I am finishing the podcast series on the current conflict. And I find that the older I get, the more I realize things are usually not black and white, although I value simplicity a lot! When talking to kids, I tend to say yes or not, good or bad, to make them understand. But as girls are getting older, especially Sofia who’s genuinely interested in social studies, I am starting to introduce nuances and not so simple answers.
Many problems like the current conflict, or relationships, are complex in nature. There are not really right or wrong in many answers, but rather point of view. How to reconcile those seemingly opposing views, theories, to come to a conclusion? That’s really a complex thing to do.
To start, I’d say try to be informed, which is I’m doing as I was not exposed to religion studies in my formation. I wasn’t even reading much of news about it until this book, that exposed me to a totally different world. Second, once I have the basic facts, learn about different views about the topic, the nuances, the disconnect. Only finally then, have my own opinion about it. And most importantly, ready to change my view at any point of time. I hope to convey this process to my girls soon. Kids are so easily influenced by what they see and hear, especially if it comes from authority figures. It’s important that they learn not to take anything by its face value, know to question the norm, do their own research (diverse point of view kind of research), and have their own well-informed view.
Complexity is complex and takes time to grasp, but it also makes life more interesting, isn’t it?
Our New Journey 
I couldn’t agree more. And sometimes you may not form an opinion because the topic is so complex that you may not get all the facts.
And dont get influenced by social media. It is not a valid source.
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This world is very complex and there’s so much to learn every day. I think you’re right to keep it simple with kids, but go into detail when they start asking more in-depth questions… but then you also have to have some answers and learning and understanding everything that is going on in the world is almost impossible. But it’s always a good approach to read from good sources and form your own opinion.
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