My 8 year old asked why God lets bad things happen to good people and honestly I wasn't prepared for it. Tried to explain it in age appropriate ways but felt like I fumbled it. How do you guys handle these moments when your kids start questioning things? Want to encourage his faith but also validate his questions.
Eight is such a thinking age. My approach when my kids asked stuff like this was to turn it back to them a bit - ask what they think, listen to their ideas. Sometimes kids have more wisdom about this stuff than we give them credit for.
That's a tough one. My 6yo has started asking similar questions and I've learned it's okay to say 'I don't have all the answers' sometimes. Kids respect honesty more than you'd think.
Man, those conversations catch you off guard. I've found that just being present and listening matters more than having the perfect answer. Sounds like you handled it well by keeping it age appropriate.
Those are the moments that make parenting real, aren't they? My kids have thrown me curveballs like this too and I usually just try to keep it simple and let them know it's okay to wonder about big stuff.
Those questions don't have good answers and that's okay to admit. I've found that sitting with the question together, rather than rushing to fix it, actually means more to kids. You don't have to solve it in one conversation.
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That's the tough one. I had something similar with my oldest and honestly I just told him that's one of life's biggest mysteries and even adults struggle with it. Sometimes "I don't know, but here's what I believe" is more honest than trying to have all the answers.