Make good choices.
Be smart.
WWJD–What would Jesus do?
Remember who you are.
If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you too?
Remember to whom you belong.
All questions or statements parents make to encourage their kids to think before they act. I’ve said most of them.
And…to be honest–they weren’t all that effective.
Parents speak these words. Kids hear “Blah, blah. blah.” and respond with, “Yah, I KNOW…”
The trouble with all these go-to words of advice is that they are non-specific and difficult to apply in the middle of a decision crisis. They also come out of the parent’s mouth rather than the child’s head.
What if we instead trained our kiddos how to strain their decision making through the Philippians 4 filter?
Rather than being the Controller and telling our young people what to do or being the Chum and letting them do whatever they wanted to do, what if we were more like the Coach and Consultant and got them thinking about the Whatevers?
Let’s take the process a step further by asking a few more questions.
Please share how have you trained your kids to make wise choices.
© LoriWildenberg. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Lori Wildenberg is a licensed parent and family educator, parent coach, and co-founder of 1Corinthians13 Parenting.com. She has written 6 books including Messy Journey: How Grace and Truth Offer the Prodigal a Way Home; The Messy Life of Parenting: Powerful and Practical Ways to Strengthen Family Connections; and her most recent book, Messy Hope: Help Your Child Overcome Anxiety, Depression, or Suicidal Ideation. Contact Lori for your next event or for parent consulting or parent training courses. Lori can also be found mentoring over at the MOMS Together Group on Facebook.
Wow, thank you for this, Lori. I've just saved the link because I need to have A Talk with my 16-year-old SOON now that A Boyfriend has joined the party. She is our learner child, so this is new territory for us. I'm looking for all the wisdom I can find to guide and encourage her…thanks for giving me some today. Stopping by from Moms Together on Facebook! 🙂
Hey Elizabeth! Love your comment. And really 1st or not…aren't all our kids our learner kids? Each one is so different from the other. I'm so glad you found the post helpful. I'd love to hear how your conversation goes. Get 'em thinking. A parent's goal for the teen. And re: moms together I'll be facilitating the discussion on Monday if you want to drop by! 🙂 blessings to you !