Mrs. Gifty Agyemang Author, Family Bonding Proprietress, Sparkling Jewels International School
“Mummy”, a boy asked his mother. “Have you had an abortion before”? The mother pretended she did not hear the question. The boy persisted and asked the question again. “Mummy, have you had an abortion before”? This time Mummy couldn’t resist the question. She answered, “No. I have not had an abortion before”; The boy heaved a sigh of relief and said” thank God. None of my brothers and sisters are “;
Human beings are born curious. Albert Einstein said, “I have no special talents, am only passionately curious”. Children just like other human beings are curious. Their young minds seek to understand the world around them. They thus observe, investigate and explore their world by asking questions. Great people ask questions.
Even our Lord Jesus asked questions. In Luke 2:46, “After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions”. Scientists like Isaac Newton asked questions that led to the discovery of gravity. History has it that, one day, as Isaac was sitting in the garden of his home farm, he watched as the ripe apples started falling from the tree. Questions began to pop up into his mind: “Why do the apples always fall straight down”? “Why do they not curve or even fall upward”? “Could there be something in the earth that attracts the apples”? This question led to the discovery of gravity. Albert
Einstein the famous scientist once said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask… for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes;
When children ask questions, it enables them to discover the truth. In our world, many the are difficulties that children have to grapple with. They are bombarded with information from dawn to dusk. Some of the information may be true, others may not be.
I remember one time, when I picked three of my children from school, the eight-year-old among them asked me, “mummy do you have sex with daddy “? I answered in the affirmative. I took the time to explain to her and the others what sex is and when it is the appropriate time to have it.
Let’s consider the question the boy asked his mother about abortion. He had a concern. That question bothered him. It made him restless so he needed to get an answer from no other person but his mother. I believe because the mother has a good relationship with him, he did not have difficulty asking the mother whether she has aborted before. The boy just wanted to know the truth. Nothing but that. Once the question has been answered, he has his peace.
Am sure many of my readers will be wondering what would have happened if the mother had aborted before?.
That would have made the boy worried. Yet I believe as mothers, this is a fine opportunity to educate the boy on abortion and the dangers that it comes with instead of running away from answering the question altogether. The mother does not have to give the details depending on the age of the child. “The answer could be something like, yes, I have aborted before but at that time I didn’t understand the implications of my action. I have repented of that act. I know I am forgiven and I have accepted my forgiveness. I do not walk under condemnation because of abortion anymore. Jesus has made me righteous”;
Questions enable children to become problem solvers. One of the things that I am passionate about in our era is raising children who are problem solvers. Our world is plagued with so many problems with few solutions. Yet I believe the solutions to the problems could come from our children. Encouraging them to ask questions enables them to be curious and at the same time thinkers. As they think about the problems and ask the right questions, the solutions will come. It is also important to say that, we don’t have to encourage them to ask questions alone but we also have to encourage them to think through their questions and come up with solutions themselves.
We must not do all the thinking for them. Honestly, I must admit that sometimes answering the many questions from children can seem like a nightmare. Why because oftentimes, we consider their questions unnecessary. As such, we insult them, shout at them and even call them names. We offload our frustrations on them. Children are young, most of the time they ask questions at the wrong time. One smart boy would ask the mother, “Mummy, are you in a good
Mood” he would ask his questions. He has studied his mother and wants to avoid her outburst. One other boy told the mother, “mummy, as for this question I am about to ask you, do not beat me, do not insult me, do not shout at me”. Awww! How sad! Should children have to go through all these to ask questions?
What we have to bear in mind is that our inability to encourage questions from children kills their curiosity, their passion, their calling, their personality and their purpose on earth. Usually, the questions they ask are related to the problems they are called to solve. What they are curious about is what interests them the most.
Aside from the above consequences, when we fail to provide answers to their questions, they are likely to get the answers from the wrong sources which could be detrimental to their well-being. If we want to have the Isaac Newtons and the Alberts Einstein’s of our time, then let us encourage our children to ask questions.
Remember, great minds ask questions. They do not just accept the status quo. “The important thing is not to
stop questioning “. Albert Einstein