Full-Time Moms and Family Fun
Professional moms don't just wait for things to happen; they proactively create opportunities for family unity.
Articles within this series
- Overview
- Full-Time Moms and Family Fun
- For Mothers at Home
- Next Steps / Related Information
Planning Family Nights
Professional moms don't just wait for good things to happen; they proactively create opportunities for communication and family unity. Here is one way to do that:
- Set aside one night of the week that becomes sacred to your family. No one accepts an invitation that evening — no meetings or social engagements.
- Include the kids in planning the activities. Encourage their creativity. When they feel they have been valued in the planning process, their desire to participate increases.
- Don’t be discouraged if gathering everyone is met with frustration, especially early on. We all have a self-centered nature and have to be coached into understanding the importance of a team.
- Have game nights, go through old photo albums, watch a movie and bake cookies. Bowling, miniature golf, biking and skating are fun ventures for outside the home.
Don’t doubt your ability to hold family nights even if your children are far apart in age. One summer my older children played golf while my 2-year-old enjoyed the ride in the wagon we brought with us.
We have only one shot at raising our kids. It’s not a job we can do over again. That’s why creative activities that strengthen family relationships are so important.
Grace-Filled Relationships
Relationships filled with grace focus on building people up rather than trying to fix them. Here are 10 characteristics that create acceptance, competence and contentment.
- Verbal affirmation. Family members are told they are capable, valuable and supported. Most important, they are told they are loved.
- People-oriented support. Acceptance does not fluctuate depending on how people act. Loved ones are affirmed for whom they are, not just for how they perform.
- Defined rules and expectations. Boundaries are stated and are there to help people grow. People aren’t there to serve the rules.
- Open and honest dialogue. Messages and feedback are clearly communicated with words, not hints.
- God as the Source. Our sense of value comes from God, not from the behavior of another person.
- Children as joy-givers. Enjoy letting your kids explore, imagine and make mistakes.
- Accountability. Rather than use blame to punish and control wrong behavior, teach responsibility for one’s own choices.
- “Head skills.” Thinking is used for the purpose of learning, not for defending oneself.
- Valid and useful feelings. Recognize emotions as opportunities for family members to connect and support one another in making wise choices in response to how we feel.
- Outside/inside matching. Private life is the same as public life. Rather than putting on a front, families are concerned with how healthy their relationships are. What is real is more important than how things look.
It’s important that we understand grace and its use in our profession as mothers. Our words and attitudes are powerful and have long-lasting effects upon our loved ones.