Latest / 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids. / Have a Great Kid Summer

Transcript

Have a Great Kid Summer · 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids.

• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to another episode of 5-Minute Parenting.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Today the title of our podcast is Have a Great Kids Summer.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Summer usually provides more time for families to spend together, so it's a great opportunity to help your child develop Christian character and encourage their walk with God.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: When planning summer activities for your child, be careful that you don't overplan.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: There are so many great opportunities out there from sports to all kinds of fun camps and a variety of learning activities that could actually keep your child busy for the entire summer.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm encouraging you to build in some downtime for your child and some family time this summer.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps you could have a family meeting to discuss similar activities.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: Each child could decide on one or however many you decide is appropriate for them and their age, a sport, an activity, and so forth that they'd like to do this summer.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Then perhaps make a list of other activities that you all could do as a family.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'm going to share a few family activities for the summer that you may want to do.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: These ideas will help build family relationships, build Christian character, and provide opportunities for creativity and service to others.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: You can find this entire list of activities under Freebies on my webpage, which you can then download.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: The link is below in the notes for my website.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: First, encourage your children to develop a personal quiet time with God.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: Visit a Christian bookstore or help your child find an age-appropriate devotional online.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Also, purchase a journal notebook for them, which they can decorate by drawing or using stickers, and encourage them to use it to record their thoughts, their prayers, and even their questions for God.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, establish a Do Something Nice for Someone day each week.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: A couple of ideas is maybe do another family's member's chore, bake cookies for a neighbor, make cards for someone who is sick, help a neighbor with yard work.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Third, create a family prayer calendar.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Each family member is encouraged to write down one or two prayer requests on the calendar each week.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Then have a designated prayer time together once a week to pray for the request.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: You could also have small stickers available to put by the prayers that were answered and share those answers each week.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Four, have family members, this includes adults too, choose a famous Christian, such as an author, a missionary, preacher, a business owner, or a nonprofit founder, and learn all they can about that person from books and online.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Then plan a special family night where each person presents a report on the person they selected.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Encourage creativity.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Reports can be shared through drama, an oral report, a skit, an interview, computer slideshow, and so forth.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever area your child's talent lies in.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Encourage them to use that.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Number five, do a study together on the fruit of the spirit in the Bible.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Discuss what each fruit is and ways a Christian can demonstrate that fruit in their life.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: A great resource for teaching the fruit of the Spirit to children is a book called Growing the Fruit of the Spirit, a Bible-based unit study by Chris Cox and Chris Hay.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: The link is also below in the notes.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Number six, Stadlich Caught You Being Fruitful Award.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Every time you see your child displaying a fruit of the spirit, being kind, patient, loving, having self-control, so forth, give them a certificate or some representation of that fruit.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Then these can be collected and used to purchase special activities like a movie night, pizza night, sleepover with friends, or they can all pool together for an all-day family outing, which everyone decides on for a certain number of certificates.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: Number seven, depending on their age, children can be encouraged to do volunteer work at your church, a summer youth program, daycare center, or senior center nursing home, and they might help with making meals or packets of personal care items to deliver to homeless shelters.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever you do, have a great kids' summer.