There’s a really simple metric I’d like you to consider that has a big impact on whether a child becomes a wise adult.
The metric is this: the percentage of his or her time a child spends with adults as the adults do normal adult things.
We have almost no value for this in our culture.
In fact, some think this is actually harmful to kids and robs them of their childhood.
Of course that would be true if a child spent 100% of their time around working adults instead of playing, but many today believe if it’s possible it’s best to set this dial at 0%.
That is why we’ve created two worlds—a kid world where children are free to indulge their impulsive behavior and an adult world free of kids.
This is a problem for future generations since the Bible’s primary way for kids to learn and grow in wisdom is through spending time with their parents as the parents go about their normal life (Deuteronomy 6:7).
This is why training kids to handle normal adult environments at a young age is crucial.
A child who can endure or even enjoy being around adults doing adult things will allow us to dial up this percentage.
Imagine how much more prepared for life a child who has spent 5000 hours with adults would be versus a child who has spent less than 500 hours with adults.
Remember this isn’t a switch but a dial.
What does dialing this up one level look like in your family?
- Taking one of your kids to work for a half a day a week?
- Doing that house project with the help of one of your kids instead of by yourself?
- Asking a friend who your child likes if he or she can help them for a couple of hours a week while they get some work done?
Too many kid-free zones can rob wisdom from future generations.
This entry is a part of Jeremy’s Journal, a newsletter Jeremy sends out every Wednesday morning to encourage you on your parenting journey. You can sign up to get them every Wednesday here.
