5 Valuable Life Lessons to Teach Your Children

1. Your Identity Is Found in Christ Alone

Colossians 2:10 says, "And in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority." As the Apostle Paul tells us, we have been brought to completeness in Christ. There is nothing we are lacking in our lives from the moment we place faith in Jesus. In other words, we are enough because of the Lord.

This is vital to teach our children because it will help them to know they don't need to try to find their identity in other things. Their identity does not come from good grades, being good at sports, or being a well-behaved child. Instead, it is found in Jesus. Help your child remember this truth whenever they are struggling with grades, sports, friendships, or in life.

By helping them know that their identity is in Jesus, they will no longer feel the pressure of striving for perfection. Instead, they will know that they can just be themselves. Help them to know that you love them just as they are and that they don't need to change. This will equip them with confidence in themselves and in their abilities.

2. Trying Your Best Is More Than Enough

A positive teaching my mom taught me was that trying my best was always more than enough. As long as my sisters and I tried our best, my mom said it was good enough. While this changed as I got older, during my childhood, she always lived according to this lesson. When I told her I was worried about my third-grade end-of-grade tests, my mom told me to simply try my best, and that was all that mattered. Even if I didn't get an A, my best was all that she cared about.

Unfortunately, when I became a teenager, this changed in my home; keep this lesson in the life of your children forever. Help them know that their best is always enough. Yes, they will mess up, but that is part of life. None of us will get an A+ on every test, yet we can still try our best. Trying our best is what matters, no matter what grade we get.

By pressing our children to be "perfect" at school, sports, or life, it will hinder them. They will slowly lose confidence and start seeing their entire worth being connected with their grades, how good they are at sports, or if they are growing up the way their parents want. We don't need to add this pressure to our children's lives. They need to be themselves without fear of being told their best isn't enough.

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3. Cry When You Need to and Express Your Emotions

Another lesson all parents need to teach their children is that it is okay to cry and to express their emotions. This is something that was never taught to me. Instead, I was told I was too emotional and cried too much. Over the years, this has caused me to suppress and hide my emotions rather than fully being vulnerable in my feelings. Nobody should want to cause their children to shut down, yet it happens more often than one would think.

The next time your child is crying or upset about something, tell them it is okay to cry. They don't need to hide their feelings. Crying will help your child regulate their emotions and feel better. This is the way God created us. Therefore, there does not need to be any shame attached to crying.

In the same way, we need to help out children to know it is good for them to express their emotions. They don't need to bottle them up or hide them away. This is something that I have done for a long time, and it only leads to problems. Choose to reach out to your children and help them to know it is okay to express their emotions. Validate anything they feel and help them work out any difficult emotions.

If your child ever starts showing signs of mental health concerns, such as depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), eating disorder, or any other mental health struggles, it is important to talk to their pediatrician as well as a therapist. Their pediatrician and a therapist will be able to help them if they are struggling with a mental health illness. Yet again, remove the shame associated with therapy and choose to help your child.

4. It Is Okay to Make Mistakes

We all mess up, and we all fail. And that's okay. We don't need to get upset with our kids when they mess up. To mess up is to be human. Help your children learn this lesson by telling them it is okay to make mistakes. What is important is what we do to fix the mistake.

Maybe your child's mistake was forgetting to clean his dish or forgetting to take the dog out for a walk. Instead of getting upset and yelling at him, show him compassion and grace. Tell him it is okay to make mistakes. Making the situation neutral will help him remember to clean his dish and take the dog for a walk next time. If you get upset and yell at him, it will only push him away.

Help your children to know mistakes are part of life. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). None of us will ever be perfect, nor will any of us get everything right all the time. We will mess up and need to extend grace to others and ourselves.

5. God Will Always Be with You

A final life lesson you can teach your children is that God will always be with them. Isaiah 41:10 says, "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." As God says in this passage, He is with us and our children.

Children can have many fears, yet they can find bravery in the Lord. By knowing that God is always with them, they will be more brave and confident when they try new things. It will also help them to feel protected and safe. Share this lesson with your children and help them feel the comfort of the Lord.

God will be with all of us for all time. As His dearly loved children, He is always keeping an eye on us. As parents, it is common to worry about the safety of our children, yet we can trust God to care for our children when we are not present. After all, God is the Father of us all and we are all His dearly beloved children (1 John 3:1).