5 Great Things You Can Do For Your Child In 2013
Last year my husband, Kyle, purchased a new smart phone. He chose to pay the additional dollars for insurance on the device should something unfortunate occur to the phone. The decision is always painful on the front end because he fights to find the most inexpensive way to get into the latest piece of technology. And purchasing insurance on a phone only serves to raise the final price… not lower it.
Several weeks later he found himself at the bottom of the riverbed after a failed attempt to retrieve a lodged fishing lure. After dragging himself back to dry land, he pulled his water-logged phone out of his pocket. No amount of CPR (Cell Phone Resuscitation) was going to help. There was little hope for rescue.
The next day, Kyle returned to the store with his soggy, not-so-smart phone. Within a few short minutes Kyle’s phone was replaced and he was back in business.
We’d never felt so good about insurance on a phone until that day. Though we knew, at the time, the proactive decision was good, we didn’t realize the value of insurance until we NEEDED it.
We can parent that way too. We will make proactive decision knowing its good, but don’t realize the value of the decision until we really NEED it. Suddenly the value is worth twice the investment.
One great way to parent proactively is a value we embrace within Family Ministries at Faith Promise.
Widen the Circle
Invite others to invest in your children; so your sons and daughters have other voices that will help shape and determine the direction of their lives.
Widening the Circle of influence in your child’s life is a proactive approach to parenting. It’s connecting your child to a wider circle of influence. It’s inviting other adults to give your child good advice and invest in them in positive ways. It’s placing trusted adults in your kids’ lives beforethey need them so they will be there when they need them.
It’s just like insurance. The investment is made before you need it, so that it’s available when you need it.
As you move into the new year, consider the 1st of 5 great things you can do for your child in 2013. How can you Widen the Circle?
Find out more about how from the book, Parenting Beyond Your Capacity.
