Let this mind be in you….Part 2

Hi everyone, how has your week been? I read a post some days ago that said “any adult who has time on their hands is definitely procrastinating” ….hahaha…I found this so funny and thought to share.

Anyways, following our conversation last week (see previous post here), I thought it would be productive to talk about helping our kids guard/guide their minds.

Children are vulnerable, and like we used to say when Princess T was a toddler, they are like sponges and soak up everything.

Their minds are designed to learn the world and how it works, and they do this by processing every information they hear, see or read, and they lack discretion (sadly like many adults). They are easily swayed and this degree of fragility and even impermanence can be either a great advantage or a pitfall. I believe this is the reason the bible says

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it

Proverbs 22 v 6

• What are they watching?

It is no news that kids these days spend an alarming amount of time in front of the telly and on devices. What I find more disturbing is the amount of unsupervised time they spend doing this. Children learn a lot from their mates in school and we are not entirely in control of that, however, I believe the primary aim of parenting is nurturing and this cannot be outsourced.

A lot of us parents have become so busy (with good reason most of the time) that we are not aware of what is going into the minds of our children even under our roofs.

Not long ago, my 2 year old daughter was stopped from having extra chocolates and she said ‘I am ruined’. She did not even understand what it meant (I’m sharing this to make you understand I’m also in the same struggle as you).

I was unable to sleep that night as she couldn’t tell us where she heard the word or what it meant. I spent most of the night just thinking of what we were doing wrong, this is despite having strict TV and devices time and they’re not allowed to watch them unsupervised, yet, something slipped.

There is nothing wrong with TV. The only problem is the people who make those programmes for our kids do not necessarily have the same values as us and actually only want to make money.

They don’t care about your children or how they turn out. This is something to keep in mind and it is extremely important we pay attention to what our little ones are exposed to.

• What are they reading?

Princess T loves to read and will pick up just any book in sight to keep herself busy (she got this from my side of the family *winks at Dr. O). I quickly realised the impact of what she reads when she started asking certain funny questions.

So I went on amazon and bought books relating to topics I wanted her to learn about without forcing her. I said amazon specifically because I see the look of sheer envy every time I get a package. I order books in her name and when it arrives, she is extremely thrilled about this and can’t wait to get through it and talk about it with us.

Just yesterday she overheard me talking to her dad about my vision for something and upon hearing that word, she started to talk about the vision John had in revelations and all the angels he saw. I listened in amazement and this was particularly emotionally rewarding for me because we bought her a fancy book of bible stories which she has now finished.

• What are they saying?

Kids like to talk , particularly before their teenage years and the longer you are with them, the more they tell you. Most of the awkward and sometimes disturbing conversations your kids have in school will be told to you if you spent enough time with them. This is the only avenue we have to correct whatever they heard from their mates in school or lessons that are against our own family values or beliefs.

We also should be very careful when listening and avoid being overly judgemental, this makes it easy for them to tell us just anything. Princess T has told me certain things that rings alarm bells in my heads, I try to hold myself back at that time and just listen. Without referring to it, I bring up a related topic at a later time in order to address it.

Most importantly, let us pray……

Personally, I believe that despite everything we have said (although important), there is only so much we can control.

Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.

Max Lucado

One of the best books I’ve been privileged to own is The power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Martian. This book is only second to my bible since I became a parent , it has each chapter for each day of the month and very truly covers every aspect of a child or individual’s lives. I often find myself praying some of those specific prayers for myself.

Below is a prayer page for your child’s mind…..

I will like to encourage every parent or aspiring parent to buy this book and use it diligently. My mother has always said “the places that I cannot get to physically to protect you, my prayers will get there”

I’ve definitely not exhausted this topic and as I always say, I’m also a learner. Please share your ideas with me in the comment section and what you are doing to safeguard your children’s minds.

I leave you with the peace of God.

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