Teach Your Children Well

WARNING:
LONG POST
NOT ADVISED FOR THE ADD OR ADHD ADULT.


I love the line in Hook when the little girl tells him,

"You're just a mean old man without a mommy."

I think that goes for children too.

When my children were little and they were picked on
by the "bad" kid in class, 

I'd say, 

"She just needs a mommy to love her,"

or

"He just needs a Daddy."

The relationship that a wife has with her husband 

is often a reflection of the relationship she had with her dad.

In the College/Career Class we have been learning 

The Five Love Languages 

by 

Dr. Gary Chapman.

The Love Languages are:

Affirmation

Quality Time

Gifts

Acts of Service 

Physical Touch.

Child psychologists affirm that every child has certain

emotional needs that must be met if he is to be emotionally stable.

Children who feel loved by their parents, whose parents 

have invested time and energy and are involved 

in the activities of their lives are more likely 

to succeed in their adult lives.

I've often heard it said,
"What we expect our children to be, they will become."

When a child hears from his parents,
"You will never amount to anything,"
most often, the child will meet that parent's
expectation and will live with an unhealthy view of himself.

Word are Important!
Words are Important!
Words are Important!

The important thing about a father playing ball
with his three-year-old, is not the activity itself,
but the emotions that were created between
the father and his child.

Some simple ideas for quality time with your child
may cost little or nothing.
But without quality time, it may cost everything!

Ride bicycles together.
Throw the football.
Shoot baskets together.
Walk together.
Have a picnic in the park.
Put a bed sheet over the kitchen table,
add some pillows, a sleeping bag,
grab a flashlight and camp out together.

I was once asked,
"How did you manage to have such well-adjusted children?"
Oh, there were some tough years.
Ask my children.
Our home was far from perfect.
However, doing some things didn't hurt.

First, we kept them involved in an active children
and youth ministry.

Second, we did everything together.
As youth directors,
we sacrificed money and time, but never our children.
The youth were made to feel like they belonged to our family,
not that our children belonged to them.

Last, we sought out their talents, believed in their abilities
to accomplish anything they wanted to accomplish
and were involved in everything they did.

You know, we can do our best and our kids may
walk a different path than we have chosen for them.
They may walk away from the very values that
we built our lives upon.

But when we know that we've done our best,
we can give the results to God and rest.

One Christmas morning we were up
early going to Grandma's, when we noticed
what looked to be a homeless man walking the streets.

In his drunken stupor, he fell on his face.
Tears rolled down my face and
my daughter said,
"Mama, he's just a man without a mommy."

We must teach our children well.

“If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn . . .
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight . . .
If a child lives with fear, he learns to be apprehensive . . .
If a child lives with pity, he learns to feel sorry for himself . . .
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy . . .
If a child lives with jealousy, he learns to feel envy . . .
If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty ... 

BUT

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient . . .
If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to be confident . . .
If a child lives with praise, he learns to be appreciative . . .
If a child lives with acceptance, he learns to love . .
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves..
If a child lives with honesty, he learns what truth is . . .
If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice . . .
If children live with recognition, they learn to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn to be generous.
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith in himself and those about him . . .
If a child lives with friendliness, he learns the world is a nice place in which to live . . .” 
― Dorothy Law Nolte, Children Learn What They Live