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| My five year-old acting responsibly. |
In light of it being a Friday, I thought I would take this chance to create a light-hearted entry about a wonderful family member.
My daughter, Kaelyn, is such a delightful five year-old. As you can see from the picture she likes peanut butter sandwiches. From having raised her older sister with a set of responsibilities, I realized that a hungry child can be encouraged to feed herself. Her siblings and I have equipped her with the instructions on how to create a sandwich. It has been satisfying to know that Kaelyn can fend for herself.
The way I see it, if you don't allow a child to make her own sandwich (or some such responsible skill) then you are handicapping him/her. What would happen if you didn't have time or weren't available to make her a meal? Would she go hungry? Would she figure out what to do? Or would she nag you until you dropped whatever you were doing to feed her?
I'm not saying that a parent should neglect her children. I'm just saying that one of the best things you can do as a parent is to let them have pride in learning how to do something for themselves.
Of course, a child at the age of five can also do other things. She can change out of her pajamas, put on some fresh clothes, and throw the dirty ones in the hamper. I think that if my child can do those chores for herself, then I have done my job in equipping her to later run her own household.
Yes! I am thinking ahead. My children have shown me what they are capable of doing. I thank God that He has given me the wisdom to direct my children in this area of learning. I am even more glad when He has encouraged me to step back from intervening.
How about you, my readers? What about the children in your life? What do your children do, young or old, that make you proud? It's fine if your children can make music or art. Can they clean up after themselves? Can they manage a household? I encourage you to examine whether your children are capable of fending for themselves sufficiently, in an appropriate proportion to their age.
God bless you all with His peace, my beloveds.
This has been part of my Family Fun Fridays series. I hope you enjoyed it.
