challenges – Your Child's Journey

It’s the beginning of a fresh new year. Your challenges this year are sure to be different from last year. A year makes a huge difference in a baby or young child’s life. And you may have a new addition since last year.

This is a great time to reflect on your parenting goals and challenges. Why not take a few minutes and consider what you would like for your child this year?

1. What are the one or two most important things you want your child to learn this year?

What would you have to change in order for him/her to learn these things?

2. What are the one or two most important things you want your child to experience this year?

How could you make these happen?

3. What is the biggest problem you and your husband or wife have regarding your children?

What needs to happen for that problem to be resolved?

4. What is your greatest joy with your child or children?

How can you build memories around this activity or experience?

5. How can you keep these ideas alive and active throughout the year?

My greatest desire for you this year is that you would be able to enjoy your children more. It is easy to get into a rut, just doing what needs to be done at the moment and rushing from one event to another. Too many activities and too little time together can sap the joy out of our relationships.

How you treat your child today can be a foundation block or a stumbling stone in his future. Use the moments you have to imprint your values in your child’s life. Try to increase your use of teachable moments and reduce your expressions of frustration.

Make the effort to find at least one thing to treasure every day with each child. Tell your child when they do something right or good or generous. When you pray with your child, remember to thank God for the good things you see in that child. Don’t get fixated on what it is that needs to change.

May God abundantly bless you and your family this year!

Over the last months I’ve been sharing from my husband’s web site: Intermin on parenting. This month will be the last in this series. We have been talking about different reasons children might not behave as you would expect. One reason is rebellion, another is discouragement, and this one is when they have a weakness. If we take the same approach to every misbehaviour, we will miss some of the most important opportunities to influence our children to do their best. To read the entire article go to: Help the Challenged Child.

There’s a mystery about Vincent. Here’s the explanation of it. Vincent has learning disabilities: special problems that make it hard for him to learn in a normal school room setting. His problems aren’t serious enough to detect easily, and that makes things worse. Vincent’s difficulty isn’t his intellect, but the way he processes information. With the proper help, Vincent will become an outstanding young man. However, if someone doesn’t help him, if he is ignored or misunderstood, Vincent’s true potential will be wasted.

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