Have you ever been in that awkward situation of asking a child a question and the parent answers for her? There is the slightest shift in the eyes of the child that can go unnoticed or it can break a heart. Not being trusted wears a soul down.

How do we learn to trust our children? How do we break our habits of stepping in, answering questions, ordering their food for them at restaurants because we are afraid of silence or don’t want them to feel uncomfortable?

There are three actions we practice intentionally as Socratic Guides at Acton Academy that work wonders at home, too:

• Pause.
• Step back.
• Then step back again.

Try it the next time your natural inclination is to rush over, fix, solve, repair, clean up, make amends.

Practice the hard work of waiting.

The trust will come because the children will earn it.