Who doesn’t want their kids to have a strong character? I know I certainly do. But “hoping” they develop good character traits and being intentional with building these are two different things.
Last year I began focusing on one character trait per month. There are so many character qualities I want them to have and it just seemed overwhelming to focus on ALL of them at the same time. So, breaking them down into monthly bite-size pieces just seemed to make sense to me.
I choose one character trait and one verse per month.
I repeat this verse at least once a day for them to hear it and hopefully memorize it (mostly the 2 older ones). As we go about our day, I will remind them often that God is asking them to pay ATTENTION to mommy. We talk about paying attention with our eyes, our mouths, our ears and our hearts. We played a game today on the swings where I was not listening to them, or looking at them and they had to tell me whether or not I was paying attention. They were laughing and having fun. I try to incorporate this mostly in our normal daily activities.
Honestly, many times, it doesn’t seem they are even listening to me. (Toddlers and preschoolers tend to be great at tuning us out!) But, then at some random point, Gavin will repeat what I’ve said or Annabella will repeat the verse with me and I’ll remember that they are absorbing it. Repetition is key with little ones! But then again, as God reminds me, repetition is key for me to learn as well!
And yes, there are days when I don’t even talk about our character habit. We get busy and life happens and I forget. I am learning God’s grace is sufficient. It’s not about perfection, it’s about progress. Moving forward. Staying in the game. Trusting God.
1. January: Trust.
2. February: Love.
3. March: Attention.
4. April: Obedience.
5. May: Thankfulness.
I have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest. I have more pins than I’ll ever do in my lifetime, but if I’m working on Thankfulness, for example, I will type in “teaching children thankfulness” and it can give me several ideas to implement that month. Pick a FEW ideas, and let the rest go. You can’t do them all!
Charlotte Mason, in Laying Down the Rails, recommends changing habits every 6-8 weeks. You might say, “Wow, that is only 6 habits per year!” But, if you consistently work on habits regularly, you will have instilled at least 60 strong character traits in your child in the course of their first 10 years. Remember, training our children in strong character isn’t a race…it’s a marathon, it’s a journey. We have 18 years to love on and train them. I feel developing their habits and their character is one of the most important aspects of our parenting and worth the extra attention.
There are SO many character traits to build in our children. Make your own list, be intentional and have fun! Let me know what you are working on this year!
Share how you have helped to build your child’s character! I would love to hear from you.
Welcome! I'm Alissa, a mother to 3 adorable children, married to my best friend and an ever aspiring homemaker. I love to read, to learn all I can and to write about my life.
Welcome! I'm Alissa, a wife and mom to 3 little ones. I am passionate about Jesus, adoption, reading, speaking God's truth and seeing women's lives transformed. I would love nothing more than to inspire and challenge you to live differently! So, get comfortable and be encouraged.
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