Context. It’s All About Context.

Last night, as I was cleaning the kitchen, Braden called in from the living room, “Mom? What’s abstinence?”

I paused, and thought of aaaaaaall the ways I could answer that question. How much information is too much? How do I present this information?

Finally, I just asked, “Um……. where did you hear it?”

He answered, “Oh, well in the book I’m reading (Journey to the Center of the Earth), one character is abstaining from telling his uncle the contents of a letter.”

Whew! OK. The context in which he encountered the word made that question MUCH easier to answer!

It reminded me of a time, nearly 10 years ago, when Braden and I had a similar exchange. He was nearly 3 and asked me, “Mom, what’s a ‘climax?’ ”

Thankfully, before answering, I asked where he’d heard the word.

“Timothy the mouse tells the ringmaster that Dumbo will be the climax at the circus show.” (Braden was deep into a circus infatuation that summer, and watched “Dumbo” nearly every day.)

Again, the context made his question much easier to answer.

I think we just may successfully navigate the upcoming teenage years if I can just remember to ask before I speak!