BrightSide had a brilliant idea recently.

He pointed out that women could quite possibly take over the world simply by not answering any more questions.

Think about it:  how many ridiculous questions do you answer in a day?  And how would lives change if you just stopped answering?

This idea has been swirling around in my noggin for a while and I think it has promise.  Maybe not for world domination, but definitely as a means to affect major change.

“Where’s my (keys, phone, wallet, homework, binder, library book…)?”  Answering just teaches them that you know where every blessed thing is on the planet.  (Which, okay, we kind of do.)  Not  answering may cause delays in the short term but will result in much more self-sufficient humans.

“What’s for dinner?”  Silly me, I keep answering this with food. Next time I think I’ll try just smiling. Maybe they’ll make something on their own…that would foster independence and encourage them to develop valuable life skills.  (And it’s not at all self-serving.  Nope.)

“What time is it?”  Uh, yeah.  Clock.  Right over there.  Watch.  Right on your wrist.  Pick one and look at it.

“Do I have to brush my teeth tonight?”  Often uttered in a whiny voice, frequently on an evening when they’ve eaten ice cream, candy, or something equally likely to rot their teeth overnight.  Pick up your dang toothbrush and clean that sugar off your teeth.

“Can I have (an UnderArmor backpack, Nike Elites, iPad…)?”  Um, seriously?  Most of these questions don’t even require an answer. The look on my face says it all.

“Why can’t I (text, Instagram, Facebook)?”  Ha.  No, really…HA!  The fact that the people asking this question are 10 years old and under makes it a no-brainer.  I’ve explained plenty of times the bevy of reasons these things are not happening.  No more response is required.

So maybe BrightSide is on the right track here.

Women, unite!  No more providing the answers for everyone else.

Let’s step back, require those around us take responsibility for themselves, and see what change springs forth from that.