SEE YOUR CHILDREN AS GIFTS: How Gratitude Changes The Way We Raise Them

“Children make your life important.” -Erma Bombeck

In Manyoro, there has been a paradigm shift in how children are viewed. They are no longer seen as a burden or a project to be managed.

It is always a joy to see children playing together, basking in the sunshine and sometimes in the rain. They are a spectacle to behold. They are gifts from God.

How you see your child determines how you treat that child, and how you treat that child shapes their life. Children have a special place in the family.

They are loved and cherished. They are properly cared for and trained to become responsible adults. Everything is done to ensure their safety and protection.

What It Means To See A Child As A Gift {Not Just A Duty}

1. A gift is received with gratitude, not entitlement. When you are blessed with children, give praise and honour to God.
2. A gift is cherished, not compared. Every gift is valuable and should be appreciated without comparison.
3. A gift is stewarded for a time, not owned forever. A gift is nurtured until it can serve the community.

How children are perceived is a mindset issue. When we see them as a burden, we complain about their upkeep, their difficulty to control, their noise-making and irritability. We kill their dreams through excessive criticism.

When we see them as a gift, their upbringing and training become our priority. We appreciate them just the way they are.

Why We Forget – The 3 Thieves of Joy In Parenting

1. Comparison: The glamour of life as presented on social media makes some parents feel inadequate. They compare grades and denigrate their children for poor performance. They compare their dressing styles and complain.
2. Pressure: Sometimes we bring undue pressure on children to excel, which may backfire. This can weaken their drive to study.
3. Familiarity: Familiarity breeds contempt. We stop noticing the miracle because we see them every day.

5 Practical Ways To Treat Your Children As Gifts Every Day

1. Listen to understand, not to reply. Apply the Carnegie principle: become a better listener. When in a conversation, listen attentively. Get the other person’s point of view and act accordingly.
2. Speak their name with honour. When you call someone by name, they feel valued and important. Emphasise their strong points. Give them a reputation to live up to.
3. Protect their dignity. When someone mistakes a mistake, correct without crushing. Criticise in private and praise in public.
4. Invest time, not just money. Give them your undivided attention. Avoid distractions. Fifteen minutes of undivided presence is greater than two hours of distracted presence.
5. Pray for them/Bless them. Speak life over them every single day. Bless their studies, their food, their clothes, and their future.

What Happens When Children Feel Like Gifts

1. They develop security and confidence.
2. They learn to see others as gifts – a cycle of influence
3. They come back home even when they grow – relationships are strengthened.
4. Research shows that children who feel valued and appreciated show higher resilience and empathy.

CONCLUSION
Know that you will not be with your children forever, but what you plant in them will remain. As Ann Landers rightly said: “It is not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves, that will make them successful human beings.”

Call-to-Action: Tonight, tell each child one specific thing you are grateful for about them.

Golden Quotes For This Article

1. “The greatest gift you can give your children is not material things, but the gift of letting them know you see them as a gift.” – Author Unknown
2. “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.” – Psalm 127:3
3. “Your children are not your children… They come through you but not from you.” – Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
4. “A child is a gift that shows you what love really is.” – African Proverb
5. “Children make your life important.” – Erma Bombeck

Yours in inspiration,
Abundant Robert K. AWOLUGUTU
Writer and Author, Golden Sunrise