Supernatural Answers

                As a parent, I often ask myself if I’m doing things right. Sure, children don’t come with handbooks (wouldn’t it be nice if they did?) but any attentive parent wants to be sure they are walking the middle path when we are tasked to instill values in our children. So what about religious belief? What do you say when confronted with a situation that demands you answer that tiny little voice on question about the afterlife, how the universe works, and as my son once asked, “Who made the Earth?”

                Of course your answers should depend largely upon the age of the child and his or her ability to understand what you are trying to say. My approach is to start off with the more complex answer and work my way down to the simplest until I see my child understands at least part of what I’m getting at. For instance, when my son wanted to know who made the Earth, I told him no one made it like you or I would make a cake or batch of cookies. I then went on to explain the theory of accretion using Play-Doh as a visual example. Then I sort of made it a word of the day by playfully quizzing him: “What’s that word again? I forgot.” 

                Sometimes, rather than cartoons, I like to put on nature shows for the kids in the evening during quiet time. Sure, the three year old just giggles at the silly kitty but the older ones get sucked into the drama that’s found in nature. It can be a really mind-blowing experience to learn how far away a lioness can smell her prey or just how many bugs can get into your house.

                Older children may benefit from two, possibly conflicting ideas. Then you can prompt them with critical thinking questions. “Which do you think is the right answer?” “Why or why not?” “Do we have any evidence that this is true?” Again, the level of thought depends largely on the age of the child. In the process, try not to sell your child’s intelligence short. Children are very perceptive and might surprise you with their answers. If you can keep their attention long enough, you might get lucky enough to explain what constitutes good evidence.

                Finally, and I can’t stress this one enough: don’t be afraid to say ‘I don’t know.’ There’s nothing wrong with not knowing an answer to a question anyone asks you. The difference between intelligence and ignorance is the willingness to find the answers to the questions you currently don’t have answers to. I often tell my kids “I don’t know but let’s find out.” Then proceed to the computer and do my very best to get some point of reference. It’s okay to not know something; however, I find it in poor taste to just make something up for the sole purpose of responding to your child for the moment. In other words, I’m saying “God did it” is intellectually dishonest and is a complete disservice to your child and his or her understanding of reality.