The Passion of the Christ has all of us thinking more about creating a more
spiritual life at home. If we provide good role modeling at home, our children
will take this acceptable behavior out into society, at school and at other
children's homes.
Personally, I hope we can all do a better job with not only our children's
Christianity, but our own as well. Let's schedule a chunk of time to help get
this process started today.
Listen to your child. Did you know that children are
naturally in touch with their intuition? If we listen to their wisdom, we will
soon respect what they are saying and they will do the same for us. Model good
and kind behavior.
Kids are spiritual beings. Be quiet when children talk. Wipe
your mind clear and really listen. I talk about this repeatedly in my book,
Mommy-CEO, revised edition. The poem on page 25 is exactly how I perceive the
world in which we should teach and treat children. It says to "...teach them
about God, as this is my final plea." If you have a website and would like to
run that poem on your site as a daily reminder or print it out for gentle but
assertive motivation, buy the book and do so. *Permission granted. :)
Take time to use Bible verses. You may have to paraphrase a
verse so they will understand it but it's important to share these with little
ones. There are so many good Bibles out there for children and we even enjoy
Veggie Tales.
Be Christ-like. Do good things for other's and let them see
you do it. Encourage them to do the same. We should hold open a door for a
handicap person, an older person in a wheelchair or anyone who needs help. We
can smile and wink at the kids to show them have done something good for
someone else. This shows them that everyone is important and everyone counts.
If they are old enough, encourage them to do the same.
Show compassion towards pets. Most children love cats, dogs, guinea pigs and
all types of creatures. This is the perfect opportunity to share the story of
Noah's Ark and emphasize how important it is not only to play with them, but
also to feed, water and make sure they are bathed and kept free of disease.
This also demonstrates how taking the responsibility of their chores really
helps.
Say prayers. Use simple prayers at the dinner table and at
night right before bedtime. Depending on the age of your child, talk about the
meaning of the prayer and why it is significant. Go into as much detail as you
think they can understand.
* If you cannot afford a copy of my revised edition of Mommy-CEO, go to my
site, answer any question from one of the columns, and your name will be
entered into a list that we rotate in sending out a free copy. No strings
attached!
©2004 Jodie Lynn
Jodie Lynn is an internationally syndicated parenting/family columnist. Her
latest book is Mommy-CEO: 5 Golden Rules, 2001 revised edition. Please see
ParentToParent.com for more details and check out the brand new LOGO (located
in the left hand lower corner of the main page) on our Mommy, CEO merchandise:
hoodies, caps, calendars, cups, etc.- items for the real CEOs!
