Do you have high expectations of yourself when it comes to parenting?
Many of us try to make decisions for our child’s welfare before they’re even born. Especially as new parents, we want to make the best choices for their upbringing and decisions in life. This naturally brings about many questions as they’re growing up, such as:
- Should my preschooler attend daycare?
- Is it best for me to feed them only organic food?
- Should they be allowed to watch TV when they’re preschoolers?
- How many hours of screen time is best for them? Do I allow them on social media?
- What time should I set the curfew for my teens?
What do I do now?
As kids grow older, our questions continue in knowing how to raise them and often they become more difficult. We may find it hard to establish rules based on how we were raised, although that may be all we know to do.
Added to this, some new moms and dads didn’t have great parenting role models while growing up—causing additional nervousness in knowing how to handle daily situations with their own kids.
As you’re dwelling on uncertainties, keep in mind that children are perceptive. They can easily pick up on our parenting anxiety—sometimes taking it on as their own. Certainly, we don’t want that to happen! But we also know that in the day-to-day, our choices—big and small—greatly impact our kids. However, we can be certain that God is our heavenly Father who works in the best interest of our children.
As Christian parents, our main goal is to eventually lead our children toward a decision to follow Christ. We desire what is best for our kids, and know that a decision for the Lord is obviously the greatest one they’ll ever make. God will guide our children as they encounter situations with friends, school, and other activities they’re involved in; we can trust Him to help us in this effort!
Rely on God’s help with your parenting concerns
Rather than feeling anxious about your parenting skills, take comfort in these promises:
- We can be assured that God’s plan is perfect, even when it’s not our plan. Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us: “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
- We can pray diligently for our children. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 encourages us to “Pray without ceasing.” Prayer for our kids should be a daily item in our conversations with the Lord.
- We can pray for wisdom and discernment for ourselves. In Psalm 32:8 we read: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”
If we do these three things, will our parenting anxiety immediately go away? Probably not. Will we always make the very best parenting decisions? Unfortunately, no. But certainly, when we daily give our thoughts and efforts over to the Lord, our decisions will be filtered through His loving wisdom and guiding grace. God can then make parenting young children the best job in the world!