For most every event that occurs, there are reasons or causes for why it happens. Thinking
about the causes and effects of events helps us understand a particular type of relationship
between events.
Here's what you need:
Paper
Pen or pencil or
Computer
Here's what you do:
Ask your child to think of a moment in his life that he wishes he could do all over again.
What events led up to this moment? What events followed this moment? Remind your child to
focus on the critical details of the event itself in explaining what happened and how he felt.
Ask him questions that will push him to consider how what happened before the event may have
influenced what happened later.
Then ask him to describe to you what he wishes had happened. Be sure to have him summarize
any lessons he learned from the experience and what he might do differently next time. Emphasize
the cause-and-effect relationships that are evident in his description.
Keep going...
You might talk about cause and effect during family conversations of current events. Are
there any news stories that seem rather small right now but that might get much bigger in
the near future? What are the signs that these stories may become more complicated? What in
the news stories allows you to predict what may happen?
