Tell about a time when you did something without asking your parents and regretted it later. (Students may talk about participating in an event, cooking a recipe or doing a project at home, eating food that was meant to be saved, staying up all night, etc.)
Sometimes we just can’t see the whole picture of how something will turn out. But asking someone older and wiser before you take action can save you from getting into a big mess. Let’s watch a video of a toddler who didn’t ask about opening items in the pantry—and made quite a mess!
Share this video clip [0:20]: This toddler created quite the mess inside the house! #toddlervideos
Imagine how much less messy this situation would have been if the toddler was old enough to ask for help getting a snack from the pantry! The child in the video opened up all kinds of ingredients and used them in ways that made a big mess that their parents had to clean up. But there are more ways for things to go wrong than just by making a big mess.
While you’re all old enough to know not to make a big mess in your house, you still have to make decisions at home and school where it may be wise to ask someone for help.
- What are some situations in your life where asking an adult for help would be a good idea? (Answers will vary. Students may talk about situations with schoolwork, friends, and extracurricular activities. If possible, tell a story from your own childhood where you forgot to ask for help and got into trouble.)
Sometimes we don’t want to ask for help because of our pride—we think we can handle it on our own. Other times we may just forget to ask for help. One time, Joshua, a leader of Israel, forgot to ask God for help when he had an important decision to make. Let’s find out what happened.