I might have told him that he was correct because its what he understood at the time and I would stay with that I guess. Explaining to him at that age what starts really are would probably be to techie for him to understand.

i would have agreed with him, thats sweet and such a nice thought

I would have told him yes and then said pick one star , any star and always remember to reach for it peace

Going against the flow but... I would have asked "interesting thought - why do you think that?" and let it flow from there. Let the child work it out for themselves, just give them facts as and when they are required. I would hope (and expect to be fair - kids can be devastatingly logical) they would get to the answer themselves. I knew what a star was at age 4 or so (OK I didn't have a full grasp of thermonuclear physics and stellar dynamics but... the principle was there...) so I wouldn't think it is beyond a child's comprehension.

I think thats a great theory from a child of 8, and i would probably have agreed with him. My kids are almost 4 and 5 and in their opinion the stars are angels smiling down at them, lately of course one of the stars being their 'nana'. It makes them happy to think this so im happy to agree with them.

WOW. That is an insightful expression, perception, I can't come up with the appropriate word of what I want to express.

"Yes"

No. I would tell him the truth -- that stars are just like our Sun, only much farther away. Except that I already taught him that, at the age of FOUR. Shame on you for not teaching your kid even the basics of science by that age.

This was the ancient theory. The sky also had gates to allow the rain to come thru. ("the gates of heaven opened up") Not sure when this was overturned, or exactly why. Renaissance, or post. Retrograde motion shows the planets go around the Sun, and relative Sun/star motion shows we do too. In the 1960s, Maarten Schmidt showed that redshifting of star light could be explained if the stars are traveling away at speeds roughly correlated with their brightness, i.e. distance. Therefore the U is expanding. Star light itself is a continuous spectrum, but it is absorbed by cool gases around the star, and this absorption happens only at specific frequencies (it's a quantum thing). We can measure these freq very accurately. If the freq is blurred, that means the star is rotating fast (some parts moving toward us, some away, or all away at different speeds) No telescope can resolve the disk of a star -- i.e. we can't distinguish them from points. So the redshifts, and relative movement (parallax) over a long period of time as our Galaxy rotates and we zoom along, are the only info we have to work with, I think. (plus periodic brightness changes which indicate rotation)

I'd have said "something like that, son... " ;-)

I would have said "I dont know son, but im selling that quote to hallmark"...lol What a beautiful thing to come from an 8yr old..

I would agree and say "Yes...aren't you a clever boy". He's too young to bruise him with the harsh realities of the world. Part of the glory of being a child is seeing the world behind such innocent eyes and their imagination is limitless. Gee that is one creative boy. If we all saw the world from the eyes of your son, we'd live such happy and content lives.

OMG!!! That is super sweet! I would hug him and tell him he's right! It's amazing how children interpret the world around them! His question was actually beautiful (and really deep). Think about that. :D

I would have said no. My reason being that I am an Atheist and my child will be raised the same. In our house, there will be no Heaven and Hell.

I would tell him that it was a really clever thing to say, and praise him, but because im not religious, i would tell him that they were like mini suns, but they are not big enough to be seen in the day. Enough to keep him thinking until he learns about space in school :D.

I would say, "you're a thinker just like mommy and just like grandpa dale but that's not quite it...." then I'd do a good search and show him some pictures.

Similar to an answer already submitted, I would have said that "those stars that you see are like our very own sun and around some of those stars may be other planets like Earth!" I would further add that we, as creative beings, make our own heaven (or hell) everyday through our choices, feelings and thoughts. Perhaps too sophisticated, but I would attempt to express that same idea more simply...

I would have told him he had a great imagination and that I loved him but that no thats not what stars are and then I would have explained what they were.

"A third of the stars of heaven" have followed Satan.—Revelation 12:4. Therefore they must be angels.

No the only A holes in space are angels

I do not believe in feel good lies. people who say "if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all are attempting to create an unbalanced world. if I seek truth why would I misguide my son on that quest?

that is so awesome, i never thought of it that way. I would have given him a high fivE!

Oh, what a precious heart. He is smart yes indeed.

As a Christian, I could not have let him believe that. HOowever, I would commend him for a good theory, then gently tell him what they really are.

I think it's important to remember that children turn to you for answers and if you don't provide them with the truth they will get confused and not know when you are telling a story or telling the truth. It's an honest question that needs an honest answer.

"No son, God is angry with us for our sins. He has sent flames of great fury and angar twards us, and some day... they will strike our planet and everyone will be cooked alive." j/k

Uh ... maybe with the truth? : )

he'll learn what they are in school, so tell him the truth.

At 8, the truth. I had a telescope, etc, by that age. No reason to not help your child be informed and intelligent.

I would have been straight with them, just cause theyre young doesn't mean we should pump our kids full of lies. Just say: No, there is no reason to believe in heaven whatsoever to begin with, the stars are just like our sun, a big ball of gas thats on fire just like a gas stove.

i would tell him that he is rite but we dont call them holes in the sky we call them stars and one day you will be a star to

"No. Those are all like our sun. Some bigger, some smaller. Many with planets, some with planets like our earth."

I would have explained the difference between the spiritual and the physical universe. And that the spiritual universe normally cannot be observed. They should already understand this with 7.

With the truth! He is 8, what on earth has he been learning about?