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Asking questions

When children usually ask who, what, where and why questions, and how to answer them.

This guide is about the questions your child asks you, like who, what, where and why questions. In the ideas below, you say your child's question back the usual way and answer it.

They fit into play, jobs around the house and trips out. You can use the same ideas in any language.

When children learn this

  • Health checklists say that by 3, most children ask who, what, where or why questions.
  • Health checklists use 'most children' to mean at least 3 in 4 children. If your child is not doing a 'most children' skill by the age given, see your GP or child health nurse for advice.
  • Children learn language skills at different ages.

Try this

While you play

Hide a teddy under a cushion while your child watches, then look for it together.

  • Your child: Where Teddy?
  • You: Where is Teddy? Here he is, under the cushion.

Around the house

Unpack the shopping together, one thing at a time.

  • Your child: What that?
  • You: What is that? It is a pineapple. It feels spiky.

When you go out

On a walk, you hear a dog barking behind a fence.

  • Your child: Why dog barking?
  • You: Why is the dog barking? Maybe he can hear us walking past.

Why it helps

  • When you say your child's question back the usual way, your child hears how the question goes. Your child does not have to copy you.

When to get help

  • Tell the speech pathologist or your GP if your child is between 2 and 3 and does not try to communicate with you.
  • Tell the speech pathologist or your GP if your child is between 3 and 4 and uses only one or two words at a time.
  • Tell the speech pathologist or your GP if your child is 5 or older and has trouble telling a simple story or what happened, has trouble understanding what they hear or what is read to them, or has a lot of trouble following or remembering spoken instructions.
  • At any age, see your GP if your child does not respond to sounds or to things they see, makes little or no eye contact, or has poor interaction with adults or other children.

More help

Sources

© State of New South Wales. For current information go to www.nsw.gov.au. CC BY 4.0.

Last checked 12 October 2026

General information, not medical advice. Talk to a health professional about your child.

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