To be successful at anything requires goal setting. For this reason, when the new year rolls around we set goals and resolutions for all sorts of reasons hoping to have a better year than the one before. However, how many of us set resolutions for our families? Every day you have to have a strong resolve to manage the ups and downs of your family life. Applying that strong resolve to family goals will help us have something to aim for in building a stronger family unit.
Here are a few simple family resolutions ideas. Resolution No. 1: Have dinner as a family: This change requires intentional planning. You'll have to turn down activities that would keep you away from home at dinnertime. However, the lasting impact this simple act has is well worth it. Here is when healthy emotional memories can be formed that your family will always have Resolution No. 2: Offer grace in frustrating moments: Look for the opportunities to give all the love and grace your teen needs at the moment. When the incident fades a bit, then talk a little about how we can learn from mistakes and bad choices. Resolution No. 3: Pray for your teen daily: This seems simple but often times can be forgotten. Praying for your teen is how we stay in touch with God and gain His wisdom in dealing with the hard and frustrating issues. Calling their names out in prayer every day is truly the best thing we can do for them as parents. These are just a few small resolutions that can radically impact your family dynamic for the better. What resolutions can you make? Resolve to make goals for your family this year and you'll see the positive changes you've been looking for. For more family resolution ideas, check out this article: https://ministrymindedmom.com/16-new-years-resolutions-for-christian-parents/ Parents and teens have the ability to trigger each other as no one else can. It takes a lot of self-control not to just let out our anger – to react before thinking…to lash out. Do you know why? If our brain perceives a threat, it signals the amygdala, body's “alarm" system, which tells our body to act without thinking. The amygdala responds to situations with the fight, flight, freeze response. In everyday parenting, our stress response often gets triggered unnecessarily by events that are not actually life-threatening. Our bodies are reacting to our kid spilling cereal all over the floor in the same way we would react if we were being chased by a bear. When we get triggered, our teens get triggered and their reaction triggers us again. It's an endless loop that results in less than stellar relationships with our teens. However, If we choose to be more mindful by pressing the pause button, we can teach kids they too can pause and choose to respond instead of reacting.
What does mindfulness mean in parenting? Mindful parenting means that you bring your conscious attention to what's happening, instead of getting hijacked by your emotions. Mindful parenting does not mean being a “perfect parent" and is not something you can fail at. It is not easy and it takes practice, but like many aspects of parenting, some days are good and some are bad and you can always try again. You may forget to be mindful, but the second you realize you are distracted, it is an opportunity to make a different choice—the choice to respond and not react. This does not mean that you will not get angry or upset. Of course, you will feel negative emotions, but acting on them mindlessly is what compromises our parenting. Practicing mindfulness allows us to model what having a Christ-centered life looks like more than anything we can say to them. When in stressful moments with your teen noticing your feelings, pausing before you take action and carefully listening to your teen's viewpoint are the keys to breaking the cycle of reactions and building stronger relationships. Breakups, Illness ,Career changes Complicated births ,Financial downturns, Moving and Graduating.
Many of us have experienced these common life events that can potentially trigger a great deal of stress. And as if change isn’t tricky enough for adults to navigate, teens and young adults have an even more difficult time with the inevitable uncertainties of this journey called life. For teens, unwanted or unanticipated change may lead to feeling out of control and overwhelmed. Below are some strategies that can help your teen cope with change: 1. Acknowledge emotionsThe first step in managing emotions associated with any type of life change is simply to give yourself permission to experience the emotion so it can run its course. Transitions, like graduation, seem to be entirely positive to onlookers but may trigger feelings of fear and anxiety for a graduate. The reality of entering a new chapter of independence can be profoundly daunting. Whether it is a change of schools or the breakup of a significant relationship, change can bring out feelings of anger, rejection, and abandonment. Encourage your teen to share their feelings through journaling, talking to a therapist or supportive friends to help process the full range of difficult emotions. 2. Focus on valuesRemind your teen it’s okay not to have all the answers to every question or to know how every detail will play out. Remembering what’s important—faith, family, friends, creative expression—is a powerful shield against whatever negative emotions threaten to arise. Ask them to list their values and help them to help the keep this life-change in the right context. 3. Reflect back Reflect with your teen on a time when they faced a significant change and successfully managed it, despite experiencing some initial fear. “Do you recall how terrified you were to start middle school?” Sometimes unfamiliar events are not as scary as they seem initially and may simply require a little time to adjust. Life will bring change and challenge. Keeping our focus on the things that we can depend on can be a great anchor in the lives of our teens. For the extended article, please click here Somewhere between hovering and abandonment; between nagging and silence.
These are the relational poles between which many parents try to position themselves with teenagers on the road toward adulthood. We know we shouldn’t hover, helicopter, or bulldoze the path for our maturing kids. We also know our kids need more than a clean cut, cold shoulder, or radio silence. The metaphors alone are enough to suggest perhaps we need better language for talking about our relationships. Language is hard to come by when much of our daily communication is driven by text, or by brief conversations about logistics. It can be even more challenging for families navigating generational linguistic and cultural divides, financial uncertainty, or histories of poor relational dynamics. Whatever your parenting reality, chances are good you could use more insight about what young people need from the adults around them as they navigate emerging adulthood’s transitions. Content pulled from FullerYouthInstitute.org. Click here to continue reading and to download Preparing to Launch - ten ways to have better conversations with your teenager about the future. What it is:The FDA is cracking down on e-cigarette and vape sellers because their research shows that “e-cigs have become an almost ubiquitous—and dangerous—trend among teens.”
Why it’s a reminder: In an undercover blitz, the FDA sent 1,300 warning letters and fines to retailers, saying it “might consider taking e-cigarettes off the market if makers don’t do more to stop exponential sales to teenagers.” CEO of nonprofit The Truth Initiative urged the FDA to move faster, saying, “The time for action is before a product is in every high school in the United States, not after.” And since many of the devices look like USB drives, it’s possible they are in every high school already. Have your kids tried vaping? Are you sure? Even if they haven’t yet, they will probably be asked to soon. Make sure your kids know you’re on their side, then talk through the risks of vaping/juuling. (Check out our Parent Guide on vaping for more info!) Content pulled from Axis.org - TheCulture Translator. Click here to continue reading this month's articles on Teen Singleness and A Parent's Guide to Atheism. |