“Sofia, what was the today’s story about?”
“I CAN’T remember!”

This type of answer will never work with her daddy :-)! He wouldn’t let her give up so easily. I was delighted to watch them playing the what I called “building character” game. It builds character because it doesn’t let her choose the easy path. It forces her to think before she gives up.

“Hmm, let’s play the jumping cup game!” Daddy placed her cup of juice away from her at the farthest corner of the table. “Every time you will answer the question correctly, your cup will make a little jump toward you. Otherwise, it will jump backwards. So here we go:

Was the story about a man or a woman?”
“A woman.”
“Was she a baker, a captain, or a queen?”
“A queen.”
“How were the other women who came to the palace?”
“BEAUTIFUL!”, she said it with a smile.
“And why did the king chose her to be the queen?”
“Because she was THE MOST beautiful.”
“What happened to the first queen?”
“She didn’t come to the party and the king got VERY angry.”
“What happened to her?”
“She could not be a queen any longer.”

The questions continued until Anna wanted to play too :-).

Sometimes adults too say “I don’t know” or “It’s not possible” before we could even think about it. I find that it’s extremely important to challenge our children to think, to dig into their minds, to make an effort before they choose the easy path. I’m grateful that my husband would never let them give up easily. He’s an example for me too. I tend to do what comes naturally, but that is the least satisfying on the long term.

“There are always two choices. Two paths to take. One is easy. And IT’S ONLY REWARD is that it’s easy.” -Unknown

The other one builds character.

What path are we going to choose in raising our children? Will we do what’s convenient for us or what’s helpful for THEM (thinking 10 years from now)?