Give Your Child the Keys
Give Your Child the Keys to Success
My Kid Is Too Young to Have Keys!
That’s okay; I’m not talking about giving your child the physical keys to your car or home. I’m talking about giving your child the Keys to Success in Life, also known as Principles for Living.
There are actually many keys to success in life. The Bible presents them to us, not as rules, but as Principles to live by. I propose that, over the course of time, you give your child each of the keys to success. As you do, demonstrate for your child how to use whatever key you are sharing with them, while explaining why the key is important, telling your child about the benefits of using the key.
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Sound Confusing?
It might! However, I’m here to give you practial guidance today as well as pointing you to the Word of God, where God gives us many examples. Within the pages of the books in the Bible, there are multiple, real-life examples of how other people handed the keys to success in life to their children. You can also find tips scattered throughout the Bible, especially in Proverbs and the letter written by James to the Church in the New Testament. We can also learn from the examples set by elders, whether found within the Bible record or someone more contemporary to our day, who spoke words of wisdom and made good choices, doing the right thing even when it was hard.
I say this, trusting that Bible reading is a part of your daily life.
The Holy Bible, God’s Word
If you aren’t doing this yet: reading the Bible every day…you are missing out on one of the greatest blessings given to mankind! Tips to help you get started:
- Don’t wait another day; start before you retire for the night.
- Ask God to help you be consistent about reading his Word, prayerfully, every day.
- Start small, reading a brief passage if it seems helpful.
- If you don’t know where to start, begin with the Psalms, Proverbs, or in the New Testament.
- Track what you read as you go to feel a sense of accomplishment after completing a section.
Why? Read the Bible for your own benefit and life success! There is no greater resource than the Holy Bible for guidance on how to achieve success in life by using the keys to success God has given us. Read it in front of your children to set an example for them. Read from God’s Word, which is filled with the keys to success, to your child every day.
Teach Children To Love God’s Word
Because of the fact that setting my children up for success in life was one of my primary goals in life, I did everything I could to try to impart to my children a love for the Bible. I wanted to ensure they would know to refer to the God’s Word when needing a key to success in any situation.
Bible Reading
- A simple approach that helped me get God’s Word into my little ones early in the day: After serving my family at the breakfast table, I read about 10 verses or so to them while they ate. I worked at training my children that we don’t talk while the Bible is being read, either at home or at Church, plus, they were hungry. As a result, for the most part, they were able to listen in the pleasant atmosphere set by eating yummy food together as a family.
- Another way of instilling a love for God’s Word into children is to give them their own Bible. Here is the link to see a beautiful, feminine Bible for young girls, and another link to view a very handsome Bible for young men. I highly recommend training your young child to treat the Bible with respect, while maintaining parental maturity and a good sense of understanding that your child may not be capable of knowing what respect for the Bible looks like, or may simply be forgetful. Keeping the Goal in mind at all times: Teaching your child to love God’s Word, will help with this. Plus ongoing prayers!
- I found that my children loved to listen as I read God’s Word to them at the end of our bed-time routine. They fell asleep to the soft sound of their momma’s voice reading the Holy Bible, feeling loved from the snuggle and chat time they each had with her, and feeling secure in the care of God to whom they had prayer before laying their heads on their pillows.
- They loved learning simple songs, so I made up tunes for my toddlers to go along with short scripture verses. Sometimes hand-motions were added to those songs, making it more interactive for them. I always tried to show how pleased I was when they quoted God’s words.
Bible Wall Art – Another Approach
- When I read that God told his people to place his words on the walls of their homes, I took this literally, placeing framed scriptures where they would be seen easily by all. Sometimes I made these on my computer, other times I hand lettered or calligraphed verses, and at times added artwork; always, I thought of the impact those scriptures could have on my family. Family and friends commented on these pieces of Bible wall art through the years, and at times I earned a little fun money through commissioned custom pieces. Win-Win!
- A family friend did something I have always appreciated. She had a chalkboard in her home, on which she wrote biblically-sound positive quotes. This board was located in a central location, where everyone was exposed to the goodness of those quotes first thing in the morning. She switched the quotes out with new ones on an ongoing basis, keeping it fresh and keeping interest in her children, who wondered what the quote would be that day. Here is a link to a basic, made in the US, birch-framed chalkboard for you to begin your search if you want to include this idea into your home life. Alternative ideas along this line, each linked: Dry Erase magnetic whiteboard with 2 markers, 2 magnets, and an eraser, and here is a little more innovative idea: Transparent Sticky Notes. These are 2 pads, each with 50: 5.5″ x 8″ sheets. They look really nice, are easily removed and replaced on your refrigerator, and it appears they might be reusable if the ink used is wipe-able.
Fun, Bible-Related Activities Encourage Bible Reading
- There are games and competitive activities you can consider incorporating into your family life that will encourage your children to love God’s Word, such as Bible Trivia for kids, Portals and Prophets, So You Think You Know The Bible, or participating in some form of competitive Bible memorization. For example, some youth groups hold what they call Sword Drills, where a verse reference is called out to the group, and the first person to stand and begin to say the verse wins that drill.
- If your children are creative, you can encourage a love for God’s Word by providing them with many opportunities to color a picture or create a craft representing Bible characters, stories, or elements in a story such as boats, fish, a whale, an ark, fruit, etc. Think as if you have your own little Sunday School class at home; you DO! What do children bring home with them after Sunday School?
Whatever you do with your child, it is your personal interactions with them during and after the activity that brings about that valuable passing of the keys for success to your child. The experience of a parent’s interest in their activity is the most effective method for encouraging more of this kind of activity. Children crave their parent’s attention and are interested in what the parent proves they are interested in. We prove our interest by focusing our attention on it, talking about it, asking questions to provoke thoughfulness and to find out what is being understood, and by answering questions patiently and kindly.
Craft & Art Supplies
Supplies for crafts are often in your home already, or you may find inexpensive paper, glue, tape, tempura paint, and brushes, from a local store.
If you prefer to shop online, here are some links for supplies you might want to try: Washable, non-toxic tempura paint set. The set includes 12 bottles of paint, 6 brushes, 2 palettes, and one washing bucket. Here is a simple sketchpad. For NON-DRYING, resuable, non-toxic molding dough, this looks fun for kids and parents alike! Finaly, for today, here is the link to a set of 36 colored pencils. I don’t always love name brands, but I confess that I highly recommend Crayol brand colored pencils. The color is as vivid as many high-end artist brands, yet the price is definitely nicer for many families.
NOTE: Always keep in mind the ages and abilities of your children for the sake of safety and to experience minimal frustation in your home.
Free Printable for Creative Bible-Related Fun
Click on this link to access my free gift to you: a printable pdf file with two of my original, hand-sketched coloring pages you may want to use for your children’s creative fun, plus a puzzle template to turn your child’s art into a reusable gift item.
Please be aware that these are my original sketches, and be respectful of intellectual copyright laws. For you to sell my work would infringe on my copyright. Colored or painted versions of my sketches are considered derivative works, and I, as the original creator, still retain the copyright.
That said, please make and use copies freely in your home or for Sunday School!
Your Turn
I hope these ideas inspire you with ideas of your own. My ways are not the only ways of giving your child the Keys to Success in Life. However, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). “Fear”, not meaning being afraid of God, but rather, having a strong reverence toward him and respecting him.
Find what works for your family situation to share the keys for life success with your child, knowing that, ultimately, the keys to success rest soundly upon the solid foundation of the Word of God.
One Key to Success in Life
Responsibility: a Key to Success in Life
Toady I’m writing about just one of the keys to success in life: Responsibility. Future posts will cover other keys, so I hope you will come back to read them!
This key of Responsibility, like most of the keys, is really for anyone and everyone, regardless of age; so, not just for your children. Freely use this key to Success in Life in your own life while sharing it with your child.
How to Give the Key of Responsibility to a Child
It seems most parents understand how much their child loves to be given the chance to show they can be responsible. I’ve known very young toddlers to clamour for the chance to do something as simple as turn the key to unlock the door to let everyone else into their car or home. They see you do this, and being allowed to copy your leadership actions makes them feel they are more mature, or “big” in their own estimation. Responsibility can be a tool for building your child’s self-confidence, which is another key to success in life. Two wins in one!
Show and Teach a Child Over Time
When it comes to allowing your child to carry responsiblity, it’s truthfully up to you, the parent, to be able to know how much your child can handle. It can be truly devastating to a child to be given responsibility too early. For instance: If the entire care of the family meal is placed on an older child who has not had time to learn at their parent’s side, they will likely feel like a total failure with the results. Sadly, I’ve witnessed parents doing just this. The teen wanted to please their parent, failed due to not really understanding, and felt unloved when the parent showed anger toward the teen rather than being understanding. Children must be shown and trained over the course of time. Slowly increasing the number of responsibilities and the kinds of things for which your child is responsible is what I have found to be the fail-safe way.
You’ve Got This!
Parenting is something that has been going on ever since Adam and Eve, yet there is no simple instruction manual to show parents “How To”. There are many books, blogs, podcasts, and magazines geared toward providing parents the guidance and sense of support they need. Sadly, my observation has been that most of these fall short of the mark. The parent spends time in the thing they hope will help them be a better parent, but the relationship with their child is seldom changed for the better, or if it does improve, they may be short-lived changes.
The very best a parent can do is begin with themselves, cultivating a sincere desire to have a personal, close relationship with the living God. This approach requires reading his Word prayerfully and often, faithful Church attendance, asking God to help in each challenging situation encountered within the family, and possibly asking older, godly women who have successfully raised their own children to love God and to be actively involved in God’s work.
In all of this, there must be a humble awareness of our limitations as human parents and of our need for God. This humility and this acknowledging God will enable us to grow personally. We will begin to realize we are becoming, from the inside to the outside of our being, all that God has planned for our lives.
God knows how difficult and yet how very rewarding it can be to raise children in the times we live in. His desire is YOUR success, as well as that of your children. Seek to be close to him and ask him for help all throughout your day, take steps to do what you believe God is leading you to do based on biblical principles, and you WILL BE SUCCESSFUL AT GIVING YOUR CHILD THE KEYS TO SUCCESS!
I believe in you!
I would love to hear from you if you have questions about what I have written here, or if there is something related to the traditional Christian family home that you would like to have me cover. Thank you for taking time to read my post!
