Parenting 101 part 2

As I shared before, Hubby and I are in a parenting class at the church we are visiting. The second lesson was entitled Building Relationships that Bond. I liked the scriptures that the teacher used as a base for this lesson, they were 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 and 2:11-12.

But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of god but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.

and:

just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the god who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.


This lesson was about building an environment that your hearts get glued together. I appreciated that he stated the following:


"We don't have the power to be perfect parents that create perfect children - you CAN create a loving environment with a clear target."

So often parents are looking for that perfect formula to raise their children to be Godly adults and while we need to constantly check how and why we are doing things and making sure that we are line with God's will, we have to remember that our children also have a free will given by God to choose to or not to follow his ways.

The stronger the relationship between parent and child, the stronger the bridge to carry over values and beliefs. Some ways to bond the parent child relationship are to show unconditional love, schedule time and focused attention on the child, have ongoing communication, share meaningful touching, have fun together and pray together often.

More things to remember:
-Positive parenting requires constant repair and ongoing maintenance.
-Confess sins and request forgiveness

This class was challenging for me in that I had to check myself - am I gentle with my children? Do I truly set aside time for them, other than homeschooling, but just to talk and find out what is on their heart? Sometimes I can answer yes, but there are many times that the answer is no. This class is helping me to re-evaluate and that is always a good thing.

This class is in DVD format and is entitled Effective Parenting in a Defective World by Chip Ingram. In our class, we watch the DVD one week and then have a week to do the homework, we each have a workbook. The next Sunday we come to class prepared to discuss what we have learned from the DVD and about ourselves.