Being there for your kids - Above All Else, Show Kindness toYour Kids.

Episode Date: June 20, 2021

As parents, we have lots of opportunity to discipline, teach, and remind our kids. But do we routinely show them kindness? In Scripture, Proverbs 22:6 states, "Raise your children up in the ways of the Lord so that, when they grow old, they will not depart from Him." That's a tall order, but with life-changing impact. By all means remind, teach, and discipline your kids, but also add moments of positivity, praise, and acts of kindness. That's the legacy worth passing on to them.

I'm Dr. John Robinson, and this is Teachable Moments. I'm going to veer from my letters format today and share with you a piece that I put together some time ago on parenting. It's called Parenting. It's a kindness thing. As parents, we carry a heavy load. Remember when you saw your newborn for the first time, along with the ooze and ahs, somewhere in the first few moments. Most of us experience a wave of terror. Oh, M.G. I'm responsible for this new person.

How they grow up, how they live their lives is on me. Can I do this? Am I ready? What if I mess up? Sound familiar? If you are human, you had these very questions for yourself shortly after your newborn arrived. You have lots of company with these questions. You are not alone. As we navigate the choppy waters of parenting with you at the helm, first and foremost, remember that the journey of parenting is above all else a kindness thing. your cute little newborn two years ago, Abby, is now full bore into her terrible twos. Her curiosity gets her into everything. She makes messes on the floor. Her favorite word is no.

What do you do with her? Of course, when she messes up, you start with an observation like, gosh, Abby, this isn't like you. What else is going on? Then you active listen to her response, calm her down, help her clean up the mess, and redirect her. You also confront set boundaries and discipline to help her better understand how to interact with the world. However, during these moments when Abby's mischievousness is settled down, many teachable moments come from being kind. Let me introduce you to a social researcher, Shanti Feldhan.

Over the years, she has researched what improves couples' relationships. She has focused on the extent to which how couples can be kind to one another. She even created the kindness challenge, a 30-day commitment and process for focusing on being kind. Her research concludes that three factors are critical for improving kindness in relationship, nixing the negatives, practicing praise, and demonstrating acts of kindness. After completing the 30-day kindness challenge, 89.3% of the participants in her research found overall improvement in their relationships. Wow. So, let's extend this concept to our children.

Focus on being positive. Look how pretty your picture is. Practice praise. What a big girl you are using the potty all by yourself. Demonstrate acts of kindness. Can't quite reach that even on your tippy toes? Here, let me get it for you. Above all, parenting is an act of kindness.

If this commentary stirs questions of your own, contact me through my website at www. Thereforemykids.com or email me at John Robinson,000 at bell-south.net. I'm Dr. Jonathan C. Robinson, licensed clinical psychologist and Christian author of Teachable Moments, Building Blocks of Christian Parenting. And this has been Teachable Moments. Teachable Moments, Building Blocks of Christian Parenting, is available online at AmazonBooks.com and in local and national bookstores. More on Dr. Robinson at TMC-P-I-N-C.com.