Yes, that is me with my 2 teens and pre-teen. And yes, we are all smiling!
A friend and I were talking, "blog talk" and I was sharing how I wish this technology
was around when I was parenting my babies and toddlers. I went on to say how darling
some of the blogs are that I go to and I think it is because their kiddos are so darn cute.
She encouraged me that I should share about being a mom to teens. So that is
how I arrived at Moody Mondays! My goal is to share one simple tip weekly
on what we have done or do, to encourage, enjoy, and train our teens.
Today's tip: A lot of the work is done when they are young. Troy and I had a plan.
We set a vision for what kind of people we wanted our kids to be and tried to be
creative in the things we did to get them there. (I am talking about character, not personality. We love the people they are.) Example: We always expected 1st time obedience.
When they didn't obey us the 1st time, there were consequences. We tried to be very consistent in this area and when we weren't we would apologize to them and start over making clear our expectations of them. I know some would say that, that is not realistic to expect them to obey the very 1st time and for a time they did really struggle with it, but learned quickly.
In the midst of the consequences we would always remind them that we loved them and
that we were doing this for their good. We told them that we are the parents God has given them and
that they can trust us even though they may not like the consequences they were receiving. Then
if they would give us some push back we would ask them, "You know we love you right?", "You know we
always do what we think is best for you, right?", and "You know that you can trust us, right?". And we would hash through it with them until they would soften towards us in the midst of discipline.
Guess what. They still believe that about us today, in the middle of their teen years.
We have not always done things right, but in this area, I am thankful for the endurance of those early
years of training, because we are reaping some of that fruit now, by God's grace.
That's the tip.
Train them while they are young about your great love for them in the middle of discipline.
Blessings, Connie
1 comment:
Moody Monday's! What an appropriate title for your tips. I look forward to learning from you about how to parent a teen.
Love the words you and Troy used in the midst of discipline. "You know we love you right?", "You know we always do what we think is best for you, right?", and "You know that you can trust us, right?" Especially trust! I wouldn't have thought of that. Thanks for posting and I will pray that you are able to think of more tips without having to go through them first! :)
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