Welcome to the wild, wacky, wonderful world of parenting.  We can’t wait to be parents. Once we have kids, though, we finally appreciate our parents’ struggles. I too have asked, “How can I break my son’s bad habits and fix his behavior?” “How in the world do I stop my daughter’s drama?”

Parenting isn’t for the faint of heart, but it’s a blessing for the faithful heart. For indeed, my sons’ “interesting” little boy habits matured into remarkable men and my little drama queen became an inspiring woman. Wild and wacky at times? Absolutely. But parenting is also a wonderful privilege because our kids are our gift to God and a world in need of His love.

In my prior blog, I asked a question that can transform your kids’ future:  Will I be the parent I prefer to be OR the parent my kids need me to be? Today’s blog asks a second question to help you answer the first one:

Am I more like Parent A or Parent B?

      Parent A                 Parent B

Breaks habits        Bonds hearts

Fixes behavior      Funnels beliefs

Stops drama       Shapes dreams

 

Parent A is a good parent. They work hard to break little Suzie’s bad habits, fix her behavior, and stop her drama. All good things. All needed for Suzie’s success. But there’s a problem. Today’s drama becomes tomorrow’s trauma unless we help our kids want faith for themselves.

Parent B, though, sees little Suzie differently – as tomorrow’s champion, not today’s challenge. These parents also break Suzie’s habits, but do so by bonding with her heart. They fix her behavior by funneling her beliefs. And they stop her drama by shaping her dreams. They don’t make Suzie’s choices; they make it easy for her to choose well and one day hear God say, “Well done!” (Matthew 25:21).

Parent A puts kids on the path to success; Parent B puts kids on the path to faithfulness. Parent A focuses on today; Parent B, eternity. Kids need both, but they especially need us to mirror how God bonds, funnels, and shapes us into His image. They need us to create an environment that hungers and thirsts for faithfulness. They need a Parent B who shows love and respect, models servant leadership, and highlights the character already within them.

In the next four blogs, we’ll unpack why your kids need you to bond with their hearts, funnel their beliefs, and shape their dreams . . . and how to do so. Whether toddlers, teenagers, or adults, kids need you to be Parent B who helps them pursue God’s preferences, not theirs or yours. It’s never too early or too late to start.

You can start by living out your answers to these questions:

Questions:  Are you more like Parent A or Parent B, and why? What is one thing you can do today to open your kids’ hearts to becoming tomorrow’s champion?