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Cultivating a Heart of Contentment In Your Child – Inspirational Reads Chapter 3

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There are so many lessons we want to teach our kids, isn’t there? There are so many pearls of wisdom that we want them to embrace. I know I say to my kids all the time that I am so glad that they learned this or that while still at home under the protection of our umbrella. The reality is that sometimes consequences suck, sometimes life even sucks, and it is our job as parents to teach our kids to accept both of these things as part of life.

It is with this in mind that I think there are things we can do to cultivate a heart of contentment in our kids, which I feel is among the most valuable things we can teach our kids. In fact, I think this would be in my top three when it comes to things I want my kids to fully embrace by the time they leave the nest.

contentment

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I also think it is true that just as Kristen points out in chapter three of Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World, it is hard for us as parents to watch our kids struggle when they are hurting. It can be hard for us to watch our kids feel out of touch with their peers because they don’t have everything that all their friends have. It can be hard to discipline our kids at times when they let us know that in that moment we are the enemy. It can be difficult to watch our kids learn life lessons at a high cost. However, it is so good to keep things in perspective. Isn’t it better when they learn these things at home with us when we can talk them through things? We can try to explain things, try to help them understand, and try to remind our kids how times of suffering produces courage, perseverance, and strength.

Having a heart of contentment is such a good thing for us and for our kids. Here is how to help your kids cultivate a heart of contentment.

Be content yourself

If you want your kids to be content, you better show what that looks like. You can’t expect your kids to be content with what they have if you are forever chasing after this and that. To have kids who are content, we as parents need to be content first.

Define the difference between a want and a need

I am big on identifying the difference between a want and a need from a frugal standpoint, but it is something that can be very difficult to do at first. For this reason, it can be especially difficult for kids to be able to discern the difference between a want and a need. This is why initially they will need you to do this for them using real life experiences.

Nurture their sense of self esteem

Kids who have a healthy self esteem are confident in themselves while not being overconfident or arrogant. With a healthy sense esteem, kids are less likely to worry about what they do and don’t have and how they measure up to those around them. Kids who are lacking in self esteem gain their sense of self worth based on the circumstances around them and who others tell them they are, which is an excellent place for discontent to linger. Get your kids involved in things they enjoy, in things they are good at, in things that make them feel good about themselves. Use affirming words with them and tell them you love them more than you think you need to.

Teach them to give

What gives way to contentment more than serving others? Not much I don’t think. Serving others takes the focus off of self. Serving others exposes your kids to new experiences and people. Serving others gives your kids a heaping dose of being part of something that is larger than they are. Giving to others whether through time or resources is an excellent way of cultivating a heart of contentment.

Raising kids in a culture that seems to scream of discontent makes it even more difficult to teach kids to be content than ever before. Kids who are content are kids who are selfless rather than selfish, kids who are more inclined to work hard, and kids who can more easily be a blessing to those around them as they are healthier and happier themselves. These are some surefire ways to cultivate a heart of contentment in your kids.

This post is reflection of the book we are reading as a book club community. This is the book we are reading.

Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World

Here is a bit more about our book club…

inspirational reads

This book club is a way of encouraging others to carve out the time to read at a pace of just two chapters a week because I’ve learned that finding time to read never just happens on its own.

Generally, every Monday and Thursday there will be blog posts here with Monday’s Inspirational Reads somewhere in the title with my reaction to each of the two chapters for the week.

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