{"id":5057,"date":"2016-07-30T10:00:07","date_gmt":"2016-07-30T14:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/?p=5057"},"modified":"2016-07-29T22:23:51","modified_gmt":"2016-07-30T02:23:51","slug":"52-weeks-talking-kids-need-aim-answer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/52-weeks-talking-kids-need-aim-answer\/","title":{"rendered":"52 Weeks of Talking to Our Kids: When You Need to AIM [Answer It More]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"52<\/a><\/p>\n

We wanted our children to ask questions\u2013and lots of them! We wanted to be their answerer as much as possible. Thus, we \u201ctrained\u201d them to ask questions\u2013by answering them freely and endlessly.<\/p>\n

Ray is the best answerer I have ever met (honest!). He is the one who made me come up with the little acronym that we teach at our parenting seminars. I have watched him day in and day out, year in and year out, answer a question. Then he paused and continued on with more answers and more answers and more answers.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He never tired of our children\u2019s questions\u2013and when the kids weren\u2019t asking questions, he would prod them to do so: \u201cWhy do you think that guy directing traffic is wearing an orange vest and not a black one?\u201d \u201cWhy do you think that farmer is still in the field on a Saturday night at ten o\u2019clock?\u201d \u201cWhy do you think Jesus said that?\u201d He literally trained them in question asking!<\/p>\n

\"When<\/p>\n

No matter where we are, Ray always stops to answer the kids\u2019 questions\u2013sometimes even at lunch at a museum! Sometimes on napkins at lunch! Sometimes in the driveway as he plays with the kids. And he always \u201cAnswers It More!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

From watching him, I came up with the acronym that we encourage all parents to use. AIM<\/strong>: When your children ask you a question, answer it<\/em>. Then A<\/strong>nswer I<\/strong>t M<\/strong>ore!<\/p>\n

Children will grow up learning to ask questions if we answer their questions freely. For most questions+, use the \u201cRaising Kids With Character\u201d method of AIM:<\/strong> When your children ask you a question, answer it.<\/em> Then A<\/strong>nswer I<\/strong>t M<\/strong>ore! This will help them to become lifelong learners\u2013and responsible thinkers who do not just accept everything that is put before them but truly question what they see and hear in the media, from others, etc.<\/p>\n

It takes intentionality to do this\u2014and the framework of \u201cI am going to give my children my time now…while they are here at home with me.\u201d It is hard to volunteer to give more and more time sometimes as it feels like parenting already takes so much time\u2014without looking for ways to give even more of our time!<\/p>\n

But AIM has helped us to dig more deeply into our children\u2019s hearts. It has helped them see and value our availability. It has allowed us to do even more teaching. It has been worth it!<\/p>\n

AIM:<\/strong> A<\/strong>nswer I<\/strong>t M<\/strong>ore!<\/p>\n

+The exception to our AIM approach was when children asked questions of a sexual nature. Then, as my husband likes to say, tell them just a tiny bit. Then if they ask more, tell them more. Continue in this way with all delicate topics. This way, you are giving them the information that they are ready for\u2013the information that they really asked for. And you are not giving them sexual information that they are not ready for. Ray called these \u201cDaddy Talks\u201d\u2013there is a post about that here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Further reading:<\/p>\n

52 Weeks: When You Have a Good Report<\/a><\/p>\n

52 Weeks: When It’s Time to Ask Questions<\/a><\/p>\n

52 Weeks: Techno Free Talk Time<\/a><\/p>\n

52 Weeks: “Daddy Talks”<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We wanted our children to ask questions\u2013and lots of them! We wanted to be their answerer as much as possible. Thus, we \u201ctrained\u201d them to ask questions\u2013by answering them freely and endlessly. Ray is the best answerer I have ever met (honest!). He is the one who made me come up with the little acronym […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[643,488,633,308,281],"tags":[1060,278,280,317,316,274,101,286,319,314],"yoast_head":"\n52 Weeks of Talking to Our Kids: When You Need to AIM [Answer It More] - Character Ink<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/52-weeks-talking-kids-need-aim-answer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"52 Weeks of Talking to Our Kids: When You Need to AIM [Answer It More] - Character Ink\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We wanted our children to ask questions\u2013and lots of them! 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