Your Child’s Hero
By Chick Moorman & Thomas Haller
www.PersonalPowerPress.com
Johnny Johnson’s thirteen your old daughter
stayed up later than usual to finish her homework recently. She was
working on a writing assignment that was due in the morning. Her middle
school teacher had assigned it a week earlier, but like a lot of teens,
the youngster saved her writing efforts until the last minute.
Mr. Johnson’s daughter, Sabrina, had talked about the assignment earlier
in the week. Her job was to pick one of her heroes and tell why this
particular person was a hero to her. Gentle reminders from her father
about completing the assignment during the week fell on deaf ears. “I’ve
got it under control,” Sabrina told him, “I have it already written in
my head. This will be an easy one. I just have to take what I already
know and put it on paper”
If your child received an assignment like this, which would they write
about? A rock star, athlete, politician, or a television personality?
Maybe they would write about a teacher, a clergyman, or a fireman. One
would hope that the recipient of this attention would be someone her
parents respected and thought worthy of their child’s esteem and
adulation.
Later, after his daughter had gone to bed, Mr. Johnson noticed her
writing assignment lying on the study table. It only took one glance for
a rush of strong emotion to begin running through his body. He was
stunned by what he saw. On the top of the first page was the title of
her essay. It stated: My Father, My Hero.
Johnny Johnson began to cry. What a compliment! What an unexpected
affirmation of all he had attempted to be as a father!
Who would your child write about if given this assignment? Do you wish
they would write about you? It could happen. Especially if your actions
today are heroic, if you behave like a hero in front of your children.
Listed below are several ways to be a hero to your children. Add them to
your repertoire of heroic actions. Do it as a father’s day gift to
yourself. You deserve it and so do your children.
1.) Be the good Samaritan. Stop to help a stranded motorist. Rake the
leaves of an elderly couple. Bake cookies for the nursing home
residents. Allow your children to help and witness a caring father in
action.
2.) Be approachable. Tell your teens that the front porch light is a
signal. Whenever the light is on that means you are available to talk,
even if you are asleep. Tell the little ones that your easy chair is
your listening chair. If they ever have a concern, question, or
frustration they can ask to sit in the listening chair with their
father. Follow through.
3.) Attend sporting events, concerts, and school activities. Be visible
in the stands when your child participates. If your child can see you,
she knows you can see her. Demonstrate good sportsmanship and
appropriate manners.
4.) Search for Solutions. Focus on problem-solving with your children.
Minimize blame and punishment. Focus on finding solutions instead. Give
your children a model of a father who cares about finding ways to fix
things rather than making people pay for their errors.
Hold your children accountable. Holding your children accountable for
their actions and choices is one of the most loving things you can do as
a father. If you don’t hold your children accountable, someone else
might have to.
Be consistent. It’s not the severity of a consequence that has the
impact. It is the certainty. The kiss of death for any discipline system
is inconsistency. Hold your children accountable for their actions with
an open heart and do it with consistency.
Take their suggestions seriously. You children have ideas about what to
do on your next vacation. They know certain places they like to eat.
They have ideas on how to spend entertainment money. It is not necessary
to use all their suggestion. It is necessary to hear them all, think
about them, and give them serious consideration.
Teach. Teach your child to hit a baseball, ride a bike, and use a fork
appropriately. Resist the effort to outsource important learning to
other groups and individuals. Teach your child to care for pets, treat
all living things with respect, and appreciate nature. Model exactly how
loving and compassionate a strong man can be.
Invest in experiences rather than things. You child does not need a
brand new $400 sandbox with a swing set attached that comes
preassembled.. He needs the experience of going out in the back yard
with his father and building a sandbox together. One more new toy is not
necessary. What is needed is the experience of taking a trip to the
lake, the library, or to a rodeo.
Make charity visible. Let you children see your trips to the Red Cross o
give blood. Let them participate in the decision on how to spend the
money in the family charity jar. Let them help pick out the coat that
goes to the Coats for Kids program. Allow them to put the money in the
church plate as is passed down the pew.
Want to be a hero in your child’s life? Add some of these ideas to your
tool box of parenting strategies. Someday you just might discover your
child’s writing assignment entitled, My Father, My hero.
About The Author
Thomas Haller and Chick Moorman are the
authors of Teaching the Attraction Principle to Children. They are two of the
world's foremost authorities on raising responsible, caring, confident children.
They publish a free monthly e-zine for parents. To sign up for it or to obtain
more information about how they can help you or your group meet your parenting
needs, visit their website today:
www.personalpowerpress.com.
Used With Permission
