Give the Gift of ACTION to Your Child!

You may have heard this saying before, "It's the thought that counts". It is usually used when someone has given a gift that isn't liked, or was given late, or is something inexpensive, of no value, small, used or handmade. But wait, a thought cannot be seen or heard, not unless it is vocalized or shown. So it wasn't the tangible thing per se that made it obvious, it was the ACT itself! It was the action of taking the time, effort, what little money someone may have had, a large sum of money (if it was something not liked by the receiver), just the simple ACTION of looking for and giving, that made it known that they were thinking of you, considering you.

Likewise, I have come to realize the same to be true with the term, "good intentions"! No matter how good the "intentions" are, or how heartfelt they may be, they do not amount to anything if there is no real action attached to them.

Intentions are exactly that, intentions, and nothing more. They require an ACTION to be manifested, seen, noticed, or known. Intent can burn in the heart like a deep passion, but if truly desired, it has to be made known into existence. Acted upon to be shown. You want the best for your child all around, personally, emotionally, physically, mentally, and most likely spiritually. You want so much for them, for their future, for their life. You tell yourself, I'll read to them later, I have dishes to do. I'll train them to make their bed tomorrow morning, I want time to talk on the phone right now. I'll teach them how to wash the dishes with me when they can do it right. I'll make dinner without them, I can get it done faster... The list goes on and on.

If you've ever heard yourself saying any of this, then you may be able to recognize that, the "good intentions" never happen, tomorrow comes and goes, later becomes non existent. You find yourself feeling as though your lying to yourself. They are good intentions, but it's not enough.

Not enough to parent your child at your best. Not enough to take the time to train them and teach them everything they need to know to make it in life. But how do you break the cycle? How do you change your thinking pattern? How do you step outside your comfort zone? How do you change your habits?

Little by little. One step at a time. One foot in front of the other. Day by day. Taking one habit at a time, or no more than three at a time. Replacing that old habit or condition with a new one. You have to plan for it, plot it out. It's about bringing things into alignment in life, putting things in their rightful order, and actually making decisions, a lot of the time between what seems to both be good! You know your behavior better than anyone else if you pay attention. You know how you think, you know how you get things done or don't get things done.

Sounds simple, right? But in reality, it doesn't exactly feel that simple. When the rubber meets the road, it's a whole different ball game. Life gets in the way and you are up against your own mind, your own thoughts, guilt, regrets, defeats, inadequacies. Then add all the things you have to do, need to do, want to do, and then, there is the unexpected things, emergency or not, important or not, they come. How to do it is a whole other topic in and of itself, so it will be covered in another post.

The simple fact still remains;

If you want to make a difference in your child's life, if you want to give them something with purpose, meaning, something that will get them through life like no other. Give the Gift of Action!

What does that look like;

Perhaps you keep telling yourself;

I have wanted to spend a little more time with my child each day or each week.

I want time that I spend with my child to be meaningful, but not sure how to do it, or what to do.

I want to train my child so they will have character traits that will change their life and the world around them.

I don't want my child growing up focused on electronics.

I want my child to be creative, imaginative, and logical thinkers.

I want my child to have a good temperament.

I want my child to be content, secure, confident.

I want my child to have better than I did, or to be better than I was.

I want to have good things for my child to do, while I am busy at home.

I want my child to grow up knowing how to take care of or manage home and life. Not just depend on me to do everything as they grow. They may see you doing it, but they won't learn to do it just by watching you.

You are here reading this, it means you care about the job God has given you to parent. Yes, He chose you to raise this child. His child. You take it seriously and aren't counting on others to do it for you. You are in a good place. You are in some way or another aware that parenting matters. So, Let's do this together, I am here to walk through it with you.

With all the examples above, or whatever else yours may be, it is time to make a plan, a plan for parenting, a plan of action.

1. Write down one to three desires you have been wanting to accomplish with your child.
2. Write next to each one, specifically what it is you will do to accomplish that desire.
3. Then write when you are actually going to do it, the day and the time, and how much time you are giving yourself.
4. Now it is time to take ACTION! To follow through with your plan. Yes, this is the hardest part as we talked about earlier.

Couple Tips for the plan; Make sure that when you write number 2 and 3 that you are realistic with yourself in what you can actually do, and when you can truly do it. Try to keep it simple as possible for yourself right now. Make it easy to do. Nothing big, elaborate, or complicated.

Now, go give your child the gift of ACTION!

Feel free to shoot me an email, heather@spongylittleminds.com. Let me know how it goes for you, or if there is something else you would like help with.