Self-love vs. self-hatred
About This Episode
Be caring, compassionate and mindful with your children and they will most likely emulate that with others. Tune in to get tips on how you can expose your children to service and giving to others so they can find the joy of giving and the contentment of having a life that is purpose-driven.
Featuring
Additional Info
RECAP
What does it take to raise children who are compassionate, purposeful, mindful, care for others, embrace opportunities and grow and learn from all the rich experiences that relationships and life bring? They need to feel comfortable in their own skin. If they are plagued by self-loathing, beating themselves when things go south, they won’t have the energy to serve others. On the other hand, if they are overly focused on vanity and self-pride, they similarly won’t give the time of day to care for others.
The key is having a sense of grace that they gift to themselves and to others. Grace is something they will gain from how their parents model self-love and acceptance. Moreover, exposing children to stories of people who have lived a meaningful life representing different sectors (i.e, philanthropy, scientists, social services) is one way to pull them away from their inclination to only focus on themselves. As they learn about the plight of others and how every person can make a difference, their perspective can shift and become more balanced.
CONVERSATION
How do you teach your children to be compassionate and kind to others?
THIS WEEK'S ACTION
- Investigate local charities and find out how you can volunteer as a family.
- Go to your local library and check out biographical books on inspirational leaders who have been social service pioneers, philanthropists or who have sacrificially given of themselves. The Who Was Series of books is a good one for grade school children.
- Family Movie Night: Watch a movie that speaks to a heroic figure who overcame insurmountable odds and ultimately served others. After the movie, talk about what it would mean to go beyond the self and serve others.
TOOLS
The following tools can help you along the way:
The Struggle is Real podcast is based off the book, The Struggle is Real: Parenting in the 21st Century written by Dr. Alicia La Hoz & Dr. Paul Meier.
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