Helping Kids Understand the Bible

Helping Kids Understand the Bible - Parenting Like HannahHow many hours do you think you have spent reading to your child? How many library books have you had in your house? How much time have you spent listening to your child practice reading with materials sent from school? How many conversations have you had with your child’s school teachers over the years about reading levels, comprehension and more?

“Good” parents spend lots of time and money helping their children learn to read and understand secular material. We know being able to read well can affect everything from grades to what they end up doing for a living as adults. Yet somehow, we just assume our kids will automatically know how to read and understand the Bible without much, if any, help from us.

Unfortunately, many kids struggle with their first attempts at Bible reading. Often, they become so discouraged they don’t attempt reading the Bible on their own again for many years – if ever. In fact, you may have had that experience yourself and still shudder a bit at the idea of reading the Bible without a preacher or Bible class teacher by your side helping you understand it.

It doesn’t need to be that way for your children though. There are some simple things you can do to help your kids actually feel comfortable reading the Bible and understanding what they read (as much as any human can!).

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Christian Moms and a Passion for Christ

Christian Moms and a Passion For Christ - Parenting Like HannahPerhaps you don’t really struggle with the idea of doing the parenting suggestions you find here, but still don’t feel motivated to put them into practice. Or perhaps you regularly do some of the things suggested, but more from a secular perspective. Or maybe you even try to talk about God with your kids, but your heart isn’t in it. The issue may not be Christian parenting as much as it is that you may have lost your personal passion for following Christ.

It happens to all of us I think from time to time. Whether your life has been so crazy you don’t have time to think, your kids have been so sick you haven’t attended a worship service in a month or you are so tired you fall asleep every time you try to pray – the passion for Christ is just gone.

Oh you still believe in him, worship him and want to follow him, but you just can’t muster the energy to share your faith on a daily basis with your kids. You see that’s what Christian parenting really boils down to…a constant 24/7 faith sharing exercise (or discipling if you prefer)- by direct teaching, coaching, setting examples, giving opportunities to practice godly concepts and more. Any professional teacher will tell you, when you have lost your passion for teaching your subject, you aren’t effective or happy.

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Kids, Anger and God

Kids, Anger and God - Parenting Like HannahAnger seems to be a popular emotion with young people. Thankfully, God understands the actual emotion of anger is something our body does in response to certain triggers. He does, however, command us to be slow to anger (James 1:19-20), not hold on to our anger (Ephesians 4:26-27), not to sin in our anger (Ephesians 4:26-27) and not to give full vent to our anger (Proverbs 29:11).

So what do you do if you have a child who seems to anger easily? Even though the tendency may be a part of his/her personality, you still need to work with him/her on how to better control the impulse to get angry and especially how to act in godly ways when angry. There are probably plenty of things you can do, but here are some of the first things you need to think about when helping a child who seems to be angry all of the time:

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Handling Sibling Conflict

Handling Sibling Conflict - Parenting Like HannahSibling conflict is a constant issue in many homes. Let’s face it. Living with anyone can get on your nerves at times. Make the people living together young people whose brains aren’t fully developed, who are still being taught how to treat others in godly ways and who may have to share a room, bathroom or other close quarters, and well….you probably already know what happens.

What never ceases to amaze me are the “parenting experts” who continue to advise parents to let kids in conflict “work it out for themselves”. So how do young children resolve conflict “naturally”. I’m sure you remember from your own childhood attempts plenty of screaming, name calling and probably a good punch or two. Not exactly godly conflict resolution skills! (Not to mention, that is most likely why we have a world full of people who act like four year olds when they are in conflict with someone!)

Godly conflict management skills have to be taught and practiced. You as the parent, will have to do the teaching. I am sure your kids will make sure they get a lot of practice! So how do you teach your kids these skills, when you may struggle with conflict resolution yourself? I am sure if you research, you can find a variety of techniques. Most though seem to flow through a process like this:

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What Great Violinists Can Teach You About Parenting

What Great Violinists Can Teach You About Parenting - Parenting Like HannahThe violin was my primary instrument for several years. One of my teachers told me the secret to being a great violinist. “Everyone thinks the great violinists never make a mistake. They actually make plenty of mistakes. The difference between a good violinist and a great violinist is this: The great ones are paying attention and assessing each note as it is made. They make the necessary adjustments so quickly no one even notices the original mistake.”

Parenting, especially Christian parenting is as tough as learning to play an incredibly difficult instrument like the violin. It’s easy to get discouraged when you see a “perfect” parent who seems to know how to parent flawlessly. The secret is the “perfect” parent is no more perfect than any other parent.

The secret to being a “perfect” parent is the willingness to assess your parenting choices, skills and results constantly as you go through the day. Then those same parents take that assessment and make any necessary adjustments almost immediately. They don’t parent blindly, not assessing their results until their child ends up in serious trouble. They don’t notice a problem and then wait days, weeks, months or years to make corrections. They are aware, in the moment, constantly assessing and adjusting their parenting.

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