Christian Character Traits for Kids

Christian Character Traits for Kids - Parenting Like Hannah
Starting Your Kids on the Right Path is Crucial

Christian parents often ask, “What are the character traits I should teach my children?” Even if you reduce your research to just the New Testament, the options can seem overwhelming. As with anything you attempt to teach your children, it is important not to try and work on too many things too deeply at one time. If your children are toddlers, it is a great time to start introducing basic ideas in simple statements. If you have been working with older children, but feel there are some gaps, you may want to focus on correcting and changing one or two bad habits or attitudes at a time.

So what areas should be your primary focus? I am sure you can find lots of different lists, but I believe these are some of the foundational character traits your child must possess in order to be the Christian God wants them to be:

  • Obedience – As politically incorrect as the idea of obedience may be today, it is absolutely essential your child can obey. Being a Christian revolves around our obedience to God. (Yes, I know we can’t earn our way to heaven, but God commands our obedience.) There are actually two types of obedience you need to teach your child. First, whenever possible, teach your child the “why’s” behind God’s commands and yours. Teach them godly commands protect us from negative consequences and often provide some sort of blessing (If nothing else the blessing of a lack of negative consequences in your life.). Perhaps the most important type of obedience your child must learn to embrace is immediate, unquestioning obedience. There are times when your child must obey God and/or you immediately without questioning and perhaps without ever really understanding why the command is given. If your child begins to dart in front of a car, immediate obedience to your command to stop can save his life. If you do not teach your child to obey you and ultimately God as a child, his likelihood of obeying God in adulthood are dramatically reduced.

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“Church Work” for Moms

"Church Work" for Moms - Parenting Like Hannah
Church Mom Guilt Isn’t New

“I feel terrible I can’t do more at Church. With three little ones under the age of five, it just seems like someone is always sick or sleeping. Maybe when they get in school I can serve.” Sound familiar? If you are a Christian mom of even one child, you have probably either said something similar or heard one or more of your friends say it. Moms of young children everywhere are feeling guilty for their inability to serve in various capacities at Church.

With only minimal apologies to all of those searching for volunteers at churches around the world, I say ban the guilt! Sorta. If you are discipling your children in how to live an impactful, Christian life – that, my sisters, is your full-time ministry! Anything you are able to do to help other ministries is icing on the cake in my book.

Notice though, the “if”. Unfortunately, many Christian moms have abdicated their role (as one who disciples their children for God) to others. Perhaps you assume an hour or two a week in church or Bible classes, will adequately disciple your children. Maybe you are hoping your church employs an awesome youth minister in your child’s teen years. Surely, he will disciple your child. Maybe you’ve even dug deeply into your pockets and spend thousands of dollars a year  on a private Christian school. For that kind of money and with eight or more hours of your child’s day, you reason, she ought to be properly discipled!

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Fun, Free Christian Learning Activities for Kids (You Can Do at Home)

Fun, Free Christian Learning Activities for Kids- Parenting Like HannahWhen my daughter was younger, I loved when she would have those long vacations from school. We would sleep in a bit and have lots of adventures. Inevitably though, at some point the dreaded words “I’m bored” were uttered. Of course, the go-to parental response is to offer all sorts of fun chores. If you find the boredoms are hitting your home daily though, you may want to be a little more intentional about providing activities for your children.

The good news is you can keep your children occupied while reinforcing Bible lessons and principles and having them practice academic concepts. In fact, our new partnering website Teach One Reach One is regularly adding free activity ideas for you to use. Even though these activities were designed to be used in Bible classrooms and faith based tutoring programs, they can easily be adapted to use with your own children at home.

So look around the website and find some activities your children might like. Grab the needed materials and enjoy the activities with them. When you do things together, you create precious memories your children will carry with them for the rest of their lives. After you have tried your activities, I would love to hear from you. Send me photos and tell me what your kids enjoyed and what was a challenge. You will help us refine our resources and we may even feature your photos on our website (with your permission of course.).

Is Your Family Surviving or Thriving?

Is Your Family Surviving or Thriving - Parenting Like HannahLet’s be honest. There are times when caffeine can be a mother’s best friend. Inevitably, the night you have to stay up all night with a sick child ends the same morning your other child has to be at an early morning practice – and you are responsible for bringing breakfast. That cup of tea or coffee (or chocolate bar) might get you through a day like that, but you can barely survive if the routine continues that way for days and weeks on end. To reach your “mom potential” and truly thrive, you have got to get a good night’s sleep on a semi-regular basis.

I am one of those optimists who firmly believes God wants His people to thrive. By thriving, I don’t necessarily mean you are wealthy or everything goes perfectly as you amble through life. To me there is a godly thriving that is so much more than that. It is the ability to take the gifts, tools and opportunities God gives you and your family and use them to glorify God and spread His Kingdom. This lifestyle is full of service , worship and faith sharing. Most importantly, it is a life full of meaning and purpose.

If your family rarely opens a Bible, hardly mentions God during the week, prays only at meals and can’t remember the last time you served someone or shared your faith, you may be in survival mode. Honestly, all of us have been and will be in pure survival mode at some point (most likely points) while we are raising our children. The very nature of having little ones with questionable immune systems and school, guarantees that. Those survival periods can even last for months and years depending on your circumstances. For most of us though, there will be breaks, many of them quite long when we could switch our families into “thrive”.

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Teaching Kids the “Why’s” of the Bible

Teaching Kids the "Why's" of the Bible - Parenting Like HannahIf you are the parent of a young child, the word most often uttered by your child is quite possibly “Why?” Children are naturally curious. They are hardwired to ask questions, because the answers help them learn more about the world around them than they can easily discover with their senses.

For some reason though, a lot of Christians don’t like “Why?” questions. They are scared they may not have the right answer or the answer may only be held by God. There is a fear allowing children to ask “Why?” may lead them to doubt the very existence of God. I challenge you though to let “Why?” be your friend as you teach your children about God’s Words.

The twist is you are asking “Why?”  We often get so caught up in making sure kids and teens understand the action, we forget to help them examine why God put that information in the Bible. As a result, we produce young adults who can quote scripture and tell lots of great stories from history, but have no earthly idea what they believe or why they believe it.

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