Turn the tables and let your kid be the teacher

Ever been bamboozled by a curveball question from your kids? 

How bees reproduce. 

How quantum computers work. 

A bizarre TikTok trend (cuz which one isn’t?)...

Don’t start feeling out-of-touch just yet. It's natural to get a twinge of insecurity when your kid dives into territory unknown to you. 

But not knowing something doesn't make you a bad parent, or a dumb one (despite what they might say). It’s actually a great opportunity for bonding and learning. 

Here’s how to turn your knowledge gap into a parenting superpower: 

👉 Know your role

In an era where kids can easily find information online, they don’t need you to be an encyclopedia — what they do need is your guidance. 

Don’t brush them off or tell them to Google it. 🚫 

Parental involvement in children’s learning makes them more confident and motivated. So be the co-pilot of their exploration, and chart a path for them. 

Take a half-day to go to the library together, or experiment with different AI prompts to get to the best answer. 

Try to mix in activities that aren’t dependent on the internet like: 

• Visiting a museum 🖼️

• Doing outdoor experiments 🌳

• Phoning a friend ☎️

Be the person who’s “holding the lantern while the kid does the digging,” writer Anne Lamott says in her book Bird by Bird. The book refers to writing, but co-learning with your kid is no different. 

“The holder of the lantern doesn’t even know what the kid is digging for half the time — but she knows gold when she sees it.” 

👉 Let them teach it

You’ve probably heard the phrase “teaching is the best way to learn,” aka the Protege Effect. It’s a great way to help anyone solidify their learning. 

And your lack of knowledge can actually work wonders here. 

After your kid has managed to find out the initial answer, play the humble student and ask them to explain it to you. Keep asking clarifying questions to dig deeper: 

• Why is it the way it is? Is there a better way? 

• Can you draw a picture to explain this to me? 

• Can you give me more examples? 

• Where did you find this information? 

This process will likely spark even more questions that they can go after, making it a continuous learning experience and fueling their curiosity.

Once you understand the topic, encourage them to teach it to someone else (like their younger siblings), or even make a quick video talking about it in an engaging way. 

The best part? Teaching will foster many other skills along the way, from critical thinking and patience, to presentation and storytelling. 

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Don’t forget to have some fun with it! 

By co-learning with your kid, you might just be awed by how their brain works, and get a fresh dose of optimism and hope yourself. ✌️

And that’s priceless.