Author: 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.

Teaching Kids to Make Smart Decisions

Ever take a small child with his birthday cash to a dollar store? Either the child goes crazy and piles more in the basket than he can afford or he takes an agonizingly long time to pick out the one perfect item. Silently, you are wondering how this child will ever pick the right college or spouse with his current decision making skills.

As our children mature, we tend to forget our concerns. Most of the time our children make pretty good decisions and once in a while they will make a really poor one. Either way, we let them work through it with little formal instruction on the steps for making a good decision.

Maybe you struggle with decision making yourself. If you are like me, the popular pro/con list rarely works. Either we are so swayed, we can only see one side or we are so analytical, both sides come out evenly. Praying helps, but God rarely places a billboard on our street with specific point by point plans for us.

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The Myth of the Helicopter Parent

Everywhere you turn, parents are being criticized for hovering over their children. If you believe the media hype, every mother in America is sitting two feet away from her child at all times, ready to make everything perfect. A trip to a local playground or middle school, however, will reveal the reality of modern parenting.

Here is the ugly truth. Many parents are absolutely content to focus on their personal happiness and allowing their children to basically raise themselves.

I have watched countless parents fly through the mall with tiny two and three year olds running as hard as they can (ten feet behind the parent), while the parent is absolutely oblivious to the fact their child could have been lost in the crowd or grabbed by a stranger. I have seen parents give their children whatever they want in an effort to keep them quiet.

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Creative Ways for Kids to Express Gratitude

Looking for creative ways for your children to express their gratitude to others? Showing gratitude is a great way for us to show others God’s love and ours. Your children can verbalize their appreciation or write a note, but sometimes it’s fun to get a little creative when you thank someone.

The next time your children want to show someone their appreciation, try having fun with one of these ideas:

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Kids, Thank You Notes, and God

After “dada” and “mama”, my daughter’s first two words were “peas” and “tanks”. We believed it was important to teach our daughter to be polite, considerate and appreciative as early as we possibly could. Fast forward sixteen years later and our daughter has become the polite, considerate, gracious young woman we hoped to raise. She will fight to the bitter end for God and what she believes is right, but her spirit is gracious.

Why was it so important to us that she be taught to be grateful? The Bible mentions the word “thanks” dozens of times. Almost all of them have the word “give” before it, as in “give thanks.” It only makes sense God as the Creator, would want His creation to be grateful. Not only for being created, but also for all of the other many blessings God provides for us on a regular basis.

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Fun Ways to Raise a Considerate Child

Have you ever attempted to go through a store door with your arms overflowing with a baby, your diaper bag and several shopping parcels, only to have the person in front of you let the door shut in your face? Ever been sick and tried to sleep when suddenly it sounds like the circus has come to your living room?

Putting someone else’s interests before your own is not just good manners, it is consideration. In fact the Apostle Paul writes, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather in humility, value others above yourself.” (Philippians 2:3 NIV)

Being considerate of others is tough. Satan makes sure we understand how annoying it will be to put the interests of the other person before our own. And the payback is minimal at best (Satan would continue.). There are no “Considerate Person of the Year” awards. People will rarely jump up and down because you were considerate. There are no ticker tape parades for considerate people.

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