PARENTING
Parenting is never an easy
game. It can seem like you're getting nothing right at times but don't loose faith, your children need you to remain focussed and firm. Even in the times of their tantrums and outburst they are counting on you to remain the parent and in control.
- Are you a parent who
gives to much or even too little?
- Do you feel as though you've lost touch with your children?
- Perhaps your children don't think you understand them or their needs any more?
- Are you struggling to bring up your children with good Christian morals?
- Do you have daily battles as the attractions and distractions of the world tempt your children to stray?
So if the answers are yes, don't panic, become overcome with emotions or be anxious for nothing, because yes I know
parenting is no walk in the park, especially when the world promotes and encourages the opposite of what you stand for or want for your
children.
I am a mother of three and every day I face the battles of all of the above.
But I want to share somethings with you that may help you see that the problem is not you but the environment. Then I want to close with the final word from God.
The world is like a vacum and if we allow it our children will become conditioned by the fashions and trends of the world. Will this help them? will this help you? Absolutely not we will be setting them up to fail. Today's fashions and
mixed messages along with the worlds ideologies on how young people, women and men should live today are giving today's generation all the wrong massages.
Our children and young people are becoming easily attracted to things that seem easy, fun, money making or a sure guarantee to secure popularity and or fame. But it's costing them more than they realise, It's costing them their lives.
With celebrities like
Lady Gaga,
Lindsay
Lohan,
Amy Winehouse,
Madonna and
Rhianna as well as many more promoting sex, drugs mis-use, homosexuality and many more harmful behaviours and habits our young girls and boys are being taught that they are allowed to be irresponsible and mistreat others and themselves. They dress and behave in a manner to imitate those who they see on TV or admire as well as strive to become like.
Our young women believe that these trends and behaviours
justify their wants or needs to wear revealing clothing and think drinking, smoking and taking drugs and slimming down to dangerous size zero's are all part of a life style called growing up and getting onto the next level of life. They see their lives as one big party or a game.
But the
realities are that life is not a game and you don't get to rewind and erase the mistakes or bad choices that we make.
The harsh reality is that there will be consequences for every action done and every decision made and our children and young people need to realise the serious nature of that.
As a parent it is your job to set and keep
boundaries in place. The moment those boundaries are broken or tested it is your job to reinforce them back in place, this will show your children that you mean business. If you do not make it clear that such behaviours will not be accepted your children will keep pushing and pushing until they get full control and your parenting control and responsibility will be nothing more to them than a joke. It is important that you remain in control. Now control does not mean to abuse or become unfare and unjust with your parenting, no, control means that you set the guidelines in the home and then allow your children to grow and function within them without causing them to become isolated from you or friends.
It's not everything that their friends or other family members do that they should be doing or that is
acceptable to you, but how you get that across is by talking to them, not shouting and being dominating. It's important that you talk to your children always with respect and understanding. Understand what it must be like for them growing up in a world today where everything is thrown at them and made very accessible. Remind yourself of what your childhood and teens were like and comprehend that things are tougher today as we are living in the latter days and the internet, mobile phones and other items of technology that are around today were not about when we were growing up, so our challenges were lesser than those today.
It's important that your children feel as though they have a good
relationship with you, that way they can talk to you about anything. Make sure there is always good communications between you and your children. Make time for family time and do fun activities together. Include your children in planning family time activities and always show your children that you are interested in what they say and what they are doing, that will help to build a strong bond between you, which will allow respect and transparency to shine through. Also don't keep secrets from them. If you are asking them not to keep things from you, you also practice that. Especially if it's something that may affect them. Honesty is the best policy. Make sure your house is full of love, fun and laughter, that way your children will be able to trust you unconditionally and trust your decisions over issues concerning them.
Finally a message from God concerning Parenting
"6:
Teach your children to choose the right path, and when they are older, they will remain upon it" Proverbs 22:6NLT
" 24: He who withholds his rod (discipline, boundaries) hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently."
Prov. 13:24 KJV
" 4: Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord". Eph 6:4
Parenting is the hardest job we will ever have to do. But it's not an
option of getting it wrong or right. There is no option, we have to get
it right and with God's help we will.
