Once again soccer season is in full swing, only this time I have TWO soccer players. Our youngest son has sat on the sidelines watching his big brother play for two years and it's finally his turn to try. The big brother suddenly seemed a lot bigger when he was moved up to U8 this year and is playing positions and goalies and with the "big" kids. They're both having fun with it and it's great exercise for them. For me, it's an exercise in discipline and patience. I find myself feeling more pressure to fit everything in the day. In addition to the already hectic two carpool lines and hours of homework and church stuff, we now have two days of soccer practice a week and a game night on Thursdays. I go to support my kids but its easy to sit through a practice and be thinking of the fifty other things I needed to be doing in that hour. Sometimes I question if its really worthwhile for us to all be there together, even when we don't have to be.
The lesson: BE THERE FOR YOUR KIDS! Kids don't just need quality time they need quantity time. They need families that do things together. They need both parents involved in their lives. It's hard and it takes sacrifice but at the end of the day, you (the parent) are what matters to your child. Dawson McAllister, Christian author and radio host, has said so well, "Christianity is not simply taught; it's caught. And if you ain't got it, they won't catch it." Children are natural observers. They watch you more than they hear you. Kids are watching to see if what you do matches what you say. They don't want to just hear you say you love them, they need to know it when they see you at their soccer games or ballet recital. They want you involved in their lives (even when they say they don't - parents of teens). So stay close, make the sacrifice of time to be with your kids now. Soon they will be grown and gone and one day hopefully, they will model your parenting habits with their own kids.
Once again soccer season is in full swing, only this time I have TWO soccer players. Our youngest son has sat on the sidelines watching his big brother play for two years and it's finally his turn to try. The big brother suddenly seemed a lot bigger when he was moved up to U8 this year and is playing positions and goalies and with the "big" kids. They're both having fun with it and it's great exercise for them. For me, it's an exercise in discipline and patience. I find myself feeling more pressure to fit everything in the day. In addition to the already hectic two carpool lines and hours of homework and church stuff, we now have two days of soccer practice a week and a game night on Thursdays. I go to support my kids but its easy to sit through a practice and be thinking of the fifty other things I needed to be doing in that hour. Sometimes I question if its really worthwhile for us to all be there together, even when we don't have to be.
The lesson: BE THERE FOR YOUR KIDS! Kids don't just need quality time they need quantity time. They need families that do things together. They need both parents involved in their lives. It's hard and it takes sacrifice but at the end of the day, you (the parent) are what matters to your child. Dawson McAllister, Christian author and radio host, has said so well, "Christianity is not simply taught; it's caught. And if you ain't got it, they won't catch it." Children are natural observers. They watch you more than they hear you. Kids are watching to see if what you do matches what you say. They don't want to just hear you say you love them, they need to know it when they see you at their soccer games or ballet recital. They want you involved in their lives (even when they say they don't - parents of teens). So stay close, make the sacrifice of time to be with your kids now. Soon they will be grown and gone and one day hopefully, they will model your parenting habits with their own kids.
