WEEK 9-PGP-Article- What Will Your Child Need When You’re Not There to Give the Answer

When children are young, adults provide many of the answers.

We tell them what’s safe.

We explain what’s right and wrong.

We remind them about responsibilities.

We help resolve disagreements.

But childhood doesn’t last forever.

Eventually children face situations when Mom, Dad, Grandma, or Grandpa isn’t standing beside them.

A friend pressures them to do something they know is wrong.

They make a mistake nobody else knows about.

Someone treats them unfairly.

They must decide whether to speak up, walk away, tell the truth, forgive, or accept responsibility.

In those moments, children need something more useful than memorized rules.

They need judgment.

Good judgment develops gradually as children learn to think about choices, consequences, and how their actions affect other people.

Parents can help by turning everyday situations into conversations.

Grandparents can share experiences showing how choices made years ago produced consequences they still remember.

JeanieOlogy™ provides another opportunity to practice this kind of thinking.

After the laughter of a Giggle Moment, Aunt Jean’s Question invites children to think, explain their ideas, ask questions, and hear another person’s perspective.

The goal isn’t to provide children with an answer for every situation they will ever encounter.

That’s impossible.

The greater goal is to help them develop the ability to find the better answer for themselves.

Someday they will make an important decision when we aren’t there.

In that moment, perhaps they will remember a story.

A question.

A family conversation.

Or simply the values they saw demonstrated repeatedly by the adults they loved.

Preparing children for that moment is preparing them for life.

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