First Things First for Moms

 

First Things First for Moms- Parenting Like Hannah
Today I will clean

This post is going to be short, because I am going to follow my own advice! Sometimes we (as moms) just need to drop everything and focus on creating memories with our kids. Then we need to give ourselves some hours to recover and clean up the mess memories tend to make.

My husband and I were talking with a couple yesterday who are grandparents. As we began to discuss discipline and relationships with our children, we both agreed the best way to avoid rebellion is to establish firm consistent limits with a strong underlying, loving relationship. If your children know you love and like them more than words can express, they will respond much better to any correction you give them.

The best way to show children you love them dearly is to spend a lot of quality time with them. Yes, it takes both quantity and quality of time to create a great relationship with your kids. Take the time to create memories of you doing fun things with them. They don’t have to be fancy or expensive. These memory times just need to involve you and your child doing things together you both enjoy and having meaningful talks while you are planning or executing the activity. (Let’s be honest. Not much quality dialogue is coming from me if I am rock climbing!)

Sometimes these memory makers will wear you out and create a mess. This weekend we celebrated our daughter’s high school graduation with a party for all of our friends, neighbors and relatives. We had a great time eating faux California food at our Malibu “Thanks for Helping Us Raise Our Child” Graduation “Beach” Party. Then yesterday it was Senior Day at our Church with more activities. As you can see my house is still a wreck this morning, as yesterday I came home and collapsed on the couch with my daughter as she read her cards and reflected on the weekend.

Today I will clean. Tomorrow I will get back to “life”, but I wouldn’t trade the memories of this weekend for any business or personal “success” I may or may not have experienced had I spent the time focused on business instead of my daughter. So take time to drop everything and create memories with your child. I promise it is something you will never regret. After all, “tomorrow is another day.”

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Thereasa Winnett

Thereasa Winnett is the founder of Teach One Reach One and blogger at Parenting Like Hannah. She holds a BA in education from the College of William and Mary. She has served in all areas of ministry to children and teens for more than thirty years and regularly leads workshops for ministries and churches. She has conducted numerous workshops, including sessions at Points of Light’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service, the National Urban Ministry Conference, Pepperdine Bible Lectures, and Lipscomb’s Summer Celebration. Thereasa lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband Greg, where she enjoys reading, knitting, traveling and cooking.

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