Helping propel moms & dads of 3 to 13 year-olds to invest in their power-decade of parenting. Father of 3 teenagers and pastor of 20 years turned digital writer.
500 Fridays: All Kids Need Floaties
A Volume of WordsRepetition. It's how all people learn new things. Handwriting. In families, the repetition of words matters ... a lot. They help form the thoughts and emotions that everyone carries in the back recesses of their minds. Repetition leaves life-long grooves. As a parent there will be words that you say without much intention on a frequent basis. They can be good, bad, or meaningless words. What we learned was the importance of repeated-powerful words. In our family, we chose to use the following phrase over and over again. We believed it would carry our kids through the turbulent waves of school and social life. Our family motto is... Courage of the Heart. • When they had to take the field for a big game. Why did we choose that phrase? Because we believed it would be an anchor point for our family. It also was unique to us. It sounded like us and summed up a lot of who we wanted our kids to grow up to be. To have courage of the heart meant they could trust and believe they had what it takes to keep going. To have an attitude of mind meant they had control over their thoughts and that would impact their actions. We didn't set out to have a family motto, but once we stumbled into it, we repeated it often. We saw how powerful it would become. Not long ago I was helping my daughter fill out a college essay and she brought up our repeated family saying. I was so proud. It had been grooved deep into her heart and mind. That's how repeated words stick. It's how kids carry your values and vision forward throughout their life. Summer ProjectWhat if you had a family motto that acted like a set of floaties for your kids? There might be something you already repeat often or you might want to try on a few for size over time. Sometimes they are passed down for generations. Find a phrase or saying and then ... speak it out loud all the time. Have them repeat it back. You say it. They say it. Use it once a week in a different situation for a while. Kids are swimming in a big scary ocean sometimes. Your repeated family motto will give them a lifeline and a flotation device to stay above water. See you next Friday, |
Power-Decade Parenting
Helping propel moms & dads of 3 to 13 year-olds to invest in their power-decade of parenting. Father of 3 teenagers and pastor of 20 years turned digital writer.
500 Fridays Newsletter - 4 min read Season: The Long Summers (11 of 11) The Building of Character My girls loved to play dress up when they were little. In our home, we have a wild room we call the "skit closet" and inside we keep a staggering amount of old play clothes. We have costumes from when my mom was a young girl, dance outfits from my sister's era, and of course plenty of Disney dresses from when my girls were younger. We have 3 generations of dress-up clothes in our closet and every...
500 Fridays Newsletter - 2.5 min read Season: The Long Summers (9 of 11) Farming Facts I come from a farming family. My great-grandfather purchased our family farm and his son, my grandfather, expanded it even more. I think it's the farming legacy of my family that instilled in me the value of long-term investments. There is an old wise farm saying that has resonated with me for years... The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is today. Said...
500 Fridays Newsletter - 3 min read Season: The Long Summers (7 of 11) Defeating Discouragement Let's be honest: Everyday life as a power-decade parent is tough. You provide for physical needs.You slow down for emotional needs.You create fun and memorable moments.You attempt to bring calm to the total chaos. And yet, your kids give practically zero demonstration that they are "getting it." Rare are the signals that maturity, gratitude, or change is happening at all. It's enough to make a mom...