Howtoencourage

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Encouragement for a Generous Kid Holiday Season

Holidays can be intense as you are trying to train your kids to go from greedy to grateful and generous. Moms, you know there is so much more competition for the hearts and minds of your kids. You have to be intentional in teaching and modeling attitudes you want your kids to grow up with. Do you know any spoiled bratty kids? I mean seriously, who likes to be around them?

You know, it starts early, moms. Even before Thanksgiving and really before that. It’s about the whole culture in your home.

Holidays can bring about intense feelings that sometimes surprise us—we might have to face our insecurities. There is pleasure and pain involved--whether it be an overload of family relationships or expectations you put on yourself-about buying presents when you can’t make ends meet already. What will my kids say and think about me if they don’t get their wishes?

Instead of focusing on the gimme’s, which I did not realize I was doing, like when they were bored or fighting, I would tell them to make lists of what they wanted, I tried to read some stories of people less fortunate than us or stories that had heart. We did angel tree and took our kids with when we delivered the presents. One year was especially precious as the mom called the dad from prison and the kids told him what they got from him--in front of us. We just did the Operation Christmas child-maybe you included some of your older kids in choosing and buying.

If you ask and are aware when you receive those special moments, the atmosphere in your home will be all about Christmas magic and you can really live the real reason for holiday season.

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