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iQuestions Faculty, Dr. John Trent 
 
 
Question: 
 
Our child is so sensitive. How do we deal with a "Golden Retriever" 
child - particularly when she's living with a bunch of Lions? 
 
Answer: 
 
You know, if you have got a Golden Retriever child, then first of all, 
you are blessed beyond measure, because these are the kinds of kids 
that, when you set them down, they will play right where you want 
them to play.  
 
If this is your first child, though, that’s not fair. Because, if this is your 
first child, they are so easy and low-maintenance, and then of course 
you have a Lion child, and you are wondering, “What happened? It’s 
not working.” And then you have an Otter kid, and you’re thinking, 
“Boy, it’s got to be ADD, right?” 
 
But the Golden Retrievers are sensitive, caring, and compassionate. 
Let me give you a quick example. In our home, we have a purebred 
Golden Retriever child with papers. I mean, really a sensitive, 
nurturing kid. You just look at her, and she would tear up. You don’t 
have to correct her just with any kind of roughness. I mean, you just 
look at her and she melts.  
 
Well, we were watching TV one day—she’s about five years old—and 
she stands up, right in the middle of the TV program, and she gasps 
real dramatically, and starts walking down the hallway. And so I go, 
“Come back here, come back here.” So she comes back in, and there’s 
nothing blowing up on the TV screen. It wasn’t like there was 
something that upset her she was watching, she had just thought of 
 
 
something that happened at school that day. And she goes, “Well, 
Daddy, I just remembered something that I did at school today, and 
I’m sending myself to time-out.” And of course, you go, “OK. Well, 
have fun! Don’t stay too long.” 
 
Now, let me ask you a question. Do these other kids send themselves 
to time-out? No, they send you to time-out, and you had better like it. 
 
But if you have got this Golden Retriever, sensitive child, then keep a 
couple of things in mind.  
 
Number one is, these are the kinds of kids that need you. Now, I know 
you don’t think they do, because they are not the ones waving a flag 
and saying, “Hey! Talk to me! Do things with me!” The Golden 
Retriever kid can be low-maintenance, sometimes we don’t think they 
need us. But you know what? They need us to be sitting right beside 
them.  
 
This is a great kid to read a story to, for example, and they will listen 
to every word while they are right next to you. That’s so important. 
Make great eye-contact with a Golden Retriever. 
 
It says in the Book of Proverbs, in the Old Testament, “Bright eyes 
makes the heart glad.” You know what? Brighten up your eyes, 
because they are so sensitive that when you brighten your eyes, you 
think, “Wow! They like me!” And that’s really important for that Golden 
Retriever, that they know care about them, that you love them and 
accept them. 
 
So, if you have got that Golden Retriever kid, say, “Thank you, Lord,” 
because who knows—you may end up with a Lion. 
 
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