Teaching Opportunities Available 365 Days a Year, Not Just During the Holidays

It is the time of year that offers many opportunities to show your kids the power of kindness, and compassion as well as examining the idea of being content with what they have. It is never too early OR too late to build these characters in your children.  Here are some key concepts to keep in mind while running the parenting race we often find ourselves in!

· Live By Example

You know that old saying, “Monkey see, monkey do”, we usually refer to it with negative behavior that children pick-up or when they learn to mimic.  I have found that this same phrase works the best when you are trying to build positive character traits in children.  If your children see you giving, sharing and being content with what you have, it is amazing how they pick up those same traits. You end up teaching by example rather than lecturing about something that they may not see so openly in your own lives. Make sure you are a model you want your child to imitate. Do you place coins in the Salvation Army Red Bucket during the holidays, or participate in food drives?  If a friend needs your time do you give of it willingly? Do you pick up trash that you run across?  Are you a courteous driver?  When you do simple caring acts of kindness your child will be much more likely to follow your example.

· Teach Empathy

One of the most valuable traits anyone can develop is empathy.  The ability to relate to or understand someone else’s feelings has the potential to change so many situations your children may face as they grow up.  When your children experience a situation that has them pointing the finger at someone else, do you stop and ask them to see things from the other person’s perspective?  When you see a homeless person downtown, do you talk about how that person must feel without having a home to go to?  There are opportunities galore where you can introduce empathy into conversation and beginning building that in your children.  Look for them each day.

· Get involved with Community Service

Find something that your family is passionate about and start giving your time.  Decide as a family what group or organization you may want to volunteer for and begin building that time into your family schedule. The possibilities are endless. Our family participates, along with a few other families in a homeless feed once per month, fixing and servings about 80 people.  I cannot begin to share with you the conversations we end up having with our kids after we leave these dinners.  Lessons we have never even thought we would be able to teach our kids have been presented in the REAL world, an experience that our kids will remember.

· Teaching Contentment

This one is a hard one. I think most of us Americans who live in one of the richest and flourishing societies have no idea how to feel contentment.  Being happy with your situation, even if it is not what you had hoped for or wanted.  Along with contentment comes being grateful; they work together almost simultaneously.  Do you vocalize contentment out loud? Do you express your gratefulness for people, situations or your home?  Do you run up your credit card bills in order to keep “getting” the latest and greatest item, or are you okay with living with what you have? Are you always striving for just that thing that you know will make you happy?  What do you want your children to have learned while you had the greatest influence in their life?   Do you see this behavior in your children as well? What might you need to change in order to be a better model for your children?

Providing these learning opportunities for your children will impact their lives tremendously.  You will start to see these traits develop in your children and know that the extra effort you put forth 365 days a year, does in fact pay off!

Susan Heid is passionately committed to guiding you, a busy mom, to find clarity, control and confidence, so you can re-energize your role as a mom, home and family manager as well as develop your God-given potential as a woman. Susan is a unique combination of Supernanny meets Martha Stewart – now that’s “a good thing.” Her years of successfully working with burned out, overwhelmed moms affirms her mission and commitment to empowering moms in the art of family management and strengthening family’s nationwide.

To learn more about services Susan offers for busy mom’s and to get your FREE eBook “Getting Kids to Cooperate and Become Team Players: 10 Essential Strategies and Solutions” visit her website: www.theconfidentmom.com

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