Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for a biological relationship. Someone once said that “you’ll never realize the importance of something until it’s gone.” This is true in so many areas of life, including parenting. When raising children, the days seem so long but the years seem so short. And as a result, parents often overlook tough questions during the parenting years that they later will wish they had prioritized.
They are tough topics, yes. And while it isn’t easy to think about them, it’s important to address them before oit is too late—especially by asking these 3 uncomfortable and tough questions.
1. Will any of my children rebel?
“What’s in your child’s heart will determine what’s in your child’s future.”
2. Are my children actually learning how to be great spouses and parents?
Have your kids ever looked up at you and said, “I want to be a daddy just like you someday!” Mine have. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that our children one day will become adults—mothers and fathers, husbands and wives. And what they are learning now is what will shape them into the adults they will become. Remember, more than our children will become what we say, they will become who we are.
3. Do my children even know how to handle forgiveness, bitterness, and reconciling relationships?
Everyone gets hurt by others. And everyone hurts others. And one of the greatest ways to set your child up for relational success is seeing a good example. They need to see you forgive quickly, a willingness to reconcile, and letting go of bitterness. To live successfully, our children must learn to understand life. and they need our example and help to know how to navigate their own.
I heard this quote recently: “Our world 20 years from now will be what we have raised our children to be today.” How true. Our parenting has a multi-generational effect, and we need to examine the patterns are we setting for our grandkids. We need to figure out the traits to pass down to future generations, such as respect, generosity, and faith. Unfortunately, important factors like these can fall by the wayside and be lost forever in just one generation. As you think about these questions today, here’s a reminder from Frederick Douglass: “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
We all want to be the best parents we can be for our children, but there is often conflicting advice on how to raise a kid who is confident, kind and successful. And every aspect of being a parent has been more complicated and more fraught during the pandemic, with parents managing complex new assignments and anxious new decisions, all while handling the regular questions that come up in daily life with the children we love. Throughout the circus act of parenting, it’s important to focus on balancing priorities, juggling responsibilities and quickly flipping between the needs of your children, other family members and yourself. Modern parents have the entire internet at their disposal and don’t follow any single authority.
