Investment & Return

Strong families that are connected teach their children the fundamental principles of Christianity. They teach these in everyday interaction, and they live out these values. The transmission of these values from parents to children takes place when the children see the authenticity of the parents’ values. When they do, certain positive outcomes are produced. I have listed the principles and the outcomes below.

Principles Responsible Parents Teach Their Children

Forgiveness is God’s gift to help us to manage and repair shameful mistakes in our lives.
Self-control of powerful emotions, even ones like anger, frustration, rejection and discouragement.
Respect is being respectful to others—beginning with our parents and those in authority.
Responsibility forgives, shares, helps, corrects, doesn’t blame, and makes right the wrong in our actions.
Accountability teaches us that we are answerable to someone.
Humility means having a modest estimate of our own importance.
Kindness is being gentle and considerate of others.
Generosity is sharing with others in an unselfish manner.
Industry is diligence in a pursuit or task.
Faith is a visible relationship with God, and that puts him First in our lives.

Teaching the Principles Produces These Outcomes

Accessibility is the closeness that we feel with our parents while we are growing up.
Clarity means making meaning out of chaos.
Balance is dealing with both negative and positive emotion in constructive ways.
Connection makes relationships enjoyable and meaningful.
Acceptance is God’s way of freeing us from our chains of shame.
Authenticity is the quality of character that says I am real.
Resolution is the hard work of working out conflict with others in our lives.
Modeling personifies for the child what it means to be a husband, wife, mother or father.
Resiliency is the ability to overcome disappointment.