We make impressions on our children 24/7. They watch what we do, hear what we say, and mimic us. After all, isn’t that what we teach them to do?
Watch Mommy.
Do it like this.
Give a big kick like Daddy.
Say sorry.
Do they pick up the bad habits, too?
The way we speak to the coach.
How we treat the waitress.
The way we drive.
How we react to family members.
Some of these are the ones that we never intend for them to learn. However, there is HOPE – our days can be redeemed! Sometimes it is not enough to live a day at a time, rather we need to get through it one minute at a time or one task at a time. Other days we need a hard reset to re-initialize our core. How we live our day does impact our children. Every day brings opportunities to teach and make positive impressions during those high impact moments.
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Deuteronomy 6:7 [NIV]
When We Sit
Mealtimes are a great time to talk and engage our children. We model manners, conversation as a family, and conversation as a couple. Family nights can also be a fun tradition to establish with a favorite meal, shared activity, and short devotional. These do get harder to schedule as kids get older, but never give up trying. Screen times are also times when we sit. The intent may start out as watching a movie or show together, but nowadays there is the tendency for double-screening (watching a movie while using your phone to check texts, social media, etc. Parents are just as guilty on this issue.) Though we may be physically together, we are cyber worlds apart. Monitor what is watched and create some house-rules about technology during family time. We’ve created a generation that is so good at multi-tasking that we’ve lost their attention with the people right in front of them.
When We Walk
Nature walks (and later, hikes) and walking to school are fun times with your little ones as you can point to creation and our Creator. Listen to your child’s stories, pray with them, and learn what captures his eye. As the kids grow older, these walks turn into drives (to school, to practice, to games, to friend’s homes, to parties, etc). Play music or play games when everyone is in the car. When you can, maximize those one-on-one moments with just the “middles” or “olders” with an occasional spontaneous detour to grab a smoothie or burger. Use driving time to teach and listen.
When We Lie Down
When all the plans of the day come undone and you are ready to give yourself a time-out, bedtime rituals are one of the ways we can close the day well. It can be a story, song, or prayer. It can be something completely unique to your family. Be the parent who keeps knocking on the door of your child’s heart. Don’t drop the leadership when going through a rough patch, but keep pursing your children just as God keeps pursuing us.
When We Get Up
The dawn of a new day can awaken a new atmosphere, attitude, and actions. When we align and fill ourselves with God, first, we can work out of His overflow to set the tone of our home.
We can make a lasting impression when we grow in our own spiritual character each day. The best thing we can do is to keep our eyes on our Heavenly Father and grow in our own holiness in hope that some of it will rub off. We won’t be perfect, but our children can watch and learn from our progress.