Guiding Your Child Through Disappointment
By Suzanne Gosselin
"Throughout life, my children will experience disappointment. Not making the team. Not being invited to the party. Failing to get into their college of choice. As much as I wish I could shield them from sadness and see them succeed
at everything, it's just not realistic... Disappointment is an opportunity for them to flex with unexpected or undesired situations- a key skill for success...later in life." This article is a great reminder of the character building that disappointment can bring.
4 Life-Giving Truths Your Children Need to Learn
from You
By Stephanie Thompson
" So much of what we try to instill in our children is caught not taught... Despite resistance at times, children need parents to provide a foundation from which they can form decisions. That process involves communicating truths which
liberate in the long run despite the short-term discomfort that may arise as they are implemented." This article gives important faith lessons your child needs to learn
from you.
How to Coach Your Son to Make the Right Kind of Friends
By Monica Swanson
"...During the tween and teen years, young people try on different identities as they decide who they are and who they want to become. And those who used to be good friends often begin to make choices--big or small--that compromise the values they once claimed to have...If you're raising a 'good kid' yet haven't prepared him for these changes, he's likely to be caught off guard. He may find himself facing peer pressure without even knowing what to call it." Not just for boys, this article is a great teaching tool for talking to your child about choosing friends wisely.
Empowering Our Girls
God's Way
By Judy McCarver
"There is a place in parenting for books, songs, and speakers that render quality information about empowering our girls. But we need to recognize the difference between what makes them spiritually strong and healthy women versus what teaches them empowerment largely centered around the ideology of self-promotion...I wholeheartedly agree that it's important to raise girls full of fight...But, God help us, if in the process of raising our girls to be strong, we fail to teach them compassion and generosity." Not just for girls, this article suggests how you can equip your child to be both confident and compassionate.
When Parenting Isn't Enjoyable
By Kristen Wetherell
"To enjoy our children is a good aim--they're gifts from God--and, generally speaking, we do enjoy them...But life is made up of dozens of little moments, many of which are not enjoyable...Children will never be the most enjoyable part of our lives. Yes, they are a heritage and reward from God (Psalm 127:3), but he is the heritage, the reward, the goal. He is our truest and highest joy--not our kids....True enjoyment isn't loving every moment with our kids--that's impossible for sinners parenting sinners. Instead, true enjoyment is found in Christ and is then shared with our kids." This article is a great reminder of the importance of keeping Christ at the center of your life, your identity,
and your parenting.
While we support the information given in each article linked above, the views presented in the overall blogs or websites are not necessarily the views held by FBC Amarillo or the FBC Amarillo Children's Ministry.