The little sister has wanted a dream catcher for years. Each time we're in a craft store she comes with the box with the little pink plastic hoop and tacky ribbons kit and begs for me to buy it for her, which I never do. The other day we saw a table set up at the side of the road selling some jewelry and dream catchers. We stopped and had a look and the man selling them told us that a Navajo woman made them and how makes these to help support her family. Now there was a dream worth supporting. So we bought it.
Then all sorts of conversations were spurred about dreams and what they are and where they come from. At this point in parenting I usually go into default mode on these types of esoteric questions. I usually answer, "I wonder..." not because I don't have my own opinions about where dreams come from, but because more than anything I want to instill a sense of wonder in my children and stimulate their own thoughts on subjects like these. If they sit and ponder questions like these for 5 minutes on their own I think it is far more beneficial than listening to my version of reality on the subject. If they ask me what I thought about a particular subject I would answer my own opinion. But they didn't. They are asking questions looking for answers for themselves, which is quite different than asking me what I think. The latter requires a certain amount of maturity on their part to understand differing points of views on things. They are just getting to that place in their age right now, but I still don't want to push it.
The little sister was particularly concerned with what happens to the bad dreams when they get stuck in the webbing. Do they stay there and what if they fall out. The big sister assured her, "No, they get stuck and then disappear." I love nothing more than to be witness to these types of conversations between them trying to figure out the world. And each time I'm reminded of how easily I could have killed this inspiration by offering an answer. It also is worth noting, that saying "I don't know. What do you think?" does not have the same effect in pondering as an "I wonder..." response that leaves the subject open to exploration rather than putting the child on the spot to come up with an answer.
