Every parent wants to parent their children well, but each one of us is concerned that we actually aren’t doing it right. We stress over what we could change or do differently and lose sight of the simplicity behind this parenting journey. Parenting isn’t easy by any means, but we parents make it much harder than it has to be.
There really are no secrets to parenting well, in fact you can find all of the answers to your parenting questions in the Bible. Often we go looking for answers from famous authors, encouraging bloggers and best friends, but while they often have great ideas, they aren’t who we should be looking to for the answers to parenting well.
The most difficult times to parent well are the moments when you’re in the thick of parenting and you just need to know what God wants you to do in that moment. You don’t have time to pull out your Bible (though sometimes you should take the time!), but you want to know that what you’re about to do would be seen as parenting well.
Thankfully there are a few simple steps that we can follow to ensure that we parent well, even when we’re in the midst of a difficult parenting moment. If we would take time to memorize and remind ourselves of these steps often, we’ll find that our parenting struggles will be less frequent and stressful.
- Pray
Prayer can move mountains! Truly, if we would remember all of the miracles that have occurred in our lifetime and throughout history, we would know that prayer needs to be the first step we take to parent our children well. By taking a moment to pray silently (or with our children), we are teaching our children that though this moment is more than we can handle, we know who to go to when we need help and strength to carry on!
- Love
Our children need to know that no matter what is going on, that we love them. They need to understand that their behavior, attitude or choices do not change our love for them. We need to ensure that our love is exhibited in the midst of difficult, sorrow, joy and pain. It is especially important that in the midst of difficulty or disappointment that we speak the truth to our children in love.
- Discipline
Just as God disciplines us as parents and adults, we must discipline our children. It is essential that our children learn that there are consequences (or blessings!) based on our behavior. We cannot simply choose not to discipline our children because we are weary or tired of dealing with the same thing over and over again. Our children need to learn while in the safety and security of our home that making the same decision or choices repeatedly will not change the outcome.
I know that there are countless times in my day when I need to remember these 3 simple steps to parent my children well. All too often I over think things or just fail to address the issues in our days because I’m too tired or busy to parent well. It is my hope and prayer that by reminding you of these simple truths that I too will continue to make the decision to parent well.
How do you ensure that you are making the choice to parent your children well?
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