Parenting is Hard

This made me laugh. Not sure this method is Super Nanny approved, but that’s definitely one approach to get your kids to go to bed…

One of the toughest lessons I’m learning as a parent is how to deal with both my children as individuals. To consider how God wired their unique personalities. To learn what motivates them and what discourages them. I admit that it’s difficult. I have a tendency to drop a blanket statement or rule without considering the uniqueness of my kids and how they’ll respond. Then I hold it against them if they don’t respond the way I would like. Doh.

To be honest, that’s really not fair to them.

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”
Proverbs 22:6

It finally hit me. Training a child the way “he” should go doesn’t necessarily mean I get to override the uniqueness that God created them with when they don’t respond the way I’d like EVERY time. It means that as parents, God has given Megan and I the responsibility of discovering what makes our kids tick. How are they wired? What motivates them?Then encourage that uniqueness and find ways/methods to train them Gods way.

That only comes with time and wisdom. Lots and lots of time. A myth in parenting is that kids don’t need quantity, they need quality. Not true. They need both. Especially now. As parents God expects us to:

• Model Faith to our Kids
• Spend Lots of Time with our Kids
• Model a Healthy Marriage
• Encourage our Kids
• Provide Stability in the Home
• Be Involved, Not Passive

There’s so much more to share. I haven’t quite perfected this yet, I’m definitely still a work in progress. 😉

I’ve got some thoughts about parenting that I’m going to turn into a series of posts over the next week or so. Some of my highlights as a dad, and some of my low points. Lord knows there’s plenty of both.