How to Talk to Your Kids When they Hear Something That Doesn’t Seem Right

• Posted: May 16, 2024

“What are you…the walking Bible?” 

A 4th grade student went back to class with a Bible given to him on the last day of his Bible2School program. Later that day, other students in his class (Christian and non-Christian) began talking about how they believe the Big Bang Theory is true. The boy took out his Bible, opened to Genesis 1:1, and proclaimed boldly, “The Big Bang is not true! See it says right here in God’s Word, ‘In the beginning GOD CREATED the heavens and the earth.’ God spoke and created everything!” 

One kid said, “What are you…the walking Bible?” 

“I’m not the walking Bible; Jesus is!,” the young boy said proudly. 

Put on Your Bible Glasses

In today’s culture, kids are going to experience social challenges. Even young kids are going to witness a conversation or a situation that they know, in their heart, is not right. A life skill is learning to decipher how and when to dig deeper when something just doesn’t seem “right” and when to push back. For young minds, this is hard to navigate. It’s up to us, as parents, to equip our children with the tools and confidence they need to handle situations that make them think, “Hmmmm, I don’t think this is quite right….”

For example, your son comes home from school and says, “Bobby told me that we came from apes. Is that true? I thought God created us….?”

First of all, high-five that your child flagged this comment from a friend and came to you! By planting little seeds of faith throughout his life, he was able to recognize that this statement didn’t fit with what he was being told at home. Him questioning this and bringing it to you is the first step in deciphering truth vs. untruth. Now, it’s time for you to step in…

Before jumping right in with your response, take a step back and start gathering the facts (like a detective would) and start asking questions (like a scientist would). 

Say, “Hmmm, let’s put on our special glasses and see what God says about that. Where does the Bible say we come from?” 

(Recommendation: Make it fun — keep a pair of special eye glasses in your house for your child to put on when “investigating” a certain question in the Bible.) 

Say, “It looks like the Bible has a very different perspective on where we came from. In fact, here in Genesis it tells us that God created humans — Adam & Eve — in the very first week of the world approximately 6,000 years ago.”

Say, “So, where do you think we came from?”

Let him answer.

Say, “I trust that what the Bible says is true because I trust God! So, although some people believe in evolution and that we were formed from apes, I believe that God created us in His image.”

By walking through this exercise with your child, they will start connecting the dots that the Bible is truth and their instruction manual for life. As they continue to grow, they will start fact-checking what culture tells them against God’s Word. And, ultimately, this is how they will continue to strengthen their faith and spread truth to others.

Want some more guidance on the topic of evolution? Check out our podcast episode, Combating 3 Myths of Evolution, with Dr. Georgia Purdom, Vice President of Educational Content at Answers In Genesis.