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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Training Up Tuesday: Are You Raising Children that You Would Want to Be Friends With?

Have you every asked yourself that question? I certainly have.

Parenting was never intended to be brain science (did I spell that right). But, if you are like me, at times, I have made it a very complicated job, instead of using my God given common sense.

So, today I thought I would share with you a tool I use on a daily basis that helps me keep parenting simple. Follow me...





Yep, that's it! That little pink sheet of paper is my Parent's Checklist. My mother-in-law gave it to me a number of years ago. This checklist offers me an opportunity to make an impact on my children's lives every time I open the fridge. (And that happens often in my house. That is why I hung it there!) Let me show you why.

Some of the items are easy: I do these everyday

  • Read to my child (Proverbs 4:1-4)

  • Sing or listen to music with my child (Psalm 8:2)

Some of them, not so much:

  • Did not punish my child when I was angry (Psalm 103:8-14)

  • Forgave my child immediately (2 Corinthians 2:7-8)

  • Modeled only the attributes I want my child to emulate (1 Corinthians 4:16)

The beauty of the list is that it really challenges me on a daily basis to evaluate not my children's actions but my own. And what I found as I started to incorporate these small things into my daily routine was that the parenting comes in the little moments with my children.

So, here is what I am asking you to do, a challenge per say. Print a copy of the Checklist and put it somewhere you frequent often. Start to incorporate the items on the checklist into your day, and see if parenting becomes a little less complicated.

We might have many goals for our children, but in the end, I really want my boys to be godly friends. I've realized that starts with me.

7 comments:

Angela Richardson said...

My Printer is not working, so I'm handwriting all of these down. Maybe it will helP them to sink in a little as I write. This is a GREAT Post!

Now, I will say, I've got the singing thing DOWN! I might actually sing to them too much. As they will often ask me...."mommy can you stoP singing now?" ha! :)

Carolina Clipper said...

VERY PRACTICAL in these crazy and busy days of having small kids. Thanks so much! I printed it and will put it up in our playroom. Thanks for the tool!

Unknown said...

GREAT post, Aundrea. I'm w/ Ang...got the singing down and my lil bit says "MOMMMMMY" when she wants me to quit singing. Can't wait to print the list. This is very helpful!

Angel Eye Portraits said...

Thanks Aundrea. I am very excited about this. I just printed and hung on my fridge. Thanks again!

Happy Four said...

Thank you for sharing this. It has touched my heart and I plan on providing the link so others can benefit from your post. Blessings!

Aundrea-aka Zerbert Baby said...

Thanks ladies! I hope you find this tool to be as helpful as I have. I would love to hear how they work for you.

Michele said...

What a great tool! I've printed it off and will also put it on my frig since that seems to be the most popular hangout in my home. Thank you so much for this post!!