Parenting Children - September 9, 2012

Day 26 - Helping Children Make Good Choices Part II

Parenting Children Ages 0-10

4. Be one step ahead

• use distraction, distract your child from the issue causing conflict
• develop your own tarntlu rules to avoid regular arguments

5. Give choices

• being given choices is an important part of a child’s learning to take responsibility
• give choices over issues that are unimportant,
• Which of your toys do you want to take?" and “Do you want to play on the beach or go swimming?"
• giving choices helps to defuse conflict

6. Stay in control

• avoid being dragged into shouting matches our emotional reactions can give children a sense of power over us - like allowing them to press a "big red button" on our chests to see us react. getting angry, chasing them, getting upset
• find a way to give realistic warnings
• don't be manipulated by your child(ren)'s shouting, whining, or tantrums

Question:
How can you stay in control of yourself when faced with bad behaviour?

From Series: Parenting Children Ages 0-10 | More Messages from Parenting Children | Download Audio

From Series: "Parenting Children Ages 0-10"

Study Guide

More Messages Associated With "Values"...

Powered by Series Engine

Slide7We look at a second definition of sin, as replacing God with something else.When we read the Bible we begin to see that in fact the primary way to define sin, is not only the doing of bad things, but it is rather taking things that are good and giving them ultimate significance.   It is about replacing God with something else.Sin is about freely chosing to center our lives on anything but God…..be it human approval, financial success or self control..the list of good and valuable things vulnerable to abuse goes on.  They can even be good things.  When we turn these good things into ultimate things, taking them out of the context for which they were created, then we are on a dangerous and destructive path.  Sin is anytime we take something in this world, pretend that it’s the ultimate good, which makes it very bad for us.

At a conference, I met a pastor from the US and his friends, and got chatting.  This was a pastor who had spent some time in prison, was now a pastor, and had all sorts of tattoos.  The guys with him were asking about the stories behind each tattoo, but then the conversation turned to his wife’s tattoos, that included an opium poppy.  He explained that the opium poppy was an important symbol of her life.  Poppies are a beautiful flower, a good thing.  But people have used and abused poppies to make opium and other drugs that destroy lives.  This was the story of her life – something that God had created to be good and beautiful, that she and others had abused her in all sorts of destructive ways…taking drugs, using her sexually, and more.

It’s the same with many of the good and beautiful things God created – when we abuse them, taking them out of the context for which they were created, that is sin.

Sin is whenever we are centering who we are and what our life is, on things other than God. And we’ve all done that.

 

How does this view of sin differ from how you thought about sin before?

Read John 5-6 and reflect – what kind of power does Jesus have?  What does he say he can do, and what does he do?