How to prepare your kids to thrive when they’re out on their own
By Mo Hodge
Celebrate progress instead of success. Work hard and never give up
Our goal as parents is to give our children as much responsibility as they can handle as soon as they can handle it. We’re preparing them to thrive when they get “out on their own”. As we raised our children, success was never the main goal. The process of overcoming failures and making progress was. We celebrated the progress and never worried much about success. Work hard and never give up could have been our mantra.
We developed a prayer commitment with our kids. Every challenge in every area was met with prayer. This began with tests in elementary school. They prepared but never felt like they were fully ready. They needed God to help them. We would ask them what time they were taking the test and we promised that we would pray for them at that time. This prayer commitment continued through college and grad school. I remember Jared calling me before tests while he was in law school and making sure I would pray for him at that time. It was such a gift to Nancy and I that our kids depended on our prayers.
There were some themes that we lived by, too. No alcohol or non-prescription drugs. Anywhere. Ever. Limited access to phone and Internet — Limited screen time. Lots of family time — Lots of studying — Lots of self-discipline required with lots of rewards. And and yes, with some penalties — Lots of forgiveness — Lots of sports — Lots of hunting with Jared and I. Lots of shopping with Nancy and Audra. There were lots of Christian events (think church and Campus Life) —Lots of Jesus — Lots of prayer — Lots of the Bible! A special thanks to Dave Fox during their high school years. Lots of fun — Lots of love — Lots of family and friends with Jesus at the center (Jesus was full of “grace and truth”). Lots of grace (think forgiveness) and truth (think Jesus’ commands).
There you have it. How to prepare your kids to thrive when they’re out on their own.
As founding Pastor of and Executive Director of Mo Hodge Ministries, Mo resources Pastors and Leaders in the area of leadership development. He enables Pastors and leaders in the following areas: Developing Teams, Church Growth, Church Planting, Discipleship Multiplication, Nonprofit Organizational Management, Multi-site Church Development, Public Speaking, Capital Campaigns, and Sr. Pastor Succession. …
Mo and his wife, Nancy, live in Anderson, IN with their children and grandchildren. Though retired, Mo is still active in ministry, preaching, teaching, and planting new churches wherever the Lord leads.
Mo invites you to follow him on LinkedIn or through his Newsletter.
Feature Image by Phan Minh Cuong An from Pixabay
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