Dad shares ‘godsend’ parenting trick that gets kids to stop asking ‘why’ all the time

Thanks to the internet we’ve learned all sorts of useful tips and tricks – from how to hang up the phone without looking rude to life hacks for making rusty towel rails look good as new.

Recently we’ve also seen a number of tips from a former FBI hostage negotiator that can help you get the answers you want from other people.

And now we’ve come across a bunch of handy information on Reddit after a user asked people to share the most effective psychological trick they’d ever used.

There were more than 16,000 responses to the post, with some sharing ways to avoid drama in the workplace and others giving tips on how to get your partner to tell you what they really want for dinner.

One user also provided a parenting technique they’d learned – and many thought it was genius.

The parent, who posts under AD_Meridian, said they’d found a way to stop their four-year-old constantly asking ‘why’ all of the time.

They wrote: “My youngest (4) got into the ‘why’ phase a little while back.

“Read an article that said the best way to get them to stop was to ask them ‘I’m not sure, what do you think?’

“It is a godsend.

“They answer their own question, you provide some feedback ‘Sounds good to me’ and they immediately move on. F***ing awesome.”

Someone else replied: “My friend responded to her toddler’s seventh question in an extreme ‘but why’ chain with ‘well, why not?’ in a really happy voice. Her son looked completely mind blown and stopped asking.”

Another Reddit user posted: “I’ve started making my four-year-old ask the whole question, so now he has to ask ‘why is the sky blue?’ rather than just ‘why’.

“It makes him pause and think, engages him in the conversation more and breaks us out of that constant why-why-why-why…. loop.”

A different user added: “Yep, works like a charm. My daughter is very into this right now. It drives me insane. After a huge bout of questions the other day, she actually said, ‘Daddy, why do I keep asking why?’ I just stared at her and tried not to burst into huge wracking sobs of tears.”