Since becoming a Mom almost nine years ago I have experienced many awesome Mom moments, and many struggles and heartbreaking times too. As a parent you pour your love, time, energy, and wisdom into making sure that your children grow up great, surround themselves with good friends, and make wise choices.
Do you ever wonder if any of what you are pouring into your child is staying in? So many times during teachable moments my kids will roll their eyes, start to be goofy, fidget, and do anything to get out of listening to Mom ramble on about good choices, being kind to each other, and good communication blah blah blah.
And then it happens-one moment in time that your kids show you that lets you see that all that you are teaching them really is sinking in! Those puff me up, pat on the back proud parent moments make all the work worth it.
I had 2 moments like this recently and my hubby and I were so proud that we talked about it to anyone that would listen, tweeted about it to let the world know, and have told our kids how very proud we are of them! It’s the small glimpses of watching our kids grow that we cherish, and hold onto as a confirmation that we are headed in the right direction.
It was our sweet boy’s holiday party and they were decorating yummy cookies! A little boy at his table really wanted a snowman cookie and there was only one left with a detached head. He accepted the cookie but you could tell he was disappointed by the way the cookie looked. As soon as the cookie hit the boy’s plate my sweet boy jumped to his feet and quickly switched his perfect snowman cookie for the broken one. A Mom standing nearby was floored by my sweet boy’s act of kindness towards his classmate, and it was all I could do not to start crying on the spot. Such a proud parent moment!!
The proud parent moments continued as Christmas Day came and my blonde sweet girl received a BFF necklace! As she looked at the little heart that she had to give away to her best friend I could see her thinking. She got up from her spot, walked over to my little love and said you are my sister and my best friend I would like you to have this heart because I know that we will best friends forever. Now I cried. It’s true that they do everything together, they are inseparable and even though they can really fight with one another they are best friends and that is something that I hope will last a lifetime.
2 proud parents moments in one week! Watching our kids grow to be truly great has made us not only proud but has given us the encouragement to continue on the journey of raising our kids for true greatness!
Here are some ways that we pour into our kids:
1. Compliment Them:
My hubby and I try to remember not only to compliment each another but we compliment our children as well. You look really pretty or handsome today, wow that’s really great work you have done, great putting away your clothes etc. are some ways that we compliment them. It teaches them to compliment others and to have the confidence and value in themselves!
2. Treat Them The Way That You Want Them To Treat Others:
There have been countless moments where we have overheard our kids talking with one another or with friends in the same tone of voice, and with the same mannerisms as we speak to them. Sometimes we smile to ourselves at how sweet they sound, and other times we cringe at how harsh they sound. Teaching our kids how to respond to different situations, first begins with how we respond to them when things are good or bad.
3. In Good Times And Bad Times-We Talk:
When our kids come home with a art project, when they work hard at their sport, when they help each other out we talk to them. We clearly communicate what a great job they are doing and we tell them we are proud that they are working hard and making good choices. When our kids get sent to their rooms, need to take a break, or lose a privilege we talk with them. We talk with them about what we expect and about responsibility. Rules without relationship equals rebellion. We are setting the tone now so that as our kids grow we can leverage the firm foundation of the relationship we have built.
4. We Show Them Grace:
This seems to come up every time I write a parenting post. I can’t help it! So much of our parenting is grace based. Recently, there have been moments where we have not shown grace because our kids needed to learn a lesson. Sometimes that’s necessary for them to understand fully what you are trying to teach them. More often than not we extend grace to our kids and we know that it sinks in as we have seen them extend grace to others.
5. We Teach Compassion:
Some kids have compassion woven in the fabric of their DNA, while for others it is a learned behavior. Our kids are split down the middle. We are teaching our kids compassion towards others. It has started in the small things like praying for the person stuck on the side of the road, helping someone out in the store that needs assistance, and serving at church together. The last one has been a great joy for my hubby and I as we see our kids wanting to serve and be apart of helping others. We desire to be that family that reaches out together to help others.
What an exciting journey we are on with lots of proud parent moments to share! Our hope and prayer is that these moments continue to be countless as we walk along the journey of life with our kids.
We are always looking to be encouraged and know that we are not alone in this journey! Share with us a proud parent moment in the comment box below. 🙂
{Ways We Show Our Kids Value}
