In that role as mother, we also function as a teacher, friend, mentor, etc., and we must know when to turn on and turn off each function. The responsibility of a mother is a blessing, yet it comes with a high degree of responsibility. I don’t take that responsibility lightly.

Our children are gifts from God (Psalm 127:3) who honours us with the awesome task of training our children so that He can use them for His glory (Malachi 2:15). Our responsibility is to train up a child and give them direction.

We can still be great parents and providers but it takes work and time. Whether you are a stay-at-home mom or a career woman, don’t allow guilt to swallow you up about your decision. Whichever one you make, the decision must be what’s best for the family and for the child. Be at peace with your decision knowing that the season for raising them is just that – a season.

What exactly can you do to help your children stay on the right path as they travel through the journey of life?  It is inevitable that there will be challenges and difficulties along the road to raising godly children, which makes it even more imperative to give your children a strong foundation in God. This will help them to stand firm in the face of life’s adversities when they are out on their own.

Here are 15 principles to help prepare your child for success:

Principle One: Develop Your Child’s Relationship with God – “Allow the little children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the Kingdom of God” – Jesus, the son of God

Principle Two: Teach Your Child Biblical Principles to Live By – “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” – Frederick Douglass

Principle Three: Develop Your Child’s Character – “Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you.”- H. Jackson Brown

Principle Four: Pray for and Teach Your Child How to Pray – “The school will teach children how to read, but the environment of the home must teach them what to read. The school can teach them how to think, but the home must teach them what to believe.” – Charles A. Wells

Principle Five: Create a Unified Front with Your Spouse – “Virtually every issue that we deal with, be it education…be it human services, gang problems or drugs, we find STRONG FAMILIES the ultimate solution.” – Roger Lewin

Principle Six: Be a Good Example for Your Child – “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” – James Baldwin

Principle Seven: Teach the Ups and Downs of Relationships – “Model for children how a well-put-together adult handles him/herself.” – Unknown

Principle Eight: Have Fun with Your Children – “Your children need your presence more than your presents.” – Jesse Jackson

Principle Nine: Monitor Your Child’s Friends & Entertainment Sources -

“Parents are children’s first and most influential teachers. By reading to children or having them read to us, by making sure homework is done, by monitoring television use, by knowing how children spend their time, parents can have a powerfully positive effect on their children’s learning.” – U.S. Secretary of Education

Principle Ten: Teach Your Children to Make Their Own Decisions – “Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve.” – Roger Lewin

Principle Eleven: Encourage Your Child – “Affirming words from moms and dads are like light switches. Speak a word of affirmation at the right moment in a child’s life and it’s like lighting up a whole roomful of possibilities.” – Gary Smalley

Principle Twelve: Discipline Your Children – “There should be a healthy balance between work and play in every child’s life. Dare to discipline.” – Unknown

Principle Thirteen: Train “EACH” Child the Way “THEY” Should Go – “There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.” – Hodding Carter

Principle Fourteen: Teach “Real” Life Lessons – “Empower your child by giving him/her a choice and a chance. Let them learn to make their own decisions, when appropriate, and learn to trust their feelings.” – Doc Children and Sara Paddison

Principle Fifteen: Preparing a Well-Rounded Child – “I looked on childrearing not only as a work of love and duty but as a profession that was fully interesting and challenging as any honorable profession in the world and one that demanded the best that I could bring to it.” – Rose Kennedy

No one really knows if they are successful as parents until they come to the end of life. What is a successful parent? Are you a bad parent if your teenager gets pregnant? Are you a bad parent if your children are on drugs or become an alcoholic? I can’t answer that, only you can. However, I believe a successful parent is one who does what the Bible states, “trains up a child in the way they should go, and when they leave, they will not depart.” (Prov. 22:6). Our only responsibility is to take care of their needs, train them and love them. Our success is based on if we have done all we can to prepare them for this life and the one to come. Not only are we to train and prepare them for their time here on the earth, we are also responsible for preparing them spiritually. My children are still young but so far, from the accolades that I receive from their school, church, and other people, I must be off to a great start. Will I feel like a failure if they make bad decisions? Maybe. But as long as I know that I’ve done everything possible, according to the Word of God, I’ll be at peace. Because I have a promise from God that if I train them in the way they should go, they will not depart from it.

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The character you were playing when you were young – a chef in a play kitchen or a general in the Stars Wars of your imagination – are still perhaps being played by many children nowadays. Pretend play is such a source of joy that even with the advent of so many modern games, this old-fashioned imaginative play never loses its appeal.

At some time or other, you may have worn your mother’s favourite apron while pretending to have a party with your miniature tea sets on a tiny table, serving make-believe tea and scones to your favourite doll. Or you may have been in command of your action figures, leading them to the battlefield in the centre of your living room.

Promoting Pretend Play

As children warm up to the idea of role playing, whoever’s babysitting would usually be assigned a role. It may seem ridiculous for a grown up like you to assist in a play kitchen or act as the customer in a lemonade stand the size of your arm. But the benefits it can bring to your child won’t make it so ridiculous anymore.

- When your little boy is playing with his action figures, comment on how the little ones need the guidance of a teacher or the care of a doctor.

Because of the many benefits it can give; children should be encouraged to engage in pretend play. But never impose the idea or it will lose its appeal. Here are some scenarios for starting a pretend play:

- If your child pretends to be a wild animal ready to pounce on you, go along with it. You can act scared at first and then pretend to tame him by giving imaginary food and petting him on the head.

- If you see your little girl constantly dressing up her doll, ask her where her dolly is off to and maybe it’s better for little dolly to have something to eat in the play kitchen before taking off.

Benefits of Pretend Play

When children realize they can be any character they want to be, their self-confidence could grow. And with this comes the desire and strength to explore new things. . As kids act out the part of somebody else, empathy is planted.
Social and Emotional Development – Children can become whoever they want to be in pretend play. Because of this, they are able to get a very basic view of how it’s like to be a doctor with his toy hospital or how it’s like to be a chef with her play kitchen
Mental Development – Even if it’s just child’s play, there are also many problem-solving situations that children encounter during role playing. It may be a concern on what material should best replace a lost play kitchen spoon or who among the action figures to pick as the second in command. The process of looking for solutions to obstacles develops the analytical skills of your child. It also promotes resourcefulness, creativity, abstract thinking and logical reasoning.

Communication – Whether children are playing with their parents, playmates, dolls or imaginary friends, they will always engage in conversation. A child starts to learn the importance of communication, especially when he or she mimics grown-up talk and actions. When children pretend to read to their dolls or write down grocery lists, they may be motivated to start learning how to read and write.

So encourage your child to pretend play. You can start off by presenting a play kitchen or a doctor’s kit. Remember, the skills that your child learns here are the skills that matter in real life.

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Obviously, being a good parent takes quite a bit of work.

Parenting is certainly one of the most difficult tasks you will ever have in this lifetime. As a parent, you not only have amazing responsibilities, but you must also implement all of your actions in the

Mother & Baby

most skilled manner possible in order to achieve the best results possible. Obviously, being a good parent takes quite a bit of work.

By focusing all of your efforts upon these particular areas of being a parent, you can be certain that all of your actions and your beliefs are moving your child in the direction of the best lifestyle they can live. There are a few concepts you can focus all of your efforts as a parent upon in order to increase the effectiveness of your parenting skills though.

One of the most notable affects you can create in your child’s life through praise is an increased sense of self-confidence. Praise is often believed to be the most important skill you can establish as a parent. If you can praise your child on a regular basis, you will be able to create a variety of beneficial effects in your child’s life.

Oftentimes, praise is much more effective than punishment due to the way it encourages children to take positive actions and steps in their lives. Punishment on the other hand often leads to rebellious behaviour and other character traits most parents would not find to be pleasing.

If you can train a child to expect praise for performing a specific action, you can be certain that that the child will perform the action more consistently than they probably would if they never received praise for performing the action.

A plan may be one of the most helpful tools you can take advantage of as a parent today. If you are like most parents, you believe you can simply raise your child without a plan. Many parents believe that they will always take the right actions under any circumstances they may be dealing with. If you approach parenting from this standpoint though, you will find out later that you could have taken much more effective and helpful actions when it came to raising your child.

If you have a plan though, you can take actions that follow your plan in order to guide your child towards the most appropriate choices they can make. The best part about utilizing a plan is the fact that it can always guide you towards the best actions you can take at any given time. A parent without a plan will have to follow their instincts in order to guide their child through difficult times.

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