When I first became a mom, more than anything else, I wanted to be the best mom I could be. I talked to Godly moms who I looked up to, and looked for ways to be a great mom. We only one chance at this parenting thing, so I wanted to get it right!
Over the 36 years of parenting and raising our eight kids, I continued to try to learn and grow as a mom. I observed other moms that were doing a good job, and often asked for tips to help me.
Today I’d like to share five tips that helped me the most, and that will help you to be the great mom you want to be.
1. Teaching and training them should begin right away.
A child’s character is formed primarily in his early years, so it’s critical that we start early to teach and train them in God’s Word.
“And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” II Timothy 3:15
I have discovered that the harder you work at teaching and training your kids when they are young, the easier the rest of your parenting years will be.
There will still be some challenges and struggles, but over all that early training will make things go more smoothly as your kids get older.
2. Teach obedience from the start.
As parents, God has put in the position of authority over our children. It is our job and responsibility to exercise that authority faithfully.
God commands children to be obedient, and when we don’t require obedience of them, we aren’t being good stewards of the children God has entrusted to our care.
One of the reasons we need to teach our kids to obey us is so they will please God and receive His blessing.
However, another reason we really focused on obedience with our kids, is that we wanted them to be obedient when God spoke to their hearts.
By teaching our kids first time obedience, we are preparing them to listen to and obey God the first time He speaks to them.
3. Give more love than discipline.
I found that on those days when one of my kids needed lots of training and correction, it was easy for me to get frustrated. It was exhausting, and at times it irritated me that I had to keep stopping what I was doing to deal with that child.
Then God spoke to my heart and reminded me that I needed to intentionally show that child more love. Sometimes just spending a little extra time with that child is all that was needed.
They needed to know that I loved them, and enjoyed being with them.
This doesn’t mean you should skip the training and correction, but rather that you should be sure you are disciplining in love, and are conveying that love clearly.
Discipline always needs to be given in a spirit of love.
The best way to keep that spirit of love as you train and correct, is to remember that the goal of that training is not to change behavior, but to change the heart. When you keep that focus, it will help you teach in love.
4. Focus on their character.
Today we have a generation of young people who have poor character. Employers find it very hard to find young people to work for them and be dependable and honest.
We have a character crisis in our society and as Christian parents, we need to catch a vision for raising a generation of young people with good, strong Christian character!
It’s not the job of the church or the Christian school. It’s up to US!
As their parents, we are the best ones to teach them character, because we love them more than anyone else will, and we know them better.
We can make a difference in society by raising our kids to love God and grow to be like Him. However, that won’t just happen.
We have to make character training a priority, and have a plan for how we will help them develop and grow in their character.
5. Seek to win and keep the hearts of your children.
Winning your child’s heart should be one of your greatest parenting goals.
There is a spiritual battle waging for your child’s heart, and as a parent you can’t be complacent about it. If we don’t win their heart, somebody else will.
The reason this is so important is because the one who has their heart is the one who will influence them. As moms we want to have that place of influence,, so we can shape their values, and point them to God.
To help youm here is a free printable with 20 ways to win your child’s heart. [magicactionbox]
