Always trust your children to God's care.
We need to be trusting (and doing lots of praying) for God to equipt us for the trials of child raising....it's a big job and we can't do it successfully on our own. Teach our kids, by example, to trust in God and his provision in every situation.
Bring them to church.Not just bring them, but make sure your there every time the doors are open....CONSISTANTLY, on time, and joyfully! Get them involved in the church - don't just attend. Let your kids see you being involved, going after the ministry whole -heartedly, and giving to God's family. Our kids are watching us so let's be the example that God intends us to be for them.
Challenge them to high goals.I hate the saying "kids will be kids" because I believe that kids will be what we teach them to be. So we should always expect the best in every situation as we encourage them to excell to reach higher goals.
Delight in their achievements.Praising our kids is just as important as disciplin. We should smother them with affection when the situation calls for it. Nothing should go unoticed. They look to you for approval and if they don't get it from you then they will seek it out elsewhere and we know that the world doesn't have the same intentions for our children as we do.
Exalt the Lord in their presence.It is crucial for our children to see us praising, worshiping, and living for the Lord. Notjust by words but by our actions in our every day life.
Frown on evil.Never condone or make light of a situation that could be used as a learning experience. In every circumstance we should be taking the time to teach our children. Their minds are always at work as we should always be at work to mold those impretionable minds in the right direction. Every thing has a cause and effect; every television show, every song, every conversation we may overhear from a passerby ect. Be sure that they know your disapproval and use God's word to back it up.
Give them love.
Well that's stateing the obvious now isn't it. In 1 Corinthians 13 Jesus explains to us what love is and he finishes off the chapter by saying this: And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. In Mathew 22:36 when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was he replied (in a nutshell) to love God and Love others. Our children will define love by the way we, as parents, show it to them and to each other. So set the bar high.
Hear their problems.
We need to be available for our kids. This is just one reason why I believe that the woman should stay home. It's difficult to be involved in our kids lives, to the degree that is really needed, when we are busy with careers. We need to be completely undestracted when our children need guidance in an issue that life has brought their way. We are responisble to teach them the Biblicaly based decision makeing skills that they will need as we teach them to lay their burdens at Jesus feet.
Ignore not their childish fears.
In Mathew 18:13 Jesus tells us that unless we change and become like little children that we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. So we need to be asking ourselves what little children are like. They are inquisative, zealous, resiliant, obedient (if you've been doing your job), they believe what we tell them, they are afraid of the unknown, they rely and depend on their parents, they are constantly learning, and they aim to please and beg for our attention. We should encourage this in our children. We should teach them to cast their fears on the Lord. Let them be meek because the meek will inheret the Earth.
Joyfully accept their apologies.And teach them to apoligize.
Teach them to forgive by forgiving them and then let it go. Forgiving means to forget. Encourage honest apologies. I don't believe a child scournfully spouting an "Im sorry" as they roll their eyes is a sincere apology. They need some time and guidance to understand that the concept of apologies and forgiveness go hand and hand. Use the situation as a teaching moment about how our Heavenly Father has forgiven us and how we should ask for forgiveness. The Bible tells us that if we don't forgive then our heavenly father will not forgive us.
Keep their confidence.
A childs confidence in anything is a direct result of the parents confidence in their child. It is important that no stone go unturned when we are encouraging our children. They need our constant approval and disapproval. Constantly teaching them the difference between right and wrong as we build them up to be able to eventualy make the right decisions on their own. Give them confidence by teaching them of a life built on solid ground by putting our trust in God and relying in him. Give them a firm foundation to build on and be there patting them on the back all the while.
Live a good example before them.What have I been saying? Then it must be pretty important, right? It is. Probabably the most important aspect of raising our children. Never tell your children "do as I say and not as I do". How can you expect your kids to be anything more (or less for that matter) than the example that you set for them. They are what we teach them to be and I believe that the best method of teaching is to give an example.
Make them your friends.
To an extent, but always keep the common bond between parent and child. Children need sturdy, reliable, consistant gaurdians much more so than friends. You can laugh with them, play with them, converse with them just as their peers will do, but always remember that you are the parent and you can never be on the same level as your child and vise-versa.
Never ignore their endless questions.
And the questions are endless! You want your child to feel as if they can come to you for anything. To ask you any question and to trust you for an honest, reliable answer. At the same time it's also very important that you teach your child to think for themselves. Encourage your childs interest for more knowledge but help them to learn of ways to retrieve some of that knowledge on their own. Teach them to use recources such as a dictionary, encyclopedia, the internet, or use the opportunity to do some teaching about God's word. Don't be openly frustrated from the monotony, but yet direct your childs inquiries into developing problem solving skills, and a healthy thought pattern.
Open your heart to their love.
I don't even know at what age a child is when they truly understand the meaning of love. I don't even think that most adults understand the meaning of love, but it is a natural human instinct to form a bond or relationship that we have named love. I believe that children, even though they may not understand it, show obvious signs of love. You just have to be intuitive to their language. A child may not know the meaning of "I love you", but they show you with every smile pointed in your direction, every accomplishment that is presented for your approval, every trick they preform just for you, every little piece of art work, every flower picked in your honor, every kiss and hug, every time they fall down and look for you to pick them up, they are saying "I love you".
Pray for them by name.
Not just pray for them but pray with them. Jesus said to pray without ceasing and that's exactly what we should be teaching our kids. And how do we teach them? By doing it and letting them see us and involving them in it. Prayer is our communication with God and it is a learned habit. A family that prays together, stays together.
Quicken your interest in their spirituality.
It is our responsibility to guide our children spiritualy as well as physically and mentally. Our spiritual progression is the only thing that we will keep for eternity so it should be placed at the top of our priority list. There are so many distractions that can pull us away from our focus, but our children should constantly know and understand what life is for. To serve God and to serve others. To tell as many as we can about the truth and to live that truth as an example. To do the Lords work, raise our family in his ways, be transformed into what he has in store for us and to ultimatly go to our eternal home with our King....and take as many as we can in the process. We should keep God's kingdom above all other concerns in our life and our children should be taught to do the same.
Remember their needs.
A child relies in their parents for everything. We are the "need meeter" and thats how they percieve love. They know that we love them because they are secure, comfortable, and taken care of. We meet our childrens needs as God meets our needs. It is also important to remember what needs are crucial and which needs are not necessary. It is far better to sacrifice wordly attributes and to gain spiritual fufillment.
Show them the way of salvation.
The most important job that parents have. To raise them up in truth, righteousness, and servitude. To base our everyday life on living for God. We already discussed that the World doesn't have the same intentions for our kids as we have for them so we must equipt them for a successful Christian life.
Teach them to work.
Oh, so important. God designed our bodies to work and rightly so. Work is good for us. It usually is good exercise, it teaches us valuable traits like responsibilty, punctuality, serivitude, humility, ownership, and the list goes on. Don't feel bad for making your kids do something, it's good for them and the leason in having chores is priceless.Understand they are still young.
Kids need constant direction. They are the clay and we are the artist - so to speak. As we mold them we must remember that they are still in the making. We must more importantly remember that they will never be perfect, but the desire to continualy strive for perfection must be present.
Verify your statements.The Bible says to keep your answers to yes and no. That means to keep it simple. We should direct our children with simplicity, honesty, and a glad heart. Give clear directions, expectations and consequents accordingly. Never use sarcasm. That's a habit that you don't want your children to pick up. Sarcasm is usually hurtful, and disrespectful. We are trying to teach our kids to be respectful and loving.....quite the opposite. Luke 6:45 says that out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. That means that what is in your heart will eventually be professed by your mouth. And Mathew 7:17 says
Wean them from bad company.
We should be watching our kids like a hawk. Especially this day in socioty. 1 Peter 5:8 states: Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. That someone means our children included. This world will corrupt them the second that we let them out of our sight. We should know who, when, where, why, what for, and all the in between. We should know our childrens friends, their friends parents, lifestyle, religion, marital status, and blood type if necessary....ok, ok, we probably won't need the blood type, but you get how serious the situation is here. We should make it a habit to show up unexpectadly, watch from a distance on ocassion, know every detail and be involved.
eXpect them to obey.
Consistancy is the key here, folks. When something is wrong once then it should be wrong the next time and dealt with accordingly. We should expect no less from them at any given time. Often times it isn't convenient and seems to be a punishment for everyone, but it's your job. They must be taught obedience. God expects it from us and we should expect it from them.
Yearn for God's best for them.
And we know that God only has the best for his children.
Zealously guide them in Bible truth.
Well thats hitting the nail on the head. I've said it before and I will say it again: lead by example. The Bible is a tool rich with history, guidlines, encouregment, answers, and truths to base a spiritually sound life on. Our kids should be well fimiliar with this rescource by seeing us refer to it in every situation.
In conclusion, I don't presume to know all about raising kids (After all, I've only just begun my journey as a parent), but I do presume to know God's word and that's
all I need to know.
