If you want your child to do the right thing and yet, right now they are constantly making unwise choices – doesn’t matter if they are toddlers or teens – these 4 heart-focused parenting strategies will help you.

• Set Boundaries and limitations
• Give Prompts and encouragements
• Provide A way of escape
• Be a parent with a good attitude

There is a way to help our kids do the right thing, without always resorting to discipline and correction.

Listen in to the latest Heart-focused Parenting podcast (Episode #79) to learn how these strategies work in your family, and on your child’s heart.

Truth bomb…. The truth about your child’s immaturity is that it is normal – they are a child!

Let that sink in. It will change how you find patience, grace, forgiveness, consistency, diligence, self-control as a parent.

They are a child. They are learning. They can’t do right just yet.

Just yet is the key.

Being a child is not an excuse for not learning, not trying, not taking responsibility.

It is a reminder to us as parents to see the child for where they are at, and to teach and train and hold them accountable in appropriate ways for the things that they have learnt but always remembering, immaturity is normal – they are learning and until they’ve learnt it you can’t hold them accountable.

Its is frustrating but true. Our kids won’t learn the first time we tell them, and not even the second. 

Parenting is about teaching and practicing over and over and over.

We are not just getting them to do the right thing, we want them to understand why it is important and value the rightness of what we are teaching.

Parenting is never a one-and-done type of thing.

It is frustrating but true!  Don’t you agree?

Parenting is more about us the parent than it is about our kids. Which is why we need to do the heart work ourselves if we are going to be heart-focused parents.

We need to know what we believe, why we believe it and how we are going to live it.

When we are available, aware, diligent and compassionate we will be giving our best selves to our kids helping them grow in all areas of their lives so they can be all that God made them to be.

Which character trait do you need to work on in your life? One of these or another one you are conscious of?

First step is to recognise the need.

Second is to define what the virtue means – define it.

Then you can start working out how to live it out.