Adults may not intend to reduce children to a single strength, but our words have weight. We ask about the tournament before asking how the child is doing. We introduce a daughter by explaining that she is “our artist.” We tell everyone that our son has always been the outgoing one.

In the podcast conversation that prompted this article, we discussed an early study in which children ages three to six were more likely to trust a robot than a person, even after the robot had proved less reliable. The finding is preliminary, but the question it raises is important: What happens when children begin trusting the voice that feels easiest rather than the person who has earned trust through love, sacrifice, truth, and presence?

Children can benefit from knowing that their family has endured hardship, but they should not be asked to carry adult pain. Learn how to share difficult family stories with honesty, wisdom, and hope.