We may have reasons for both statement and command, but we need not be equally inclined to explain in both cases. When we detect inquiry rather than insubordination, we should explain. Among real questions, some are easy and some hard, and our greatest difficulty is In telling the hard questions from the silly ones. The worst mistake a parent can make is to regard as good only those queries he can answer easily and to treat all others as vexatious and silly. There is another difficulty.
Children can ask questions beyond their own depth.
The first solution is, of course, best. The easiest type of question is about matters of fact, even when the facts are recondite or complicated. The encyclopedia or the almanac is always handy to help the parent satisfy a child's desire for information. And the sooner children can be trained to use such reference books themselves, the better. He wants to know the names of things, the conventional labels, which record the classifications of every-day usage.