Kids believe the darndest things
Part of what makes kids so darn cute is their innocence and unspoiled ability to truly believe in dreams, fantasies and anything an authority figure tells them. Naivete comes with the turf when you’ve only been alive for so long. How else would grown ups be so often rescued by the promise of the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and the threats of Wee Willy Winkie, The Grinch and The Gruffalo.
People who suck have ruined things for us all
We live in an age where tall tales have morphed into an insidious business. The internet and the fact that every Tom, Dick and Harry has a camera and editing technology, has made it easier than ever to fool people. There are people, organizations and whole industries actively trying to misinform others. Human beings can be quite terrible…
It used to be harmlessly cute that a kid could so completely believe that you can steal their nose. Nowadays any amusement is tinged with terror of “what ifs”? What if this childish gullibility doesn’t go away and the child grows to be a person who ships their life savings to someone who claims to be a Prince from a far off land!
Be deliberate about teaching kids to be discerning
Given the world they will be catapulted into, it’s never too early to teach kids to give certain things the side-eye. (Not literally of course). But at the same time, we don’t want to build distrustful, skeptical robots in place of our sweet believing babies.
How do we raise kids who can suss out misinformation but avoid ripping away innocence and imagination? This week, we share a tactic to help you deliberately but discreetly build the discernment muscle in your kids.
‘Both Sides’ Stories games
In short, these are alternating narrative stories that you and the kids make up. To save you from googling alternating narrative, it simply means the same exact story but told from multiple perspectives.
For example, you can tell a story about a picnic on an early summer evening from the perspectives of all the creatures present. One perspective can be the human beings who are mercilessly bitten by mosquitoes and strike back with bug spray and perfectly timed swats. Another perspective is a family of mosquitoes who are out to eat dinner and find themselves inexplicably under attack by giants who release foul-smelling bombs on them. Another perspective is a city of ants living happily in a patch of grass when suddenly a large checkered alien spacecraft blocked out the sky, then landed on it and crushed the city hall…
Get the drift?
These “both sides”, or more accurately, “multiple sides” stories are so fun for kids because they can be hilarious. It’s not every day you imagine yourself to be a mosquito. Or a teacup with someone tugging at your ears. But their true value is the important lessons they teach kids about multiple perspectives and how stories are told. They see for themselves how the good guys and bad guys change depending on who is telling the story. They introduce kids to nuance and teach them to search for other perspectives.
So there you have it. Entertain your kids while giving them life lessons to deal with our fake new generation. Go ahead, put another feather in your cap. You deserve it for at least reading this far.
