Christian Parenting 101

Lesson 5: How does a single Parent set up a Christian Household?

Victory through adaptive Parenting

Down to the nuts and bolts of single parenting. Having attained a certain level of stability within the household, having found a fellowship of believers that are a great support system, and being very disciplined about personal feelings and emotions, the question remains if the parenting within a single family home is different from the parenting within a two-parent household.

The short answer is “yes”. Being mother and father to a child is a fulltime job that must be taken seriously. Here are some practical suggestions that may help you along the road:

• Help your child build friendships with the children of two-parent, Christian households
  Do whatever you can to help your child branch out. Invite the families over for dinner. Have birthday parties for your child; attend church functions; attend church socials; host sleepovers. Conversely, accept invitations for you and your child to a family’s home; allow your child to attend a sleepover (after getting to know the asking child’s parents, of course), drive your child to other children’s birthday parties, even if it is inconvenient for you.
• Be open about discipline issues you may face with your child
  Allow godly input into your day to day parenting. Allow godly parents to become involved in the training of your child.
• Begin family traditions
  To foster a strong sense of unity and belonging, be creative! Establish family traditions, celebrate all the holidays: invest in a Christmas tree, have Thanksgiving, Easter, and Valentine’s Day decorations.
• Put your child first, your career second
  Yes, you need to make money to feed your child. Yet, it is counterproductive to be on a career track at your child’s expense. Find a job that will pay you a decent wage without asking you to work 60 hours a week. Don’t work long hours and go to school fulltime. Do one or the other. Take Internet classes when the child is in school or in bed.

In summary, by becoming a part of God’s household, by putting Him first, and your child second, with everything else falling into place behind them, by seeking to improve your life financially, yet not at the expense of your relationship with your child, by consistently disciplining your child and not giving in to misplaced feelings of guilt and shame, there is no reason why you and your family should fall victim to becoming one of the statistics mentioned earlier in this lesson. Statistics are just that...theoretic averages that have some foundation in reality yet may not adequately reflect the whole truth that is out there. Don’t let them discourage you, instead, let them spur you on to prove them wrong!

Print this page

  1  2  3  4  5