Episode 7: Connecting with our Children

In the previous episode, we saw how our marriage serves as a wonderful and efficacious channel of Christ’s love, graces, and power in the flourishing of our children.

In this episode, and during the subsequent ones, we discuss how we can connect with our children in ways that will strengthen our bonds with them. This bonding with our children will serve as the next important pillar to support our mission as Catholic parents.

 

A Firm Foundation

Studies have shown that a positive parent-child relationship is associated with better outcomes for children later in life, such as better self-esteem, higher resilience, and lower incidence of high-risk behaviour, in areas such as drugs, immoderate alcohol consumption, casual sex, and so on.

In addition, this bond with our children will make it easier for them to find and to love Jesus as they become more receptive to us in areas such as faith formation, virtues formation, sexuality education, proper use of the internet and social media – porn-proofing our, so to speak – and so on.

As we make the sincere gift of ourselves to our children by bonding with them in a positive way, it will give them much opportunity to flourish as human persons according to the wonderful plan that God has for each and every one of them.

 

ABCs of Connection

We will discuss each of these in a little more detail in the following episodes. For this episode, I would like to share with you an acronym by which I believe we can more easily remember these aspects. These are the ABCs of connecting with our children.

A stands for affirmation;

B is for being there for them;

C is for communication;

D is for discipline;

E is for empathy;

F is for forgiveness;

G is to be God-centred;

H is for honesty;

I is for integrity; and

J is to be joyful.

Once we get these right, we will be able to embark more confidently, with God’s ever-present and ever-needed grace and mercy, on the exciting journey of Catholic parenting.

 

God Redeems All

There is a critical point I wish to bring up. If, like me, youhave made mistakes before in the upbringing of your children, even big ones, do not despair, and please, please do not beat yourself about the head.

No-one is perfect. I am sure there must have been many factors beyond our control, and things did not turn out as well as we would have wished. But be not afraid. Nothing is beyond the redemptive power of Jesus. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is beyond His infinite mercy.

So let us entrust our children to Him. Let us entrust ourselves, our mission to Him. He writes straight with our crooked lines. Our Lord, our Saviour, our Redeemer. Come, Lord Jesus!

With that, let us journey together. I look forward to seeing you at the next episode, where we will start these ABCs with the topic of affirmation.