Every parent wants their teen to be open with them. One of the best ways to help them open up is by asking good questions. (Jesus was a master at asking questions!) Here are some example questions for you to consider asking your teen.
- Do you have any gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender friends? What’s it like for you when they talk about their relationships or their feelings?
- What do you think about gay marriage being allowed now?
- Do your friends think of Christians as being anti-gay? What do you sense they’re saying about your own views? Do they know what you think about it?
- Do you know what you think about the whole issue?
- Which gay-rights issues make the most sense to you? Which ones don’t make sense to you?
- What questions have come up in school about gay rights? Have you discussed LGBT issues in any of your classes?
- Does it make you uncomfortable that our church preaches and teaches against homosexuality? What would your friends say if they heard that message?
- Have you ever wished that Christians could just drop this whole issue completely?
- What would you say most of your friends think about gay rights and other LGBT concerns?
- Could you imagine your student body electing a transgender person as prom queen?
Obviously some of these fall into the category of dangerous questions—dangerous for your teen, that is. He or she may wonder, Should I answer what I think, or what my parents want to hear? If they’re not sure it’s safe to say what they think, they’re going to go with what they think you want to hear, not with what’s really on their mind.
Excerpted from Critical Conversations, copyright © 2016 by Tom Gilson. Used with permission of Kregel Publications.
