By admin
When children look up to professional athletes, they view a super-hero, of sorts. Many children say things like, “I want to be just like him,” referring to Tiger Woods, or Kobe Bryant, or other celebrities.
Perhaps it would be appropriate to interject a comment about the role-model of that particular sport. For example, “Yes, Tiger Woods is an amazing golfer. He’s a good role model for years of practice and persistence in his sport.”
But I wonder if kids are also viewing them in light of their character. In their personal lives, many professional athletes are not good role models. Perhaps it would thought-provoking to make a comment about character.
Character in personal life is more important than fame or wealth or skill. Character is established by one choice at a time. Character is developed, and affects every area of life: relationships, finances, health, and wisdom.
Challenging children to think through what is important in life is one of our jobs as parents.
Thanks for reading! Please let me know if I can be of service to you!
Jaril Faith Gallup, LCSW
By admin
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my friends! I hope this season finds you well, and in good health.
I’ve been thinking a lot about entitlement and money lately. It seems that my child, and a lot of children, are dreaming of what they will get on Christmas. I want to instill a spirit of giving, not just getting, and I’ve found a few things that work well:
- Set up a Holiday spending, monetary budget for your child: maybe as low as $1 per person for gifts. It’s really not about the price tag, it’s about thinking what the other person might like to receive. Thankfully, at her school, they’ve set up a Holiday Gift Shopping experience, complete with a budgetary envelope, with space allowing you to list the recipient’s name and the amount your child can spend per person.
- Additionally, we signed up to serve as a family. We are spending some time with our friends from church to sing Christmas Carols at a local nursing home.
- Additionally, our church is doing a food distribution from the donated food and coats being collected, and people come to receive these items. We signed up to do this together as a family, complete with our parents who are visiting from out of state.
- Also, the gifts we did purchase for family are “Fair Trade” items. This way, the artisans, or workers will receive a fair income for their work, and I feel it helps others, as we purchase these gifts. To see some fair trade items, visit this website: http://www.tradeasone.com
Thanks for reading! Please let me know if I can be of service to you!
Jaril Faith Gallup, LCSW
