Articles
Raising Successful Children
Why is it that setting yourself up with the most highly recommended and trending baby furniture, hardware, clothes, slings, wraps, wooden bead teether and the like are seemingly easy purchases to make, regardless of the massive price tag? Or what about the various rituals we do with our babies, even if they don’t make sense?
We embrace and faithfully do them simply because it has been done for generations; or because it’s the latest and best thing for your child, someone said. If my paediatrician says my child needs a particular cream for their sensitive skin, I will break the bank to get it for him. My only reasoning for this driven behaviour is that we, as parents, bear a deep desire and responsibility for our children to have everything they need to be successful. If only they will remember the price we paid when they are snotty teenagers interested in being anything but successful! Truth be told, success is a messy battle field and is conquered by only the brave.
Recently my husband went for an X-ray of his shoulder that has been in much pain. The radiographer’s report reads that all is in alignment, there is no visible cause for concern. Upon a closer look by the specialist, however, we discovered that there are areas that are not in alignment at all, and in fact there is a broken bone that needs to be repaired as well. I couldn’t help but notice how similar that situation is to life. On the outside, or from a distant perspective, one’s life may seem all ‘together’ and in align-ment, but when closely examined there are flaws and cracks waiting for the right amount of pressure before it all comes crashing down. As with my husband’s shoulder, where there is a lack of alignment there is pain and weakness.
“So as a parent desperate for the best for my child, I am forced to ask myself the question, “Am I raising my child with cracks and weaknesses that may in his life when he is older?”
“So where should I start? How do I raise a child to have a strong and good character?”
The key to building a strong character is in fact alignment. What are you aligned with and what or who are you teaching your child to align themselves with?
For starters, as with the example of the x-ray, it’s the little things that reflect the major character flaws that one can’t see. For example, writing off a friendship because you had a disagreement or lying to cover oneself are indications of a weak character and may result in failed marriages and fraudulent behaviour as an adult.
Building strong characters starts with teaching our children to be faithful in the small things, for example:
Own up! When your child has done something wrong encourage them to own up and take it on the chin….
