Plan the long vacation with your children
PARENTING<br><br>Now that the long vacation is here, parents are worried as to what is in store for them. It is going to be a holiday of over two months, therefore, there is need for parents and children to prepare for the holiday.
PARENTING
Now that the long vacation is here, parents are worried as to what is in store for them. It is going to be a holiday of over two months, therefore, there is need for parents and children to prepare for the holiday.
Plan your children’s holiday
Prepare what you will do with your children, whether it is taking them to see their grandparents, or in the villages; how you are going to celebrate the Christmas season or youth conferences you can attend with them.
Think of the skills you want your children to develop during this vacation or some behaviour you want them to get rid of.
Share with other parents how you can overcome some of the problems you encountered in the past holidays.
Think about what qualities you want to impart to your children, for example confidence and self-esteem.
Are there practical skills you would like your child to learn? For instance, allow the housemaid to go on holiday so that your children can do the house chores. This will teach them to be responsible. We do not need to take our children to training schools when they can learn right in our homes.
Be a living example to your
children:
Parents should try to be at home for their children. Take time off your busy schedule to be with, and listen to them.
Children take the word love to mean time. Go with them to activities like gardening and/or shopping.
As a child, I remember my mother would go with me to weddings, church services, to the garden and to visit my grandparents. This has had an influence on the decisions I made, even up to today.
While children have learnt from their teachers and friends at school, this is a time when they should also learn from us.
Take time to tell your sons and daughters what your values are. Discuss with them their ideas on important life issues.
Let your children have time to share their fears and dreams with you. Many times we, as parents, feel we do not have the time.
While money can do a lot for our children, it cannot parent them for us.
Be a praying parent
While we can plan for the holiday and be there for our children for some days, we will not be there all the time. I remember a childhood chorus, ‘Why worry when you can pray’.
Parents, let us be praying mothers and fathers because in many instances we will not know or even understand our children.
Lillian Nyanzi
Now that the long vacation is here, parents are worried as to what is in store for them. It is going to be a holiday of over two months, therefore, there is need for parents and children to prepare for the holiday.
Plan your children’s holiday
Prepare what you will do with your children, whether it is taking them to see their grandparents, or in the villages; how you are going to celebrate the Christmas season or youth conferences you can attend with them.
Think of the skills you want your children to develop during this vacation or some behaviour you want them to get rid of.
Share with other parents how you can overcome some of the problems you encountered in the past holidays.
Think about what qualities you want to impart to your children, for example confidence and self-esteem.
Are there practical skills you would like your child to learn? For instance, allow the housemaid to go on holiday so that your children can do the house chores. This will teach them to be responsible. We do not need to take our children to training schools when they can learn right in our homes.
Be a living example to your
children:
Parents should try to be at home for their children. Take time off your busy schedule to be with, and listen to them.
Children take the word love to mean time. Go with them to activities like gardening and/or shopping.
As a child, I remember my mother would go with me to weddings, church services, to the garden and to visit my grandparents. This has had an influence on the decisions I made, even up to today.
While children have learnt from their teachers and friends at school, this is a time when they should also learn from us.
Take time to tell your sons and daughters what your values are. Discuss with them their ideas on important life issues.
Let your children have time to share their fears and dreams with you. Many times we, as parents, feel we do not have the time.
While money can do a lot for our children, it cannot parent them for us.
Be a praying parent
While we can plan for the holiday and be there for our children for some days, we will not be there all the time. I remember a childhood chorus, ‘Why worry when you can pray’.
Parents, let us be praying mothers and fathers because in many instances we will not know or even understand our children.
Lillian Nyanzi