Do Your Kids Understand the Power of Social Media?

Do Your Kids Understand the Power of Social Media? - Parenting Like HannahYou’ve probably seen many articles about kids and social media. Maybe you are worried about even allowing your children access. Or perhaps you think it’s overblown hype that won’t touch your kids because they are different from others their age.

Your teens may want to use social media as a platform for the things that are important to them. Yet, few have adult led conversations about the positive ways they can use social media to serve others and share their faith.

If your teen is getting ready to join social media or has been on it for several years, it’s great to have a family discussion about the many ways they can use their social media platform for God’s glory. It’s also important though to help them think through the ways people often think they are making a positive difference, but may actually be making things worse or drive people away from their interest in God and Christianity.

There are a lot of things you can discuss, but these can help get the conversation started.

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Fun Communication and Leadership Activity for Kids

Fun Communication and Leadership Activity for Kids - Parenting Like HannahHave you ever had a nasty boss? Or a mean neighbor? If so, then you know what it is like to try and communicate with or be led by someone who has poor, if not ungodly, communication skills.

As Christians, we should all think of ourselves as leaders. Not in an egotistical – I get to be the boss of you – sort of way. Rather, we should be leaders to help others find God, learn what He wants them to do or help other Christians be more like Him. Often though, when Christians try to lead in these areas, their poor communication skills can do more harm than good.

So why not teach your kids healthy, godly communication skills before they can develop bad habits that hurt others? There’s a fun activity you can do to help them begin thinking about the best ways to lead with our words.

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Fun Family Taming the Tongue Challenge

Fun Family Taming the Tongue Challenge - Parenting Like HannahHave you ever heard words coming out of your mouth that didn’t sound like you? Most likely, you had been around someone who constantly used the same phrase or maybe they used curse words in every sentence. One day those words start coming out of your mouth.

That is often how ungodly speech patterns begin. Either we are constantly around someone who has them or we just get lazy about monitoring our speech.

Your kids may also pick up bad habits from ignorance –  repeating friends, not realizing what they are actually saying. Or maybe they look up to someone famous or listen to the music of someone who degrades others with their speech.

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Helping Your Kids Be Who God Created Them To Be

Helping Your Kids Be Who God Created Them To Be - Parenting Like HannahOne of the saddest things to watch is a parent trying to force one of their kids to have a career or participate in an activity for which it is obvious their child has no gift or interest. The dynamic not only makes the child miserable, but puts an unnecessary strain on their relationship. If pushed too long and too far, the strain can often cause irreparable damage, as either the child rebels in the opposite direction or submits to a lifetime of what they believe is pure misery.

God creates each person as an individual. Your children may have some characteristics from you, some from your spouse and some from some distant relative none of you have ever even met.

God also gives each of us one or more gifts He knows we will need to serve Him in the opportunities He will give us during our lifetime. One or more of your kids may have a gift that appears uniquely unlike any other given to others in your family.

God also knows each of your children will have experiences and opportunities that the rest of your family will not have. Some of these may be good and others not so much, but each will be a part of whom that child becomes.

So how can you avoid forcing your child into following your life plan instead of becoming who God created him or her to be? First let’s talk about what shouldn’t be in anyone’s life plan if they are truly trying to become who God created them to be.

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Fun Ways to Help Kids Become Great Listeners

Fun Ways to Help Kids Become Great Listeners - Parenting Like HannahHave you ever tried to tell someone something very important to you, only to realize they haven’t really paid attention to anything you have said? It’s incredibly frustrating, and causes many of us to avoid sharing with that person again in the future.

Or have you asked your kids to do something and realized they said, “Sure!” without even hearing what you actually asked? When it happens multiple times a day, it can make even the calmest parent want to scream.

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