Yesterday I spoke on 5 words to shape your parenting.  These are principles that can greatly increase your success as a parent.  Keep in mind that principles are not promises or guarantees, but you have a better chance of success if you follow them than if you do not.

The 5 words are:

Plan – We have a plan for most other areas of our life other than for our family.  Plan a strategy for raising children the way you want them to go.

Protect – It is critically important to protect your relationship with the child so that you can maintain influence over them for the rest of their life. This is not accomplished by giving them what they want, but by gentling balancing discipline with love.

Control – The time to gain control over a child’s actions are when they are young and then a gradual release of authority is given to them, as they get older.  Too many parents allow too much freedom early and then try to get control back when the child tries to be an independent teenager.  It should be the opposite. I wrote a blog post about that earlier.  You can read that HERE.

Invest – Children require an intentional investment of time and energy over time.  Having children who grow up well does not usually just happen, but it is as a result of the right investment of parenting.

Model – You cannot expect children to learn principles you are not willing to model for them.  Children should not be held to higher standards than you hold yourself.

To hear or see this message visit the Grace Community Church resource tab on the website or click HERE.  (It may take a couple days for this message to appear.)

Related posts:

1. 10 Principles of Healthy and Effective Discipline for Children
2. 7 Tips For Surviving The Terrible Threes Of Parenting
3. An Important Parenting Concept: Especially for Parents of Young Children
4. Parenting For A Purpose
5. Parenting Observation From the Supermarket