Each morning before getting ready for work/school my daughter and I have our snuggle time. Hubby and my high schooler are gone for the day, so it's just the two of us in the house. Sometimes we just snuggle under the warm comforters and sometimes we talk. There are a lot of things on the mind of a 4th grader, you just don't know!! So this morning was a talk morning. My daughter informed me that her friend C had stolen a cookie from the lunch counter. Apparently someone told on C and she lied about it. But finally she broke down and told the truth. Another student began to talk about stealing, which upset C even more and she was crying.
This discussion opened the door for a deeper discussion on how God gives us a conscience so that when we do something wrong we feel bad. We talked about why C felt bad and would probably have felt bad even if she didn't get caught. We talked about how our conscience lets us know if we are doing something good or bad and we talked about how God gave us this tool to use so that we can make the right choices. I saw the light bulb go on! She was able to make the connection! Yaay! These are things we discuss all the time but sometimes you need to take a real-life situation and apply what we learned in church.
I learned too. I can't assume that a child just knows these things. It's important to take the time to listen and work through different situations. It's important to let your child know they are being heard.
What have you taught your child about lately, more importantly, what have they taught you? Was it a light bulb moment for you or them? What made it a light bulb moment?
I used to pray for teachable moments. Now, I don't have to. My children are very inquisitive. We usually listen to a Christian family radio station on the way to school and my 5 year old will ask lots of questions about God and Jesus. I love this time we share because their questions are so spur of the moment. The funniest time was when she asked if Jesus was with us on earth...I said yes, through the Holy Spirit and in us. As I turned the corner, she yelled "There's Jesus!" I about crashed the minivan, straining to see... where? I asked, "on the sidewalk!" was her reply! :)
ReplyDeleteThat is so cute and funny Suzanne, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMargaret, I love this post. Even with my grown children I look for teaching moments. A couple of weeks ago one of my daughters criticized someone for complaining. Later in the afternoon she herself complained in the same sort of circumstance. I brought it to her attention in a joking manner then realized I was guilty of the same thing. We both agreed that we shouldn't be so quick to judge others.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to find teaching moments. My daughter is VERY inquisitive, so we tend to chat a lot. In this world today, we need to be mindful that we are constantly "staying in their head."
ReplyDeleteThanks for the sweet comment! I am glad you enjoyed my post. I hope you have a lovely weekend.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless,
Emily