Don't Throw the Child Away!

As your children grow you will meet many other children and their families. There will be children that misbehave or seem like a bad influence to your children. You can exercise your right to ween out those children when your kids are younger. Helping them size up peers and choosing close friends wisely is part of our job as parents. But what about the ones you are dismissing? Why are they the way they are. Most children exhibit behaviors as their way of telling you something in their world isn't right.

Don't be so quick to write them off. You may be in an instrumental position to accomplish 2 things. You may have come across a 'divine appointment' to offer light into a little life that is struggling for whatever reason. The second is you are offering opportunity to teach your children to be compassionate and world changers.

Of course, you must protect your children if the situation warrants it, but possibly you are set down in this situation to change this child's life forever.

What if your child is the one who is exhibiting behavior issues that you can't control. The same is true for them. They are trying to tell you something isn't right from their view. It may be how they are interpreting something they have heard or seen. Perhaps something has happened that they don't think they can tell you about. I have been through endless scenarios with my children and their friends. It is absolutely imperative that you immediately get to the root of the behavior. Don't call it a phase and hope it goes away.

Make talking about your feelings a family norm. Practice listening without judgement or punishment. Be a safe sounding board. If will pay off when something happens that they need to talk through. Don't ignore bad behavior, get to the bottom of it. Be willing to accept that maybe it is something you are doing that is being misinterpreted by your child or that you just shouldn't be doing. Seek the counsel of those you trust.

Don't dismiss those who cry out for help by their bad behavior. Don't leave them to be someone elses problem. I can personally vouch for the fact that you can make a difference just be showing you care, even if you never solve the problem yourself.