After watching Adam Grant’s 2-minute video, “How to Raise Resilient Kids,” I wanted to go back and add one of his tips to my list of examples parents can set for kids. The next time you’re facing one of those challenges where there is no clear right answer, ask your kids, “What would you do?”
Maybe you’re nervous about a presentation or project at work, or you’re having a conflict with your father-in-law, or you’re trying to decide whether to save more money or take a vacation. Any one of those is a teaching and learning moment. So invite your kids to share their advice.
As Grant points out, it’s great training for your kids to think through these situations and imagine how they would handle them. But even more importantly, it sends the message that you’re willing to seek out advice when you need it, that even Mom or Dad doesn’t always know the right answer, and that you respect their take enough to ask for it.
Best case scenario, you get some good advice. Even if you don’t, you’ll be training your kids with the kind of situations they’ll face regularly as they get older. And it really is as simple as asking, “What would you do?”