Do You Need To Take The Parenting Grateful Challenge?

My oldest son turned 22 years old at the end of February, so I wanted to share one of my favorite parenting tips with you!

As parents, it’s easy to dwell on frustration and forget the many things about our children to be grateful for. I share about one of those hard parenting days and how I tried something new, and it changed everything.

I will never forget the day I became a mom.   After weeks of bed rest, hours of labor, and an emergency c-section, I still remember how in love I felt when my eyes first locked with his.  Feelings of gratitude rushed over my body as I saw a healthy, baby boy.

I had no idea all the emotions that would flood my heart over the next twenty-two years: feelings of inadequacy and the need to do it all right. Feelings of disappointment and exhaustion as well as joy, gratitude, and deep pride in who he was becoming.

Parenting is the most rewarding job and the hardest job all at the same time.

There are days when parenting is wonderful, and it is easy to be grateful for my sweet sons. But, if I am honest, there were many days when parenting was hard, and gratitude was far from my mind. Setting boundaries, following through on discipline, and teaching them responsibility can fall under the harder days.

I can still remember one of those hard days years ago. To help calm my frustrations and slow down my reactions, I had walked downstairs to get some perspective and reflect over the last week.

It is easy for parents to only focus on the negative times with our kids. The times that they talked back with disrespect or said unloving words to their sibling.  But if we truly stop and reflect, there is so much to be grateful for. 

As I sat at my kitchen table on that hard parenting day, I decided to flip the script in my head and shift my focus, so I wrote 5 grateful statements for each of my boys.

Writing words of gratitude changed my entire attitude.

In fact, it changed the entire atmosphere of my home that day because I decided to share these encouraging words with my boys. As they heard these positive statements spoken over them, their entire attitude changed too.

Friend, focusing on what we are grateful for is powerful! Sharing these uplifting words with our kids is even more powerful. Today, I want to encourage you to take the Parenting Grateful Challenge.

1. Reflect on your week and write out 5 grateful moments you had with your child. 

It could be a special time together or something you observed that made you proud. The purpose is to focus on your child’s strengths, gifts, and positive moments instead of all the frustrating times.

2. Share these joyful moments and thankful words with your child. 

There is something powerful about reminding them of their God given gifts, places where you see them using their strengths, and moments where you were proud of them. You can do it at dinner so everyone can hear or in a special one on one time. The important part is to speak this truth over them.

3. Refer back to this list when you encounter one of the harder parenting days.

On those harder days, pull out your list and remind yourself of all their God given gifts. Remember that we are all works in progress and have setbacks. Use their poor choices as a growing tool and tackle the growth steps that need to be addressed. 

Gratitude is important! Focusing on the positive, not the negative is powerful. I believe where you put your focus will determine your level of joy in parenting. Let’s remember to reflect and be grateful for all that God is doing in our children’s lives. 

I encourage you to take the Parenting Grateful Challenge!

Love, Jodi