Have a Little Faith in Your Child

As I thought about what to share in this post, I thought about how words matter. But, along with being careful about our words, we need to have faith. Faith is something more connected to spirituality or religion. But, I'm not talking about that kind of faith. I'm talking about the kind of faith that encourages people to be at their best and do their best.

Lacking Faith in Childhood

For me, having faith is very important. Words matter, but faith matters more. I remember growing up without many words of encouragement. It just wasn't my parents' style. They grew up in the same way - with parents working hard to provide for them. However, I was the kind of kid that needed lots of encouragement and faith.

I wonder how different my life would have been had my parents been more encouraging and had faith in me. I wonder if I would have reached for the stars earlier in my life instead of doing so as an adult. Would I have earned the best grades of my life as a child? Would I have developed and followed my dreams earlier? Who knows? I do know that being pregnant with Bob was enough for me to have faith in myself.

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Having Faith in my Child

Because it was missing in my own life, I make it a point to have faith in Bob and let him know it as much as possible. Yes, we have our issues and difficult times. It's called parenting. But, within parenting is my faith that Bob can achieve his goals. I've always admired his strong sense of self and the faith he has in his abilities. I admire his faith in his dreams, which haven't wavered since he was a very young child. More so, I admire the faith that Bob has in me as a parent. He thinks I know everything. While it can be great for the ego, it can also be scary. But, my son has faith that everything will be okay and that I have the ability to ensure that things are okay.

Putting Faith to the Test

Just today, I sent Bob to the grocery store for the first time in the late evening. Usually, I stick to sending him during daylight hours. He's only 12 and I'm trying to teach him to navigate our neighborhood wisely. Today, I wanted to see how he could handle it. Bob was nervous because the routine for the store was during daylight. He said that he was not sure about going to the store after dark. I simply told him that I had faith in him and that I trusted that he could do it. And he did. When he returned, I told him that I knew he could do it.

It is in these small steps that I encourage Bob to have more faith in himself. At the very least, he knows that I have great faith in him. He's a great kid and I believe in him no matter what. Little does he know that the faith I have in him grows everyday.

photo credit: duncan via photopin cc