Character Training – Page 79 – Parenting Like Hannah

8 Tips for Raising Kids Who Make Wise Decisions

8 Tips for Teaching Kids to Make Wise Decisions - Parenting Like Hannah Everywhere you turn, it seems some parenting expert is telling us children and teens are basically incapable of making wise decisions. Often they talk about an under-developed pre-frontal cortex or some other “science” to back their theories. What’s interesting to me is that I know plenty of teens and young adults who regularly make wise decisions – my own daughter included. In fact, a quick look at the history of our own country will show teens and young adults were making decisions (and often very mature ones) at much younger ages than do young people today.

So what’s the difference? I have no scientific data to back my theory, but I believe the pre-frontal cortex is like the rest of the brain. It can be trained to do more than it currently does. You don’t refuse to teach your kids to read, because they weren’t born knowing how to read. Yes, different children are capable of learning to read at different ages and speeds, but there are many educators who have shown most kids can actually learn to read earlier than they currently do.

I believe the same theories apply to the part of the brain that helps us make wise decisions. Unless it is damaged, that area can be stimulated and learn wise decision making much earlier than we currently expect of many of our young people. But just like most kids must be taught how to read, most must be actively taught how to make wise – and in our case godly – decisions.

So what can you do to help your kids learn to make wiser decisions at a younger age than many of their peers? Every child is different, but here are some things that should help almost any child begin learning how to make wiser choices:

Continue reading 8 Tips for Raising Kids Who Make Wise Decisions

Using Books for Family Devotionals

Using Books for Family Devotionals - Parenting Like Hannah I am a huge fan of family devotionals. To me, it’s not the formality of it that’s important, but rather the subtle and not so subtle messages having regular family devotionals give to your kids. If you didn’t grow up having devotionals in your home, you may be a bit intimated by the idea. Perhaps you feel you don’t know enough yourself to be teaching your kids about the Bible. I am confident you can do it, but I totally understand wanting the reassurance a family devotional book can give.

Since I am always on the lookout for resources to help you on your Christian parenting journey, I was excited when given the opportunity to review a new book of family devotionals. Kingdom Family Devotional by Tony and Jonathan Evans has a format that I really appreciate. Not only does it contain enough devotionals to last an entire year, but each week has a theme and within each week there is a devotional for five different days.

I love the idea that each week your family can focus on one topic. So for example, one week your family can focus on self-control and another week spend the week reflecting on what it looks like to be a godly woman or a godly man. It encourages the readers to spend time outside of the actual family devotional time talking about and thinking about the topic for the week. I would think it could be a great motivator for parents to take advantage of the teachable moments that week a little more intentionally.

Continue reading Using Books for Family Devotionals

Fun Activity to Teach Your Kids the Importance of Spiritual Disciplines

Fun Activity to Teach Kids the Importance of teh Spiritual Disciplines - Parenting Like Hannah A little sad isn’t it? I couldn’t find a parsley plant, so I decided to grow my own from seed. After weeks, this is what I have. I’m thinking at this point I could grow a redwood tree faster. As I thought about this experience though, I realized it makes a good practical activity for your kids.

Find some seeds of a plant your children would enjoy. It can be flowers or food, just something that makes them excited about what the plant will eventually produce. You can get a cheap pot and use dirt from your yard. I splurged a bit and used the “good” dirt you can purchase at gardening stores.

As you plant the seeds, tell them the parable of the soils in Luke 8:4-21 (if you are truly ambitious, you can get four pots and try to reproduce the soils of the parable). Talk about how at this point in their lives their faith is like the seeds you are planting. Their hearts are the soil. Even though this parable doesn’t go into these details, I think it is very biblical to talk about everything the plants need to grow. Light, moisture and nutrients can be compared to things that will help them grow spiritually.

If they neglect to water the seeds or you have cloudy weather for several days, your kids may see what happens when plants are deprived of what they need to grow. Help them understand when they don’t read the Bible, pray, fellowship with Christians, etc. their faith will suffer just like the seeds. Sometimes an object lesson is one that will stay with your kids long after it is over.

The Most Important Thing to Teach Your Children About Modesty

The Most Important Thing to Teach Your Kids About Modesty - Parenting Like Hannah — Colonial Laundry

“Play not the Peacock, looking everywhere about you to see if you be well deck’t.” Unless you are a huge history fan, you probably didn’t know George Washington had a list of rules to live by that he shared with others. (This was rule #54!) He was known for his humility or modesty and thought it was an important quality of well bred people.

In modern society, modesty has come to mean how much of the naked body a female exposes to the world. I remember vividly having to measure the distance between the bottom of my shorts and my knees in order to attend summer Bible camp. While we don’t want our kids to have clothing that exposes private areas, I always bristled at the idea that it was somehow my fault if a man lusted after me. I had been in urban areas enough times to have men catcall in the middle of winter when everything was covered but my eyes. I wasn’t convinced an extra inch of covered leg would matter to those men.

Continue reading The Most Important Thing to Teach Your Children About Modesty