How do you stay sane in an insane world that has slowly transgressed to where your morals, values, and proven facts about life and humanity are being greatly challenged?
First, choose to hang on to your Judo-Christian principles and beliefs in what God tells us in His Word about life and how to live it regardless of current societal concepts, trends and influences.. Reading the Bible daily can greatly help keep you grounded. Next, fact-check information you hear in the news and from influencers by consulting additional reliable resources. Be aware and informed as you process new concepts and make decisions for yourself and your family because they may be leading you down the wrong path of false truths and personal and societal destruction.
There are many challenging topics today I could address but the most disturbing one that is at the top of my list is the current child and adolescence gender identity vs confusion crisis that is at the forefront of the news these days. Typically, Identity vs confusion starts at adolescence but because of social influences on our children it is starting at an earlier age.
What is the core issue of identity confusion? Low Self-esteem. Did you know that self-esteem is the cultivated nature of an individual’s psycho-social developmental process from birth to adulthood? In more detail as a child grows it is an integration of thoughts that create the things we tell ourselves, our self-talk, which is reflected in how we see ourselves and project to others. I believe through study, observation and experience that as a child passes through the developmental stages from infancy to adulthood that their self-esteem is created and formed by parents, significant others and later peers that he or she sees themselves through.
There has been much talk in the news lately of what I call a child, adolescence identity and confusion crisis. Which has been provoked currently by those with an agenda who are targeting youth that are going through this turbulent time in a child’s and adolescents maturation. They want to frame it as a gender identity conflict and the parents should support this confusion. More simply it is what we are increasingly hearing about in the news, a female child thinks she is a boy and a male child thinks he is a girl. There are many reasons why they may think this but this very often is a phase brought on by societal, social media or peer influences. Thoughts and feelings come and go. Parents best strategy is to help your child through this is to love them, listen to their thoughts and feelings and redirect to help them build a positive self esteem. Then tell them let’s see how you feel about this in a few years.
Here are some things you can do to buildup and reinforce their self-esteem. But you need to pray for patience and try to be consistent.
- Positive reinforcement: Praise and acknowledge their efforts and achievements. Focus on their strengths and accomplishments, no matter how small they may be.
- Encourage independence: Allow your child to make age-appropriate decisions and solve problems on their own. Encourage them to take responsibility for their actions and learn from their mistakes.
- Set realistic expectations: Avoid putting undue pressure on your child to excel in everything they do. Expectations should be realistic and tailored to their abilities and interests.
- Provide opportunities for success: Encourage your child to pursue activities they are passionate about and where they can experience success. This can boost their self-esteem and confidence.
- Teach resilience: Help your child understand that setbacks and failures are a natural part of life. Teach them how to bounce back from disappointments and learn from their mistakes.
- Foster a growth mindset: Encourage a growth mindset by emphasizing the importance of effort, persistence, and learning from failures rather than just focusing on innate abilities or talents.
- Encourage positive self-talk: Help your child develop a positive inner dialogue. Teach them to challenge negative thoughts and replace them with more constructive and affirming ones.
- Avoid comparisons: Discourage comparisons with siblings, peers, or others. Each child is unique and should be valued for their individual qualities.
- Be a role model: Demonstrate self-esteem and self-respect in your own life. Children often learn by example, so modeling healthy self-esteem is crucial.
- Provide constructive feedback: When offering criticism, do so in a constructive and non-hurtful manner. Focus on the behavior or action, not the child’s character.
- Offer opportunities for responsibility: Assign age-appropriate chores and tasks that make your child feel responsible and capable.
- Encourage hobbies and interests: Support your child’s interests and hobbies, and provide opportunities for them to explore and develop their passions.
- Celebrate uniqueness: Help your child appreciate their individuality and differences. Emphasize that being different is something to be proud of.
This is the first day of the rest of yours and your child’s life and you can start right to make long lasting positive change in their life!
