Kids Love Heroes

Isn’t it interesting how kids are drawn to heroes? We think kids love heroes for a reason. Heroes are characterized by four things. They do what’s right, deal with wrongs, are honest, and they care about others. Kids love heroes because God has placed a conscience inside each child that prompts them in the same four ways: to do what’s right, deal with wrongs, be honest, and care about others.

That’s why kids love heroes. In fact, kids are heroes in training right now in your family. God uses ordinary people to accomplish his will and it starts in the small things of life.

David was a hero in the Bible when he fought Goliath. But his hero training started much earlier. David was a hero in the small stuff. He took care of sheep and learned responsibility. He fought off a bear and a lion and learned courage. He worked hard to practice his harp so that he could get a job working in the palace.

Right now, your child can be a hero in the small stuff. Heroes practice in daily life by taking initiative. You might try this. Ask your child to see something that needs to be fixed in life. After all, that’s what heroes do. It might be that dishes are left in the living room, a sad baby needs to be cheered up, or help is needed for folding the laundry.

When your child takes initiative, hero qualities are developing. We’d love to hear ways that your children are demonstrating hero qualities and how you’re affirming them. Please share with us what you're doing.

Here's a fun video promotion for using Hero Training Camp in your church for VBS.

Don't Forget to Say Thank You

Gratefulness is an important life quality because it helps us to be thankful for what we have instead of complaining about what we don't have. Gratefulness is a lifestyle but it starts by saying "Thank you" to others who bless us.

Begin now to prepare your children for receiving gifts. Talk about the importance of the giver, not just the gift. Teach children to look at the nametag first so they can be thinking of the person who gave the gift while they open it. Encourage children to express thanks to the giver, even if that person is not in the room at the time. A phone call to extended family or a thank you note to a distant friend can mean a lot.

Gift receiving sometimes provides that awkward moment when we want to ask, "What is this?" or discover that we already have one of these. Play a "What if" game with children to help them anticipate how they might say thank you in those times.

Opening gifts can happen fast and then children are off playing with new toys and games. Helping them to take time to express gratefulness can extend the true meaning of Christmas past the few hours of Christmas Day. And don't forget to take time to thank the Lord for his special gift in Jesus Christ for us.

Tell us how you've been able to develop gratefulness in your kids.

Caring for Others

One of the great ways to help children think of giving instead of just getting at Christmas is to reach out to others you don't even know. This one activity can do a tremendous amount to help kids focus on others, not just themselves. Here are some ideas:

Pray for missionaries in other parts of the world. Create a care package for a family and mail it off in time to arrive by Christmas Day.

Get involved in your church's gift-giving program. Most churches provide ways to give tangible gifts to those in need. Ask around your community for organizations that are providing gifts for others.

Take some homemade food and crafts to a local rest home or senior citizen center. Sing songs and greet people. Tell them Merry Christmas. Before you go and when you're finished, talk to your kids about the people you are visiting. Sometimes caring for people can be a challenge and a blessing. Discussions help children understand it all in practical terms.

Make sure that children understand that Christmas is a time when we can share the love of Jesus with others. After all, that's what God did for us.

For more practical ideas on honoring others consider the book Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes, in You and Your Kids by Dr Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN.

Christmas: A Time for Make Believe?

What will your family do with Santa Claus, reindeer, elves, and a sleigh? Will you make them part of your Christmas tradition or not?

Some families choose to make this one of those examples of ways that we, as Christians, are different from the world and we celebrate the true meaning of Christmas instead of the secular version.

Other families weave the fun of these traditions into their family life, but emphasize to children the true meaning of Christmas.

If you choose to make Santa a part of your Christmas tradition, be sure to teach children the difference between make-believe and reality. You might say, "Santa isn't real but we like to play the Santa game at Christmas."

Some children who come to the shocking discovery that Santa isn't real, question whether their parents are telling them the truth in other areas of life. Some even think, "Is Jesus real? Or is he another thing my parents made up for me?"

Christmas traditions can be a lot of fun. Just be careful what you're teaching and how children are putting it all together in their heads. And be sure to remind your children often about the true meaning of Christmas.