Parenting Tool: Teaching
Hey there, Momma!
It sounds like TEACHING might be the best heart-based parenting tool to use with your son right now.
You want to connect with your son’s heart, but you’re not sure how. Teaching will help you explain to your son how to do something, not just what to do.
Below you will find some practical tips on how to use teaching to connect with your son’s heart.
This is just one of the 7 heart-based parenting tools. Check your inbox over the next few days and weeks for more practical tools you can use to connect with your son’s heart.
Your first email should be in your inbox now! (Be sure to check your updates folder). This email will explain what it means to parent from a heart-based approach.
Heart-Based Parenting Tool: Teaching
Does your son ever feel like he’s stuck in a pit and he doesn’t know how to get out? Maybe he’s lost hope that he’ll ever be able to change. Teaching is the ladder to help your child get out of the pit.
Teaching addresses how, not just what.
Rather than telling your son, “You need to be more patient / kind / honest,” you need to explain to him what that looks like. He needs to understand how to do it. That’s where the tool of teaching comes in.
You don’t want to do too much lecturing — break teaching into small chunks and short commands. Brainstorm ideas together. Give examples of what it looks like to demonstrate the character quality you are working on.
For example, if you are working on developing kindness, talk about what that looks like: “I can share my snack with my brother. I can help him with his chores. I can let him play with me. I can use kind words that make him feel good.”
Practical Tips for Teaching
Here are some ideas for using teaching as a heart tool:
- Talk to your kids about why it’s important to focus on heart qualities.
- Talk to your kids about how their weakness could be used for good. For example: “You are very determined and stubborn… that will make you an excellent business leader someday. You don’t ever give up. However, right now you are using this strength to argue with me and to get your own way. You are not using your strength for good right now.”
- Help your kids create a list of ideas for how to work on a particular heart quality. For example: “When I’m getting angry, I will go outside and walk around the yard.”
- Use role-playing as a way to illustrate appropriate behavior.
- Allow “do-overs” so your son can practice doing something the right way.
- Read about historical people or tell stories from your own life that illustrate the character quality you are trying to help your child develop.
If you consistently put these tips into practice, you will be surprised at how quickly you will begin to see changes in your son’s heart.
Go check your inbox right now for your first email from me. Be sure to check your “updates” folder. Then, right-click on the email from Laurie Christine, select “Move to Inbox,” then select “Do this for future emails from this sender.” That way you won’t miss out on any of the parenting tools I’ll be sending your way!
Laurie Christine is a Certified Biblical Parenting Coach, trained by the National Center for Biblical Parenting (NCBP). All information covered in this series of emails is courtesy of the NCBP. For more information, check out the resources on their website, www.biblicalparenting.org
MEET LAURIE CHRISTINE
Laurie Christine is a certified Biblical Parenting Coach, author, podcast host, wife, and mom of four wild, loud, adventurous boys.
Her podcast, Redeeming the Chaos, invites moms of boys to join her in the wild, wonderful adventure of raising courageous boys and connecting them with Christ.
In addition to hosting a podcast, Laurie writes devotional Bible stories for families. As a mom of four young boys, she understands how important it is for parents to connect with their children, while communicating the truth of God’s Word to them in a way they can understand.
MORE RESOURCES
Check out these resources from the National Center for Biblical Parenting
Parenting is Heart Work
(Affiliate Link)
In this book you will learn:
* How to connect to your child’s heart to bring about change.
* Ways to correct that are more powerful and last longer.
* To help your child reign in emotions.
* How to use common, everyday activity to build life-skills.
* Biblical, practical tools that work.
PHW Training Manual
(Affiliate Link)
In this book, you will learn:
* How to develop strategic, biblical, practical routines of family life.
* How to give day-to-day instructions in a way that builds cooperation and responsibility.
* Practical ideas for connecting with your kids emotionally so that their hearts will be soft and teachable.
* How to integrate key success principles into your family.
Motivate Your Child
(Affiliate Link)
In this book you will learn:
* How to parent in ways that build internal motivation so that kids don’t have to rely on you to get things done.
* The four promptings of the conscience and how to coordinate your parenting to takeadvantage of them.
* Ways to energize your spiritual training with fun and creativity.
* How to help children respond to mistakes instead of blaming, defending, or justifying.
MYC Action Plan
(Affliate Link)
In this book, you will learn:
* A step-by-step guide to identify a specific problem and then define a character-based solution.
* How to craft a parenting plan tailored to your child’s unique gifts and needs.
When parents have defined plans, they move forward with more confidence, see changes more quickly, and experience hope as they grow in their relationship with their child.
COACHING
Are you interested in working with Laurie Christine in our eight week, one-on-one parent coaching program?