Dictator to Diplomat....Which do you have?

Do you have a child that tries to control you, their brothers and sisters, friends, and even strangers? You propably have a future leader on your hands. This will be an asset to them later but raising a budding leader can be a real challenge.

Your budding leader must learn to be able to follow. They have to learn to listen to the desires and needs of others, work cooperatively as a team, submit when it is called for, and to follow other people's agendas sometimes.

Think about the leaders in your life. (bosses for instance) Do you want an unyeilding dictator or do you appreciate those in charge who listen to your view and value your input before making the decisions that need to be made. Your little leader isn't going to naturally become diplomatic. You have to help them along.

If your young leader is showing signs of being argumentative, demanding, or angry, don't just ignore it. Take time to address these weaknesses. You want to appreciate your child's gifts, but recognize that with those gifts they have the responsibility to use them wisely and fairly.

In my house I had 4 children and, unfortunately for me, they were all young budding leaders. As a single mom, not only was I outnumbered 4 to 1, but I was constantly at battle to be the one who was actually in charge. Debate was a well oiled machine around our home. Everyone could speak up.

Important TIP! If I could give you one pearl of wisdom from all that I endured on this subject it would be this... Expect obedience 1st and discuss 2nd! In our home we would talk things into the ground. Sometimes they would be convincing and a compromise would be struck, sometimes I just demanded they obey. However, the time it would take to get to obedience would be unnecessarily long. Repeat after me. "Obey 1st and then we will talk about it."

My 4 still each turned into self starting go-getters, but in different degrees have struggled with respect for authority. Oh to rewind the clock...

Anyway, little leaders will offer you some added challenges but raised properly they can become a powerful force for our Lord. If you are interested in diving into this subject deeper, I recommend you check out this sight. I went to a conference workshop with the creator of this website and curriculum and found it very helpful.

http://kidlead.com/default.aspx

Pray each day that God will give you the strength and wisdom you need to stand toe to toe with your little dictator, um I mean budding leader, and help the Lord mold him or her into the man or woman He will use for great things.

You can survive! Hang in there.
Brenda