Don’t Make Me Go Socratic On You

I have a 6 yr old and I’m a Humanist. Which means that when I want him to do something he doesn’t want to do, instead of telling him he must, I go Socratic on him. ----more---- You see: I don’t want him to just obey me. I want him to figure out what the best thing to do is on his own. By applying the Socratic method I can help walk him through the consequences of his actions. Like, why are you doing whatever it is you are doing? What do you hope to accomplish by doing that? Is doing that going to help you accomplish your goal? If not, what will it accomplish? Will it just make mom mad? Do you really want to make mom mad? Eventually he will internalize these questions and have thought of answers to them before I ask them. If your parents didn’t teach you how to Socratize yourself, start practicing. The simple questions I ask my son are the same questions you should be asking yourself. That’s what it means to think before you act.