Teaching Kids to Think

One of the hardest things I’ve had to learn as a parent of teens is to stop my tendency to think for my kids. I have a tendency to jump in, tell them how it is, issue an instruction or dictate, and then expect my kids to follow. When our kids are in the process of developing their ability to think for themselves, the best thing we can do is to think along with them. It’s important for us to continue to offer structure, guidance, direction, advice, and explanations, but we also need to give our kids the freedom to learn how to make good decisions on their own. If we continue to do all the thinking for our kids we will only be raising adults who have difficulty making important choices. When they’re children, we think for them. As they move into adolescence, we think with them, tempering their decisions by modeling and talking about choices that bring honor and glory to God. We want them to grow up to competently think for themselves in responsible, God-honoring ways.