According to Vocabulary.Com, a parent is a father or mother; one who begets or one who gives birth to or nurtures and raises a child; a relative who plays the role of guardian.

I shall, for the purpose of this blog, focus on the phrase which says…”one who nurtures and raises a child.” This is the most important aspect of parenting. Almost anyone of age can bring a child into the world (simple biology), but being there in that child’s life to nurture and raise them, that’s real parenting.

The term nurture is to care for and protect someone while they are growing, to help or encourage the development of.
This should be the main focus of every parent in this great responsibility of parenting. Now, the day to day application of this varies from one child to another as it differs from one home to another.

We live in today’s world where there is so much external pressure that if the internal structure is not built right, it would collapse and be subdued by the external.
Carrying on from my last blog, parenting is one of those roles where you learn on the job. You may have a dozen children and still not have a clue sometimes.

There are quite a range of parenting styles, and with each style comes its unique challenge(s). Family units now consist of nuclear units, single parent unit and blended unit and within those units are variations in lifestyles like a unit where the single parent is the bread winner, the mum, the dad and everything else in-between. We also have units where the couple operate what I call a tag system; The dad has a day job while mum stays home with the children and when dad returns in the evening, mum runs out the door. Or the unit where Mum is a stay at home mum and dad is the breadwinner. Not forgetting as well, the unit where mum is the one who does the day job and dad is a stay at home dad.

No matter the structure of your household and the lifestyle you lead, one of the most important things to establish as a parent is the importance of knowing God.

“You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 3:15 NLT

Teaching your children the word of God and the ways of God from an early age is the best gift you could give to them and you don’t have to be a pastor or bible scholar to do that. Cultivate the habit of reading portions of the bible regularly with your children, take them to church, and encourage the things of God at home. Let your children know the importance of the bible. In the verse above, it makes reference to Timothy, who was taught the word of God as a child and how it helped him develop in life.

When there is a working internal structure (your home), the external can be managed more effectively. Do not be carried away by how perfect the neighbour’s family look and begin to compare yourself and your children when in fact they secretly envy you. Do not be carried away by social media and what seems to be the latest trend, and feel like you don’t measure up when you are doing a hard enough job as it is.

Your focus as a parent is to help them discover what God has already put in them and help them achieve the maximum and in doing that, there are days when you may get it wrong, or feel inadequate but no matter what happens you need to know that you were given that child or those children for a purpose, which means that you can lead them right and that may sometimes involve you seeking support from trusted family or friends or even getting adequate professional help to aid you in your journey because the phrase perfect parents does not exist, at least not in real life. Every parent needs the grace of God and the help of the Holy Spirit to raise a child.

Much Blessings
Kingdom Durogene