questions from kids--please help us, God!
My oldest son and my daughter both asked interesting questions today. One was a lot easier to respond to than the other!
I was hanging out in my son's room as he was putting away the clothes I had just washed for him. He asked me who the 10 greatest basketball players were that I have ever seen. It's not an easy question, but it is fun to think about and to answer:
1. Bill Russell
2. Wilt Chamberlain
3. Michael Jordan
4. Larry Bird
5. Magic Johnson
6. John "Hondo" Havlicek
7. Oscar Robertson
8. Jerry West
9. Elgin Baylor
10. Julius Erving
That led into a whole discussion about great athletes that I have seen and stories I know about them. He especially liked the story about how, at the age of 15, I met Hank Aaron and got his autograph on a baseball. Then I went home and played ball with that baseball for the rest of the next summer until I lost it. My son and I both agreed that I wasn't very smart in those days!
My daughter (4) asked a different question. My wife was sitting up in bed this morning, when my daughter climbed into bed with her, began caressing my wife's shoulder, and asked her, "Mom, is this how girls rub their boyfriend's shoulder when they're in bed together?" My wife and I were both more than a little bit shocked about the question! My wife told her that boys and girls shouldn't get in bed together unless they are married, because that's the way that God wants us to be. My daughter was satisfied with the answer.
The question that popped to the top of my brain was, "Where did she come up with a question like that?" What has she seen that would make her think that? My wife and I are very careful with the TV (or so we thought) and we really restrict what the kids watch. They just don't watch much TV, and when they do, it's usually a Disney show (which isn't as safe as it was when I was a kid, as it turns out) or an old Rifleman re-run or sports.
We finally found out the answer. We had recorded an ABC Family Channel movie that had a Christian theme ( a takeoff of Swiss Family Robinson starring Jane Seymour). It's a great action/adventure flick with a Christian theme running through it. That's safe, right? Wrong! One of the commercials during the movie showed a man and a woman falling in to bed together and doing the whole "heavy petting" thing! It was a commercial for laundry detergent, for cryin' out loud! My daughter has watched that movie 3 times in the last week! Fellow parents, you can be the most careful, diligent parents in the world, and the culture will still get one past you every once in a while. Other than throwing away the TV (which I don't want to do, and which wouldn't completely protect my kids anyway) I guess the answer is to keep being as alert as possible, and keep praying for guidance and wisdom when those "difficult" questions come up. And hope that the questions lean more towards the "best basketball player" category!
I was hanging out in my son's room as he was putting away the clothes I had just washed for him. He asked me who the 10 greatest basketball players were that I have ever seen. It's not an easy question, but it is fun to think about and to answer:
1. Bill Russell
2. Wilt Chamberlain
3. Michael Jordan
4. Larry Bird
5. Magic Johnson
6. John "Hondo" Havlicek
7. Oscar Robertson
8. Jerry West
9. Elgin Baylor
10. Julius Erving
That led into a whole discussion about great athletes that I have seen and stories I know about them. He especially liked the story about how, at the age of 15, I met Hank Aaron and got his autograph on a baseball. Then I went home and played ball with that baseball for the rest of the next summer until I lost it. My son and I both agreed that I wasn't very smart in those days!
My daughter (4) asked a different question. My wife was sitting up in bed this morning, when my daughter climbed into bed with her, began caressing my wife's shoulder, and asked her, "Mom, is this how girls rub their boyfriend's shoulder when they're in bed together?" My wife and I were both more than a little bit shocked about the question! My wife told her that boys and girls shouldn't get in bed together unless they are married, because that's the way that God wants us to be. My daughter was satisfied with the answer.
The question that popped to the top of my brain was, "Where did she come up with a question like that?" What has she seen that would make her think that? My wife and I are very careful with the TV (or so we thought) and we really restrict what the kids watch. They just don't watch much TV, and when they do, it's usually a Disney show (which isn't as safe as it was when I was a kid, as it turns out) or an old Rifleman re-run or sports.
We finally found out the answer. We had recorded an ABC Family Channel movie that had a Christian theme ( a takeoff of Swiss Family Robinson starring Jane Seymour). It's a great action/adventure flick with a Christian theme running through it. That's safe, right? Wrong! One of the commercials during the movie showed a man and a woman falling in to bed together and doing the whole "heavy petting" thing! It was a commercial for laundry detergent, for cryin' out loud! My daughter has watched that movie 3 times in the last week! Fellow parents, you can be the most careful, diligent parents in the world, and the culture will still get one past you every once in a while. Other than throwing away the TV (which I don't want to do, and which wouldn't completely protect my kids anyway) I guess the answer is to keep being as alert as possible, and keep praying for guidance and wisdom when those "difficult" questions come up. And hope that the questions lean more towards the "best basketball player" category!
posted by hondo at 9:59 PM
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