I grew up in a time when you simply accepted what your parents told you. If I was told to finish my dinner before having dessert, I did it. If I was allowed one cookie, I had one. And if I got to choose between cake or candy, I picked whichever one I thought would taste better—simple as that.

I love that my son and daughter-in-law are teaching our grandchildren how to make thoughtful choices. I often hear them say things like, “You can have this or that—what would you prefer?” And when the kids ask for something that’s not an option, they calmly respond with, “That’s not one of the choices.” It’s such a great way to guide them in decision-making.

Owen, our 12-year-old grandson, has highly developed critical thinking skills, which he sometimes uses in the most unusual ways.

For example, this week, he and his sister were offered the opportunity to choose their own dessert.

Ella chose a gigantic marshmallow. Owen elected some Mike and Ike’s. He asked his dad how many he could have and was told he could have 7.

Owen sat down to think carefully about what he really wanted for a treat. He checked the nutritional value of the large marshmallow and discovered it had 17 grams of sugar. Then he looked at the nutritional information of the Mike and Ike’s and saw that each piece contained just 1 gram of sugar. Based on that, he reasoned that 17 Mike and Ike’s would equal the sugar content of one marshmallow.

Armed with his findings, Owen presented his case to his dad, making a logical argument for getting 17 Mike and Ike’s instead of 7. His reasoning was solid, and his dad, impressed by the thoughtful approach, did what any reasonable parent would—he agreed. So Owen packaged up 17 Mike and Ike’s in a baggie and went on his merry way.

When our son shared this story with us, we couldn’t help but laugh at how cleverly Owen managed to more than double his dessert count. It was such a smart and creative move! But what truly makes this story so special to me is that he’s not only using his intelligence in such a fun way—he’s also learning to advocate for himself at such a young age. That’s something I didn’t learn to do when I was his age, so I stand and applaud him. Way to go, Owen!