No matter what upbringing you had, we all want more for our kids.
I’ve definitely felt overwhelmed by the pressure to do more, be more and give more. When I first thought about what giving more to our kids meant, my mind went straight to materialistic items and a lavished lifestyle. But let’s pause for a moment. Giving more is not always about materialistic items and lavish living.
Don’t raise your kids to have more than you had, raise them to be more than you were.
-Unknown
So how can we raise our kids to be better than we were?
Materialistic items are not bad, they just aren’t the most important. Let’s take the pressure off of the “got to have more, more, more” mentality and “keeping up with the Jones’s”. When it comes to raising our kids, there is a bigger picture. Comparison can mess us up.
Good character traits are some of the most important things we can send our kids to school with
Something that cost zero dollars that we can give more of, is the gift of building good character traits. We can give our kids more by teaching them kindness, compassion, humbleness, courage, generosity, confidence, responsibility, honesty and respectfulness.
I hope our kids show compassion to those who have no friends. When they see a lonely classmate at lunch or on the playground, I hope they be a friend to that person. I wish for them to be honest, respectful and kind to fellow peers and teachers. I hope they know it’s better to stay humble, have courage, stand up for the others and be confident in who they are rather than compromise any of that for a chance at popularity.
Teaching our kids these qualities pushes them to step out, embrace life and be a good example to others. Sometimes the best things we can give are the intangible things. They’re what shape and grow all of us.
