Why in the world is it so hard to find a decent movie? They nearly all have characters following R-rated scripts with strong language, violence, and sex. So too, it’s getting harder and harder for your kids to find friends that aren’t filled with R-rated vices.

It makes you wonder: How different would our world be if all kids inherited a PG life script from their parents, instead of strong language, violence, and sex?

Granted, kids won’t always follow your script, but every parent is a script writer for their kids. And every script needs to develop memorable characters who can overcome and succeed no matter what ups and downs come their way.

What life script are you writing for your kids? How are you helping them become memorable characters with memorable character? Last week, we saw that great kids, like great stories, need intriguing plots with a defining question. This week, we’ll show how the plot you’re creating at home also needs memorable PG characters with memorable character.

4 ways to create Memorable PG Characters at home

  1. Develop each character’s uniqueness

Your job as a parent is to develop your kids – your characters – by unpacking the multiple layers of their unique personalities and giftedness. You don’t require greatness with each layer; you require growth. You’re developing characters with the drive to become the driving force of PG life stories.

Don’t try to get your kids to all be alike. Don’t mold them into an autobiography of you. And don’t peel away everything at once. Instead, systematically develop your kids one layer at a time. And help them peel back their own layers – layers that God wants pulled away, one by one, to expose the unmistakable aroma of each child’s unique character.

  1. Cherish each character’s value & values

Each character is a key part of any story. And your child’s values determine their story. Like writers, parents create memorable characters with particular motivations. And as kids learn to follow their God-intended nature and work through their inner motivations, they begin to see their place in this world and their true value in God’s eyes.

Cherishing great values is one of the greatest inheritances you can give your kids. If you have memorable values, your kids will likely follow your script. But if you teach PG virtues while living an R life, you’ll see John Maxwell’s “law of the lid” – your values will be the best you can expect from your kids. So if you don’t like your kids values, take a look at your own.

  1. Guide each character’s improvisation

But what do you do when kids don’t follow your script? You improvise. Too many parents try to manage teenagers like newborns. You can get newborns on a schedule, but good luck doing that thirteen years later. Instead of forcing them, guide them. Set standards for what you want, but leave room to improvise so that kids want it too.

You also need to let kids improvise. No, don’t let them be in charge or get in a power struggle. Don’t allow defiance or delayed obedience. But also don’t micromanage their personalities. Allow them to apply your principles, not just comply with your rules. Each child is unique and needs unique ways to make your faith their own, while still living within the shadow of God’s wing.

  1. Make kids the main character of their God’s story

Kids need you to develop, cherish, and guide them, but they also need something else to become memorable characters with memorable character – they need you to make them the main character of their own God story. After all, as with any great story, the role of the main character is to provide insight into the real “hero” – Jesus. And they can believe it if you help them see it in themselves.

You aren’t inflating egos or putting kids on pedestals. You’re helping them be like hundreds of biblical characters who found their identity in the One who created them in His own likeness and for His own purpose. You’re showing them how their life is like a jigsaw puzzle that’s missing a piece if they don’t fulfill their God-given purpose for the benefit of others.

Why PG, not G

But why, you may ask, should I want PG kids instead of G? The answer is twofold. First, your kids need to be relevant . . . in the world, but not of the world, in order to change the world. Undeniable relevance with unwavering values. And second, you need to be realistic. I’d love to return to yesteryear when G was the norm, but that’s not reality. We must help our kids be the salt and light that preserves, flavors, and shines in today’s world, not in a world that no longer exists.

In my next blog, I’ll unpack the 3rd key to raising PG kids in an R world: Clear boundaries. You’ll learn how to neither overexpose nor underexpose them to the challenges of today’s world. And as a reminder, although this 3-part blog is new, it’s based on the principles in my book, Well Done, Mom & Dad! If you don’t yet have your own copy, please go to https://timalba.com or to Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=tim+alba&ref=nb_sb_noss_1.

Questions: Are you writing a life script with the character you want your kids to emulate? And are you presenting it in ways that your kids will want to follow it?