Practicing Questions Builds Curiosity, New Study Finds — Here's How to Try It

Most advice about raising a curious child boils down to the same idea: let them ask questions, and answer patiently when they do. That's good advice, but a new study suggests there's a more active step that matters just as much, maybe more. It's not just about welcoming your child's questions when they come. It's about giving them regular, structured practice at generating their own questions in the first place.

A preregistered study published in the journal npj Science of Learning, led by researcher Andrew T. Park along with Joseph Colantonio, Litzy Delgado Reyes, and colleagues including Elizabeth Bonawitz and Allyson Mackey, tested this directly. The results point to a specific, low-effort routine parents can borrow, and an especially useful detail about which children benefit the most.

What the researchers actually tested

The study followed 103 children between the ages of 5 and 7. Each child was randomly assigned to one of two groups and given eight one-on-one science lessons over two weeks, delivered virtually, on topics like animal habitats and camouflage.

One group was coached to actively ask their own questions during the lessons. The other group was coached to listen carefully instead. Same lessons, same topics, same amount of adult attention. The only difference was whether the child was doing the asking or doing the listening.

Afterward, the researchers measured each child's curiosity using a clever, low-stakes method: a sticker-bartering task, where children could trade stickers for the chance to learn more new information. How many stickers a child was willing to give up for more facts became a stand-in for how much they valued learning something new, their "willingness to pay" for curiosity, in the researchers' terms.

What they found

Children who had practiced asking their own questions were willing to trade more stickers for new information afterward than children who had only practiced listening. In plain terms, the practice of generating questions, not just hearing answers, made children hungrier for more.

The more striking part of the finding is who benefited most. Children who started the study with weaker science knowledge and smaller vocabularies showed the biggest gains from question-asking practice. Rather than the already-engaged kids pulling further ahead, the practice narrowed the gap. A child who started out less familiar with the material and less naturally inclined to ask things aloud caught up the most ground.

The researchers describe the technique itself as deliberately simple, something "teachers and parents can use with minimal training." There's no special curriculum required. The active ingredient was giving the child repeated chances to be the one framing the question, not the one receiving the fact.

Why this is different from "just let them ask questions"

It's worth being precise about what's new here. Plenty of good parenting advice already says: don't shut down a child's questions, don't rush past them, treat curiosity as worth encouraging. That's true and still useful. What this study adds is a more active ingredient: it's the act of generating a question, repeatedly, across multiple sessions, that moved the needle, not simply the environment being receptive to questions when they happened to come up on their own.

That distinction matters for a very ordinary reason. Many children, especially quieter or less confident ones, don't volunteer many questions even in a warm, receptive environment. If the benefit depended only on a child spontaneously asking more, those children would get left behind. This study suggests the opposite: actively prompting a child to come up with their own question, even when they wouldn't have offered one unprompted, is where the real gain shows up, and it shows up most for exactly the children who needed it.

A simple way to practice this at home

You don't need a science curriculum to use the core idea. The study's structure, regular, short, dosed practice at generating a question rather than receiving an answer, translates easily into everyday moments:

Flip the usual script. Instead of explaining something to your child ("Did you know octopuses have three hearts?"), prompt them to ask you a question about it first. Show them a picture, an object, or a short video clip, then ask: "What's one question you have about this?" before you say anything else.

Keep it short and repeatable. The study's lessons were brief and happened across multiple sessions over two weeks, not one long sitting. A thirty-second version of this at breakfast, in the car, or before bed, repeated most days, matches the "dosed practice" pattern better than one long, occasional conversation.

Resist answering too fast. If your child seems stuck, give them a moment rather than filling the silence with the answer yourself. The practice of forming the question is the point, not just hearing a good one.

Notice the quieter kid especially. If you have a child who tends to listen more than ask, this is exactly the finding that matters for them. They may not spontaneously generate many questions, but prompting them gently and consistently to try is where this study suggests the biggest payoff lives.

What this doesn't mean

This was a study of 103 children, ages 5 to 7, over a two-week period, using a specific sticker-bartering measure of curiosity about science content. It's a real, peer-reviewed finding about that group, that measure, and that timeframe, not a guarantee that any single child's curiosity, vocabulary, or school performance will improve by a specific amount if you try this. The researchers measured a short-term shift in how much children valued new information, not long-term academic outcomes. It's a genuinely useful, well-designed data point about a specific technique, not a universal formula.

It's also worth being clear that this study did not involve any toy, app, or AI product of any kind. It tested a classroom-style question-asking practice delivered by researchers. Any connection to a conversational toy is a reasonable extension of the underlying idea, not a claim that this research tested that category of product.

Where a conversational toy fits into this picture

A back-and-forth conversational toy is one ordinary example of an object built around the kind of exchange this study points to: rather than only delivering information to a child, it gives them a reason to ask something of their own. Tovuli, a screen-free interactive AI plush, works through conversation, a child can ask it questions and prompt its responses, rather than only listening to it talk.

It's worth being clear about the limits of that connection. This study didn't test Tovuli, any AI companion toy, or any conversational product, and it doesn't measure or guarantee that any toy increases a child's curiosity, vocabulary, or learning. Tovuli isn't positioned as a toy proven to build curiosity on its own. It's simply one ordinary example, among many ways families already practice this kind of back-and-forth exchange, of giving a child regular chances to be the one asking.

The bottom line

If you're looking for one small, low-effort habit worth trying, this study points to a clear one: don't just welcome your child's questions when they happen to come up, actively prompt them to generate a question of their own, on a short and repeated basis. It costs nothing, takes thirty seconds, and according to this research, tends to help the quieter, less confident child the most, not just the one who was already naturally curious.

FAQ

Does asking my child to ask more questions actually help them learn?

This specific study found that children who practiced generating their own questions over several short sessions showed a greater increase in curiosity about new information afterward than children who only practiced listening. It measured curiosity in the short term using a sticker-bartering task, not long-term academic achievement, so it supports trying the technique rather than guaranteeing a specific learning outcome.

My child doesn't ask many questions. Should I worry?

Not necessarily, and this study offers some reassurance either way. It found that children who started with less background knowledge and a smaller vocabulary benefited the most from practicing question-asking, meaning a quieter or less naturally inquisitive child may have the most to gain from gentle, repeated prompting, not a reason for concern on its own.

How often should we practice this?

The study used eight short one-on-one sessions spread across two weeks, suggesting that brief, frequent practice works better than one long, occasional conversation. A quick version during breakfast, a car ride, or before bed, done most days, fits that pattern reasonably well.

Meet Tovuli

Tovuli is a screen-free, conversational AI plush designed for everyday play, stories and curiosity-led conversation with a parent nearby. If you would like to see how it works, you can learn more about Tovuli here.