I have worked with a lot of different types of kids in my life. Coming from someone who has worked with high school and college athletes as a coach, then also having worked with students at a church, I think it is safe to say I have seen my fair share of kids that come from really great home lives, but also some really bad home lives.
While those experiences will always stick with me and shape how I parent, I think becoming a father myself is what has taught me the most about how to create a child’s home life.
It is essential that our kids know who we are and how we feel about them. As parents, we have to do two things: we have to tell our kids who we are, and we have to show them with our actions. While it’s easy to recognize those two truths, it sometimes seems more difficult to know what to tell them.
Personally, I have four things I tell my children at least once a week with my words but also with my actions. The first weekly truth I remind my children of is that I love them. Children need to know they are loved and need to be shown that they are loved. We see it in the homes around us, movies and television we watch, as well as our culture, that ‘I love you’ is not something always said in the home. That is something that needs to change. People, especially children need to know they are loved.
The second thing I tell my children at least once a week is that they are a special boy or a special girl. Your children need to know that they are special and that they are set apart. The Bible tells us we are set apart. My kids need to know that they are special in my eyes, but also in the Lord’s eyes. As parents, it is our job to remind them of that.
The third truth I remind my children of weekly is that they will change the world one day. I want my children to know that they have something inside of them that will impact the world in a positive way. Our goal is to make this world a better place and I want my kids to know and believe that they can.
Last but not least, I always tell my kids that I love their mom. Children need to know that they are in a family where the mom and dad love one another. Telling your children this gives them a sense of security and stability in their home and sets an example of how a marriage should be.
While we may not be able to parent our children perfectly, we can still commit to encouraging our children by telling them and showing them that we love them, they are special, they are going to change the world, and we love our spouse.
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