#6 Take into consideration the uniqueness of each of your children.
One mistake I see many parents make, and have been guilty of myself too, is expecting one of my children to respond the same way their sibling responds. God has made us as parents unique and we bring different perspectives and gifts to many situations, and we have to remember that God made our kids unique too. And that is a good thing, it adds variety to our lives, and also helps keep us “on our toes” when it comes to parenting.
One area that Jennifer and I have experienced this is in regards to discipline. There are certain things that worked for Kendall when she was 2 that JJ, who is now 2, does not respond to. We have made the mistake of sticking with a plan simply because it worked for Kendall. There are also things Kendall responds to now that we try to use with JJ…with little or no success. Kendall’s “currency” right now is being able to play with her friends and stay up after her brother goes to bed. She has a bedtime clock and it moves back in 5 minute increments when she has needs discipline. JJ has no clue what time is, so a bedtime clock would be a serious waste of…time. However, making him sit on the stairs for a “time out” when he wants to play works like a charm.
It’s easy to sit back and say or think “why can’t you be more like your sister” or “it has to work with her because it worked with him”. What has helped us is when we sit down and identify what makes our kids unique and then adapt a plan that takes into consideration their God-given uniqueness.
Good stuff! It’s amazing how much you can learn about God through children. Thanks for sharing!
Kids are as unique as we are as parents. It is our responsibility to guide them through the potential pitfalls of life even when they are older and parents themselves. This is a lifelong responsibility. Thanks for the interesting post.
It also draws an interesting parallel to baby Christians or even Christians in general. We all are familiar with the one who got saved one day and then was doing all the “Christian” things the next. We also know of the one who though professed to a change, it was almost non-existent in their behaviour or actions.
Then of course there are those who have been spending years trying to find out just what the life means.
I wonder if ministry leaders tend to expect that all will respond the same and thus the frustrations.
Thanks for the thoughts Jarret and see you in a couple of weeks.
I feel like I had to learn this the hard way. Thanks for these very healthy reminders Sweetie.
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