Keeping the Heart of Your Child
Last week we had a wonderful time with my Mom and Glen as we helped them get settled in their new home in Florida. Before leaving, Connie and I bought Mom an early Mother’s Day gift. We found a beautiful climbing Mandevilla in full bloom and presented it to her the day we left. Right now it is proudly displayed in a prominent place in her screened-in porch. I spoke to Mom on Monday and she had already contacted to her local plant expert regarding the best way to care for her new plant. Evidently she was not only satisfied with how beautiful it looks now, she wants to keep it looking beautiful from now on.
When parents discover the beauty of getting the heart of their children, they should not be satisfied with anything less. As we all know, life in a growing family is anything but monotonous; there will always be new difficulties to face, new problems to solve, more growing to do and a diversity of responses to contend with that will vary from one child to the next. How then can a parent maintain the heart of a child with so many variables?
Much can be written on this subject, but for the sake of time and space, allow me to make a few suggestions:
1) Choose your battles wisely – discern the mountains from the molehills; keep correction as simple as possible.
2) Appeal to the child’s conscience – Bring them to the standard of truth and make the matter between them and God.
3) Deal gently and thoroughly with the issue
4) Pay close attention to their response – Facial expressions, eye contact and body language will help you to see where their heart is on the matter.
5) Always conclude with a tender embrace
Now let me help with some of the fatal mistakes:
1) Never discipline in anger – this is the surest way to lose the heart of your child.
2) Never bring up past failures – if they have already been properly dealt with.
3) Never compare one child with another
4) Never end a discipline session if your child cannot freely look you in the eye.
Keeping the heart of our children will be a continual challenge, but diligence in this matter will surely pay off and all the effort will prove extremely worthwhile.