How Do We Talk to Our Kids About God? with Janelle Alberts and Ingrid Faro

Livin Lively with Laine

Janelle Alberts and Ingrid Faro authors of Honest Answers: Exploring God Questions with Your Tween share with us on how to have conversations with our children about God, the Bible, Prayer, and the Church. Honest Answers is designed to help parents tackle the God questions that make them sweat. The authors know that when tweens start asking questions, they’re already old enough to understand

the answers. Alberts and Faro are determined to equip parents with the language, theology, permission, and confidence to join

in the discussion—and to learn how to offer deeply doctrinal answers in a way that connects with their children. Honest Answers is divided into four parts, each with three chapters, addressing some of the biggest faith questions that come

up:

1. The Bible: How it was put together, how history supports it, and the points of view of the writers.

2. Prayer: How to pray, when we don’t get the answers we are wanting, and sticking with God regardless.

3. Faith and science: Why the two sides don’t always agree, and how to handle situations that come up in school when what kids learn there doesn’t line up with what they learn at church.

4. The church: How it is set up, why there are different denominations, and its past, present, and future.

Each chapter begins with a “parent’s primer” on a specific topic that tweens often ask questions about. The primer introduces

the topic and provides further background information to share in later conversations with the kids. Next, an “honest answers

Q&A” section is the part of the chapter to be read as a family. Each Q&A section begins with a brief introduction followed by six

to eight multiple-choice questions to explore together.

“Our kids want and deserve discussion about God and the Bible and don’t accept simply being told what to think or believe,”

Faro shares. “We can enter conversations providing solid and substantive responses to tough questions without jargon, fluff,

or pat answers and don’t need to be afraid of questions our kids may have.” “As parents, we want to feel confident enough to say to our kids, ‘Let’s talk about that,’ right at their point of interest,” Alberts

adds. “However, that is not an easy thing to do. These core tenets of our faith have been debated over centuries and have

involved councils, creeds, Bible translations, extraordinary feats of faith, and also terrible behavior. But we’re the parents.

These kids want to know what there is to know from us. If our kids see a pattern that when they come to us, they get honest, forthright discussion even if we do not know every answer, that will keep them coming to us as a resource as they mature in

their faith.” The tween years present an incredible opportunity to build trust with kids and to keep them coming back to their parents for

answers rather than finding other sources.

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