Do you spend too much time with your Child?

I’ll never stop repeating how important spending as much time as possible with your child is.  So important is time spent with him that if you asked me I’d tell you buy time from any other pursuit to create this time.  

Why? To bring up a balanced child a parent must give balanced education, for nurturing and instilling desirable qualities. It’s time you’ll spend imparting life skills to him, which skills – both practical and emotional are necessary if he is to grow up to be a well balanced person.

Nothing can be achieved without there being good communication.  For there to be good communication, there must be great friendships.  How can we achieve these – teach them how and do chores in the house with them.  Teach them to clean the house, to cook, create time to play with them and as they grow older, do fun things together like go out camping together as a family not always with a group of friends.

Teach them that time is the most important commodity we have – that its not expandable so it needs to be spent well.  Is it possible that you can do away with having a T.V. in the home? If you feel you cannot, then monitor how much time he is spending watching it and most important what he is watching.  My advice, violent computer games are a no, no!

So how can they learn how to use time well, let them learn how to play a musical instrument or join a team sport?  These help them develop skills important for confidence but also teach them to become team players.

For the older child, If the surroundings allow, let them have a pet.  I sometimes hear parents saying they cannot deal with the’ mess’, and it is true, keeping a pet is quite a responsibility, but this ‘mess’ can be managed but the training the child gets is invaluable in his later life. As his God given instructor, everything he knows about life – including and especially relationships and sex, must be learnt from you.

As noted in The New Encyclopædia Britannica, “keeping pets offers the opportunity to teach children the close dependence of privilege on responsibility and also something about sex. The process of mating is soon noticed, followed by such matters as gestation periods and the varied problems involved in the birth and care of young.”  So having a pet can create an opportunity to discuss one of the most difficult topics you will one day have to discuss with your child the topic of sex and relationships.

Finally, and most important teach him how to pray. Pray with him and for him, let him hear you entreat your heavenly Father on his behalf.  And in the reversed role where you are the child and God is the Father, please pray for the child and for God’s help to help him bring up this precious gift.

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