Successful Parenting

All the while I thought raising kids will get easy as they grow older. I was wrong. Still confused and frustrated, I spent days thinking of how and what the effective way of disciplining my child is. 

Parenting is really a test of patience. It is so easy to get mad and flip out most of the time but it doesn't make an impact to my daughter. Well it does when you get angry to the point that she will cry and say she will not do it again but after 10 minutes all the drama will be on replay.

Sometimes I just want to point fingers and blame people for not helping me raise her properly which is totally selfish of me. Though it takes a village to raise a child, it is the parents who are first and foremost responsible for it and especially if you don't have a village to help you.

It is not the child's fault either on why they do the way they do. They only respond to their nature. My eldest is like the Energizer Bunny. We refuse to call her names like "hyperactive" or "kid with ADHD" because we believe all kids are and will be kids at the end of the day. They like to run, jump and make noises. I just have to figure out some ways where she can put such energy instead of reacting badly.

There are times like today that I just want to give up and throw a tantrum as well. But I know I could be better than that. I would always remind myself with this passage...

Hebrews 12:11 —All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Discipline is never easy especially that the world has changed a lot and the threats against our kids are getting heavier. The conservative world that we knew is gone and we have to keep up with our kids if we want to be successful parents.

Our learning should never stop, just as parenting does not end for it is our lifelong duty. That is why I am blessed to come across Counterflow 2014. It is a 1-day seminar for every parent who shares the same struggle like me. The event is designed to address some of the key issues facing families today.

An Overview of Counterflow 2014:

The event brings together some of the foremost champions of the family from the Philippines and even the USA, with Dr. Peter Tan-chi, Senior Pastor of CCF, one of the fastest growing Christian organizations in the Philippines; Francis Kong, international speaker and best-selling author; and Larry Fowler, Executive Director of Awana, a global children's ministry, and author of widely read "Raising a Modern-Day Joseph". On top of these keynote speakers are a host of workshops for specialised topics such as raising special needs children, raising kids in blended families, and choosing the best education for our kids. Participants are expected to leave the conference equipped, refreshed, encouraged, and ultimately changed persons as they apply their learnings in their respective families.

I invite parents most especially those who still have young kids to come and dedicate some time to learn how we can raise our children successfully. Because "Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)