Happy New Year to all our mothers in the blog world, and a warm welcome to our new mothers. As we start the new year I would like to share some thoughts about child rearing in the year 2012.
Child rearing in this day and age can be very challenging. Most people would agree that raising children in any era has it’s own set of challenges. I am sure that some mothers would readily agree that when we were growing up our mothers did not have it half as challenging as mothers do these days. What then is the cause of this and what has changed?
Unlike those days gone by, mothers today are faced with a unique set of challenges that seem to make it so much more difficult to raise their children. A major source of these challenges manifest in the form of technology. This includes: computers, texting, tweeting, facebook, video games, and of course television. Yes, challenges have changed…but the methods have not.
Putting it in perspective:
As mothers, it is imperative that we are empowered with the right knowledge base from which we carry out the important ministry of child rearing. God has not only entrusted this very vital ministry to us, but has provided the resources for us to be successful at it. For example, it is important for us to remember that our children are made up of body, soul and spirit.
Body is where the senses dwell; soul is where self dwells; spirit is where God dwells
The soul is made up of three parts: emotion, intellect and will. Children, created by God, disobey your command because their “soul-life” activates their personality [that is, their mind, their will and their emotions]. Knowing this help us use wisdom to deal with the issue of disobedience.
Likewise, it is important for us as mothers to be familiar with the fact that our children go through developmental stages, and that these stages are accompanied by certain behaviors. Erik Erikson, the famous developmental child psychologist, has done an excellent job outlining and explaining these stages. This is important for us as mothers to know because it helps us to understand that, for example, the 2 year old that is hitting and taking other children’s toys should not be labeled a “bad boy” because he is going through the stage where these behaviors occur or are expected. If we are not aware of these stages and corresponding tasks and behavior; when we observe certain behaviors in our children we end up blaming demons, the devil and others.
Child rearing at times not only tests our faith in God, but it also puts our witness on display. It is imperative that we have faith in God in spite of how that child behaves. We have to trust that God will do what He says he will do. We cannot focus on the behavior; we have to focus on the word of God. Your faith will sustain you in the challenging times. Jeremiah 17:7-8 says: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.”
God bless you richly!
In his service,
Paula Watson
MPUSH Team Member
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