One of the most important things I've had to do as a Challenge parent is give my teenage daughter TIME. And it's not only time WITH her, but time FOR her to complete her work.
We have three boys who are all in the grammar stage of homeschool (K-6th). Their workload is just so much less than hers. If we arise early and start on time, they can be finished with all of their subjects and even an hour of independent reading by 2 pm. Then they are playing outside with other homeschool friends in the neighborhood. Or we are outside raking leaves and cleaning the yard. Or we are running errands, meeting friends, going to drum lessons or Spanish class, attending field trips, going to the park or soccer practice, etc.
This year, more than any other, I have had to train and then allow my daughter to stay home alone to work on her essays, reading, projects, Latin exercises and more while I take the boys with me. Challenge typically takes 6 hours per day to complete everything well. And sometimes our weekends are so busy that she can't just rely on Saturday and Sunday catch up time. It is unfair to her to expect her to join us at every activity throughout the week and still stay on track. The Bible says in Ephesian 6:4, "And, you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Other translations say "do not exasperate your children to anger". One commentary describes the word wrath/anger as "frustration".
Yes, I do believe it would be very frustrating to expect a certain level of performance from a teenager that requires hours each day and then also expect them to be with me running all over town. They can't do their work at 3 am :)
I am blessed to have a daughter who is very diligent and conscientious. She doesn't watch TV or play video games while we are gone. She focuses and applies herself. If you have a student who needs more supervision, then give it to him/her. However long it takes, and however many cancelled field trips, stay home and train them to be responsible. This is a lifelong skill they need to have to be successful in life. They will learn how if you teach them in love, and you model it in your own life.
Lamentations 3:27 says that it is good for a man/woman to learn to bear the yoke while he is young. God wants us to learn these lessons while we are young; it is easier to learn how to be responsible in youth than it is to learn it as a 30 year old. I witnessed plenty of college students who had never had to be responsible before and it wasn't pretty.
Give the gift of TIME today. Time WITH and Time FOR.
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