Your Kid's 'Why' Phase Is User Research
Inspired by Sean Ellis episode
They're not torturing you with 47 consecutive 'why' questions. They're conducting qualitative research. You're just the unfortunate interview subject.
"Why do we have to sleep?" Because bodies need rest. "Why?" To repair cells. "But why?" Because cells break down during the day. "But why do they break down?" At this point you're essentially being cross-examined by a prosecutor who can't even tie their own shoes.
Sean Ellis built his career on asking customers the right questions at the right time—it's how you uncover what people actually need. Your kid has already mastered this. They're not asking "why" to annoy you. They're doing root cause analysis on the entire concept of bedtime.
Every "why" digs one layer deeper—exactly like Ellis drilling into "very disappointed" users to find the core value. They won't accept your first answer (like customers won't accept vague promises). They're running a full discovery interview at 8:47pm while you're trying to explain why the sun goes away and thinking about how wine sounds really good right now.
The exhausting part? They're better at this than most product teams.
