Parenting Goals

If you have ever talked to me about children, then you probably know how passionate that I am about being a intentional parent. I am a Nanny by trade, and I have dealt with a lot of parents.  I think my biggest pet peeve is unintentional parents. You know the ones. They decide they want to have a baby (or maybe they don't decide), and they get so excited about their sweet little "bundle of joy."  They start preparing a nursery and buy all the latest trends in baby equipment and clothing, and then they wait for the arrival of their baby. What they forget to plan for is the fact that children are babies for a VERY short period of time. I think most  A LOT of people give little to no thought about how they are going to raise their BABIES into independent adults.  I am not saying that I have it all figured out, because let me tell you that I don't. I know every situation with every individual child is different, but how about some goals people?! What kind of child do you want to raise? What are some easy steps you can take from the earliest of age to get them there?

Right now, Daniel and I have 3 main goals for Ransom as an adult. The first is holiness. Teaching this will be our number one priority. We are willing to put his immediate happiness on the sideline in order to accomplish this long term goal. The second is independence. We  are willing to step back and allow him to get a few bumps and scraps (literal or not)  in order that he learn how to get up and persevere on his own, even though this one will probably be painful for us.  The third is contentedness. I hope that we can show Ransom what true NEEDS are, and not shelter him from those that have them.  In this way, I pray that he will have a soft heart toward others instead of focusing on how he can make himself more comfortable.

I honestly believe that just having some goals for our child(ren) will allow us to look at many of our  future discipline issues a little more objectively.  We can see a problem and hold that problem up against our goals and choose an appropriate reaction based on how they line up. I think we will also be able to choose our battles more effectively... if it doesn't affect the goals that we have laid out, then we don't even need to worry about it.

Every parent loves for their children to be happy and smiling, but it is my belief that my ultimate goal is not to have smiling children 100% of the time. In fact, I am prepared for lots of tears in the years ahead. I may be thought of as cruel by some, but I am willing to have that reputation if it will allow for Ransom's long term success.

NOTE: These goals have been discussed at length between my husband and I since before Ransom was even conceived, but the reason for me writing this post was because I read this post. It was fun to see how many of our goals lined up.