AI. It stands for Artificial Intelligence.
But for the purpose of this parenting email I encourage you to… Always Interact.
One core principle we established in our home was to always talk about everything. We wanted our home to be a place where our kids could freely interact with us without fear, anger or embarrassment. No topic was taboo. No question was inappropriate. In fact we wanted to be the ones who first introduced controversial or edgy or scary topics with our kids rather than reacting after they’d heard about “things” at school or a neighbor’s house.
Y’all this can be UNCOMFORTABLE.
The last thing I wanted to do was talk about sex or the etymology of certain words with my kindergartners. I hated informing them about sex trafficking and porn and roofies.
We don’t want to crack the idyllic shell we’ve built around them. We don’t want to let our kids know that monsters really are real. But we HAVE TO.
We have to because this is a dangerous world. And we have to because this is a confusing world. And we have to because we are responsible to teach our kids to conscientiously navigate the world (not hide from it…navigate it) until they are strong and capable themselves.
So Always Interact.
But of course, you won’t spontaneously have a relaxed and confident conversation about sexuality or crime or drugs if you haven’t had a billion relaxed and confident conversations about everything else. You don’t ever get quality time without a ton of investment in quantity time. You won’t have quality conversations unless you’ve invested in a ton of quantity conversations.
So Always Interact. About the daily, silly, mundane stuff.
Y’all this can be BORING. If you want to one day hear your child open up to you about their fears and insecurities and dreams, you have to put in the time to let them open up to you about Olivia’s sister’s boyfriend’s pet komodo dragon and how at lunch my new friend William described his latest victory in Zelda. And what they learned today about the ancient Mayans and the song that teaches the oceans and continents.
Eventually it will be fashion and dating and auditions and rejection and romance and doubt and faith.
All along the way you want to be able to speak the truth of God to them. To remind them their identity is securely and joyfully in Christ. To build them up with the love and grace of the Lord.
So Always Interact together with the Word of God.
Y’all, this can be DIFFICULT. It’s not always obvious how or where to start.
So, speaking of AI, do you know what I did before writing to you? I asked ChatGPT to provide me with open-ended questions that would help parents interact with kids during back-to-school season. AI did a pretty good job. You can see the results I got: ChatGPT Results. (←seriously, take a look.)
Don’t be afraid to ask for help from a real human or from a chat bot if you want.
But Always Interact. They grow up so fast. It’s never too early or too late. Start today and don’t give up!
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).
