Because those little ears hear what you say!
Even though I don't teach a parenting class anymore I always seem to be on the lookout for additional lessons to be added.
Recently I have been thinking about how young children mirror what they hear. If we are mad at the pastor...They don't like him. If we are mad at their teacher and have bad things to say about the teacher...it gives them the right to disrespect the teacher. If Mom has bad things to say about Dad...The kids have bad things to say about Dad. Hmm...Usually they defend Mom if Dad has something bad to say about Mom. That needs to be studied! :?) Maybe it is true that the greatest gift a dad can give his children is to love their mom! As I was holding my grandbaby after his dedication I was wondering how much of what happened in that service was already having an impact on him. How much of our googooing and gagaing is already having an impact over him? I remember rocking and rocking his daddy and singing over and over the list of people who loved him dearly. Did that give him any confidence as he grew older. Who knows! I do think we need to be aware of what comes out of our mouths in front of our children. They are affected by it. Read scripture to them! Tell them about how good God is!
My parents never gossiped about any of our friends in front of us(probably not behind us either) so that we got to enjoy all the adults in our lives. Even those my parents weren't to excited about. Thank you Mom and Dad!
If your church is looking for a good parenting course I recommend www.biblicalparenting.org
2 comments:
It is truly scary how much influence we have over our children! I can't ask for God's help enough. I recently heard a quote from the director of the movie, "Hearts in Atlantis". He said that children learn through the cracks and the shadows...meaning they see their parents when the parents aren't aware they are being watched...through door cracks and such. That is so true. Sometimes Shawn and I may have a conversation in the other room thinking that the boys aren't listening from their play room, but I've realized that children are ALWAYS listening! Which means they are ALWAYS learning from us wheather we like it or not. What a responsibility! I'm not sure I signed up for this :)
Just think though, God knows you better than anyone else and He trusts you with those boys!!!!!
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