THE GIFT OF FAMILY (13); RAISING MORAL CHILDREN

A group of six-year-olds are playing and one of the children falls, scrapes her knee and starts crying. One child offers a reassuring “I’m sorry you’re hurt” and shows a desire to comfort. On the other hand another child laughs and calls, the child “cry baby.”

The little illustration above is a common experience among children. It happens every time; most times we just laugh over such experiences and forget it afterwards. Truth be told, such reactions and responses tell a great deal about the kind of family (home) each child is coming from - whether it's a caring one or an uncaring one. Your children will only develop into caring adults or individuals if they have experienced same growing up.
Bringing up moral children is a way of saying, teach your children to live by the rules. If you want your children to go about treating others like you want others to treat them, then you have to teach them how to be able to think through an action before doing it and to judge how the consequences of that action will affect themselves and others; in this lies the basis of a moral person.

It’s in the family caring children are raised; parents are the child’s first morality teachers. Observations as well as countless studies show that infants are more likely to become moral children and adults if they experienced their parents doing same. The one quality that distinguishes these children from kids raised in a detached parenting style is sensitivity. Plant it in your children good morals and watch it sprout. Other virtues, such as self-control, compassion, and honesty and so on are by products. Here’s how to raise morally upright children.

THE GIFT OF FAMILY (12); YES I DO!

The simple statement “YES I DO”, taken in isolation is a gentle, harmless expression of agreement, however, in the context of a marriage union and the family, it is a powerful expression of a covenant between two people called the couple, the foundation upon which a family is to be built and the seed that God is hoping to forge and nurture a group of people that will impact the world around them. When viewed in this light, this expression puts great responsibility on the couple to protect & preserve at all cost their union. It is rather unfortunate, that in this generation the slightly pressure seems to be able to break up the marriage union, in fact it has almost become fashionable to expect a separation. 

A couple married for 15 years began having more than usual disagreements. They wanted to make their marriage work and agreed on an idea the wife had. For one month they planned to drop a slip in a "Fault" box. The boxes would provide a place to let the other know about daily irritations. The wife was diligent in her efforts and approach: "leaving the jelly top off the jar," "wet towels on the shower floor," "dirty socks not in hamper," on and on until the end of the month. After dinner, at the end of the month, they exchanged boxes. The husband reflected on what he had done wrong. Then the wife opened her box and began reading. They were all the same, the message on each slip was, "I love you!"

It takes more than a feeling of euphoria and excitement to make a marriage work, your union must have the storm withstanding characteristic called COMMITMENT, an agreement to make it work, and for this to happen someone has to be love more and be willing to pay the price. An entire generation will be grateful that your union survived and thrived.

THE GIFT OF FAMILY (11) BUILD THE KIDS, NOT THE WALLS

"A man should never neglect his family for business." - Walt Disney

In ancient China, the people desired security from the barbaric hordes to the north, so they built the great Chinese wall. It was so high they knew no one could climb over it and so thick that nothing could break it down. They settled back to enjoy their security. During the first 100 years of the wall's existence, China was invaded three times. Not once did the barbaric hordes break down the wall or climb over the top. Each time they bribed a gate keeper and then marched right through the gates. The Chinese were so busy relying upon the walls of stone that they forgot to teach integrity to their children.

Today let me share with you, "10 MISTAKES PARENTS MAKE"
Parents blunder when . . .
1. They give a child everything he wants.
2. They laugh at a child when he does or says something wrong.
3. They avoid the words "no" and "wrong."
4. They pick up after their children instead of giving them the responsibility of doing it.
5. They take the side of their children against neighbours, teachers, and other responsible adults.
6. They make every decision for their children.
7. They bail them out of every situation instead of letting them face the consequences of their mistakes.
8. They are over-protective, and do not allow their children to do normal and healthy things.
9. They let their children talk back to them.
10. They criticize others openly in front of their children.

Hodding Carter once said "There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings." It is safer to build the kids before you build the walls of your family.

THE GIFT OF FAMILY (10); FAMILY, GOD'S GREAT GIFT

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them." - Desmond Tutu

One of the only thing we unconsciously disregard, or hardly have respect for is Family. We put everything or everyone else above them.

There was a huge tree. A little boy loved to play around it everyday. He'd climb to the top, ate the apples, take a nap under the shade. He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time went by the little boy had grown and he no longer played frequently around the tree. One day, the boy came back to the tree looking sad. ‘Come and play with me’ the tree asked the boy. ‘I am no longer a kid, I do not play around trees any more’ the boy replied. ‘I want toys. I need money to buy them.’ ‘Sorry, but I do not have money but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you'll have money.’ The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily and never came back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad. One day, he returned (after he'd become a man) and the tree was excited ‘Come play with me’ the tree said. ‘I do not have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?” Sorry, but I do not have any house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house.’ So the man cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the man never came back. Again he was lonely and sad. One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted. ‘Come and pay with me!’ the tree said. ‘I am getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself.

THE GIFT OF FAMILY (9); FAMILY, A CHILD'S BEST SCHOOL

"If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher." - Anonymous

The family (home), is the most important place from which a child learns majority of the lessons he needs to face the outside world. Whether they are taught rightly or not it'll reflect in their behaviour when they get out, and this forms a foundation for their views and response to life.

A frail old man went to live with his son, and daughter-in-law, who had a 4 year old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his vision was blurry, and his steps uncoordinated. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and poor vision made eating difficult. Grains of food rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he took the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. “We must do something about father,” said the son. “ I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.” So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl! When the family glanced in grandfather’s direction, sometimes he had a tears in his eyes as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making son?” Just as sweetly, the boy responded, “Oh, I'm making a little bowl for you and mummy to eat your food in when I grow up.” The four-year-old smiled and went back