Our first job, our first responsibility, is instilling a sense of learning, a sense of a love of learning, in our kids.
—Barack Obama
The Marine general and former U.S. secretary of defense Jim Mattis has talked about his idyllic childhood in Pullman, Washington. There he spent time outdoors, explored, got in trouble, and had an all-American childhood. He talks lovingly of a house filled with books, run by parents who encouraged their children not only to read them but to question and interact with them as well. He recalls, “They introduced us to a world of great ideas —not a fearful place, but a place to enjoy.”
What a thing to say! A target for each of us to aim for with our own children.
You must teach your kids to be curious, to be open, to be willing to explore. Your job is to teach them how to make their own informed opinions, how to decide for themselves, how to be comfortable with uncomfortable topics. Ideas are our friends. They will serve your children well, and your children will serve them well, if you teach them early and often.
The world is a place of great ideas. There is nothing to be afraid of . . . except fear and ignorance.