Abby has an amazing memory, ask her what she did an hour ago and she has no idea.


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## dani_tinks

Yes but Jacob loves to talk. He need to know exactly what the days plan is, etc then will talk to us about his day in detail before bed.


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## sun

My son is the complete opposite lol - he doesn't know any numbers or letters (no interest at all), but he can answer questions. He'll be 3.5 next month. Whether he actually feels like answering or not is another story. He is very resistant to anything that seems like we're quizzing him - if I start asking him loads of questions, he'll usually say "sorry, I'm too busy" :haha: They are all so different!


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## Natasha2605

I wouldn't worry. Summer is also three in May and vocally she is very very good. Can hold proper conversations with you, answer questions etc. But unlike your LO, has no real interest in numbers and letters, other than counting to ten. They all do their own thing :)


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## hattiehippo

Tom can answer complex questions when he chooses too as long as understands most of the words.

He went through a phase of saying yes to most questions around 30 to 34 months. Usually it was because he just didn't really understand what he'd been asked. Questions like 'what did you do today?' were just too big for him but if I asked him 'did you go on the slide at nursery?', he'd be fine answering.

Now at 3yrs 3 months he is getting there with questions like 'what did we do today?' but he still needs some prompts and what sticks in his memory much more limited than mine or DHs.


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## sun

hattiehippo said:


> Tom can answer complex questions when he chooses too as long as understands most of the words.
> 
> He went through a phase of saying yes to most questions around 30 to 34 months. Usually it was because he just didn't really understand what he'd been asked. Questions like 'what did you do today?' were just too big for him but if I asked him 'did you go on the slide at nursery?', he'd be fine answering.
> 
> Now at 3yrs 3 months he is getting there with questions like 'what did we do today?' but he still needs some prompts and what sticks in his memory much more limited than mine or DHs.

Totally agree with this - Questions like "What did you do today" are very advanced for kids. My friend used to ask my son "What do you want to do today?" and would wonder why he didn't answer - it's a huge question for a 3yo!


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## lisa9999

Sophie can (she is a month older) but sometimes just ignores me if she is too busy/ cant be arsed. does my head in!!


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## smokey

I wasnt actualy too sure so just asked him what he was doing tomorrow and he said "going to nannys house" so I asked whi he would see there and he says "nanny, grandad and pippa" (their dog) so I guess he can answer what hes going to do but if I ask him what he did today I get a range from gone to the park to baked a cake none of which we did.
I think kids get confused between past days and they all blend into each other as the answers he gave arw all stuff hes done within the last few days


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## sun

So true smokey! My MIL asked my son what he did while they were away for the weekend and he told them all about a morning at the beach we had last July LOL! Gets confusing when he asks me something and I don't realize he's referring to an obscure detail that happened months ago!


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## Jchihuahua

Daisy can answer complex questions but often chooses not too or won't go into detail. 'What did you do at nursery today Daisy?' "I played with toys.' And that's as much detail as we get. If I ask her for more information she just won't give it! If she has done something naughty she almost always won't answer to explain why. 'What did you push Tommy for Daisy?' 'It was me, I pushed Tommy' is a typical answer!


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## leelee

Recognising numbers from 1-100 is very impressive! My DS has just turned 3 and is very chatty. He can answer complex questions and remembers (and speaks about) events up to 6 months ago. He also asks complex questions such as 'Where do the shadows go at night?'. He has no real interest in numbers though!


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## smokey

leelee said:


> Recognising numbers from 1-100 is very impressive! My DS has just turned 3 and is very chatty. He can answer complex questions and remembers (and speaks about) events up to 6 months ago. He also asks complex questions such as 'Where do the shadows go at night?'. He has no real interest in numbers though!

Funny you should say about that acctualy, LO can understand what shadows are, where they come from, where they go at night even that the sun or light means what direction his shadow is and that its part og what he is making.

Yet I made a post ages ago about how we where at the natural history museum and the was a bit in the kids area about shadows and how children dont have the ability to understand they are made as part of them ie if they move the shadow copies because its them thats controlling it untill they are 5 and cant understand the relation of shadow to a light source untill age 8.
I just burst out laughing when I read it and said to OH " who ever wrote this has never been around children and get a kid to explain it to them" what completle nonsense that children dont have the brain power to understand light = shadow till 8.


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## PrincessJenna

_Vicky_ said:


> Yes they do but seriously the difference between 34 months and 38 months (yours and mine) is astounding! Language and understanding just explodes!!!

I agree. Millie is now 34 months and she's amazing me with some of her words over the last week or 2.

But back to topic she doesn't like questions and will usually answer with yes or no depending on her fav word for that day x


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## polaris

Thomas can answer those sort of questions but he doesn't have much interest in numbers or letters. Having said that, he gets confused about days and tends to say "yesterday" for anything that happened anytime in the past. He also still gets very confused about it still being the same day when he gets up from his nap.


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## greenlady

Flora can answer questions well but like others said the 'what did you do today' question sometimes doesn't work, she needs a prompt to remember what she did. She remembers random things really well though, minute details you wouldn't think she could have noticed. I personally noticed a big difference a few months ago with her reasoning and she's getting more astute every day.


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