Have you ever tried to find a book on Christian parenting? There are dozens of great ones on the market. Have you asked a parent – who raised children who are faithful, productive Christians as adults – what they did? Or did you attend one of our Christian parenting seminars filled with ideas and tips?
Many of those sources may have listed a few characteristics of a successful Christin parent. Maybe they emphasized love, patience or godliness. There are three qualities though that are often implied in Christian parenting advice, but rarely stated plainly enough for most people to understand their true importance.
Continue reading The Key Christian Parenting Qualities We Often Miss
Tantrums, hysterical crying, stomping feet – as a parent, you are probably familiar with the strong emotions children often have – and the many ways they can be expressed.
I once witnessed a group of adults telling some teens news they thought was great. From an adult perspective, it was wonderfully exciting news. As the news was shared, I watched as the teens clapped. They probably assumed it was expected, as the adults were cheering. The looks in most of their eyes told a much different story. The news made them uneasy and they doubted that it would indeed be positive for them personally. Yet, the adults around them missed the signals and continued chattering about how exciting it was.
There was an interesting article in the New York Post this weekend. The thrust of the article was that parents aren’t doing anything positive by occasionally having lunch with their kids at school. Read closely though, and you will notice the main “source” is someone who seems to resent her child constantly bugging her to come have lunch at school with him or her.
Nothing bothers me more as a parent than to hear an adult encourage kids to “be sassy”. As if this is a trait to be admired! Many adults find disrespectful talk hysterically funny – especially from the mouths of young children. Of course, laughter just encourages the “sassy” child to continue speaking disrespectfully in hopes of getting more “positive” attention.