I read lots and lots of parenting books, and I talked to godly women who had raised good kids and were great moms. My goal was not to just be a mediocre mom, but a great mom.
Today I’d like to share four tips that helped me the most, and that will help you to be the great mom you want to be.
My Top 4 Parenting Tips For Being a Great Mom
1. Begin training and teaching them EARLY.
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
The harder you work at teaching and training your kids when they are young, the easier the rest of your parenting years will be.
2. Give more love than discipline.
Some days you may feel like all you do is discipline and correct the kids all day long. It can be frustrating, as well as exhausting. That, in turn, can lead to irritation. No longer disciplining in love is dangerous.
I have found that the more a child needs to be corrected and taught, the more love I need to show him intentionally. This doesn’t mean skipping the discipline. It means purposefully showing that child that I love him by spending extra time with him, playing with him, reading to him, etc.
Keep in mind that your goal of discipline is not to change behavior, but to change the heart. When you keep that focus, it will help you teach in love.
3. Teach them to be obedient.
God gave us the position of authority over our kids, and it is our responsibility to exercise that authority faithfully. We aren’t good stewards of the children entrusted to us when we don’t require obedience. We are in essence, disobeying God.
Teaching our children to be obedient to us, is teaching them to be obedient to God. He is the one who gives the command in His Word that children obey their parents. We need to teach our kids first time obedience, so they will listen and obey God the first time He speaks to their hearts.
4. Focus on their character.
We have a character crisis in our society today. You don’t have to look very far or very hard to see that. As Christian parents, we need to catch a vision. 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! We are the best ones to teach them character, because we love them more than anyone else will, and we know them better.
As Christian parents, we have a great responsibility. It’s exciting! We make a difference in society, by raising our kids to love God and grow to be like Him. This won’t just happen, though. We need to put it high on our priority list. Let’s have a plan for how we will help them develop and grow in their character.
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Liz says
Great advice! I particularly need to work on #2. Some days I do feel like I don’t ever get to do anything fun with my kids because they just keep messing up. We never go to bed angry around here, but I’d like to start making the love happen earlier in the day! Thanks for sharing!
Sara Elizabeth Dunn says
Liz, YES!!! I totally agree with you! Thanks for visiting.
Gabrielle Tyler says
Hi! My cousin has 8 children and they are the best behaved children I know. I am always observing something of value from her. Thanks for sharing your hard-earned knowledge with us!!
Sara Elizabeth Dunn says
How wonderful, Gabrielle! I’m thankful for other moms who take the time to share their experience. I’m glad you stopped by to visit.
Michele Morin says
We do make it more complicated that we need to, don’t we?
Thanks for sharing these tips from your many years of experience!
Sara Elizabeth Dunn says
Absolutely! I recently read a book regarding complicated parenting and it touches on how simply being there for our kids and showing up for them is often enough, but we totally over complicate things.
Cindy says
So nice to have you sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY!!!
Blessings,
Cindy
Sara Elizabeth Dunn says
Thanks so much, Cindy! 🙂 And thanks for visiting.
April J Harris says
These are wonderful tips. It is so important to help shape our children so they can be the best they can be, whilst still retaining their individuallity. Thank you for sharing this post with us at Hearth and Soul. Hope to ‘see’ you again at the party this week.
Sara Elizabeth Dunn says
Thanks so much, April! And I totally agree! It’s important to help our children grow into their own, knowing that they have a plan unique to them.