Are you concerned about your children’s social, emotional and spiritual development? Do you want your children to become healthy, emotionally stable and spiritually mature adults? Currently, 20% of kids between 3 to 17 years old struggle with depression. More than 1 in 3 kids have behavioral problems and 1 in 6 children between the ages of 2 and 8 have a mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder (Goff, Thomas, & Trevathan, 2017).

These can be alarming statistics. Children who struggle socially, emotionally, and spiritually often find it hard to hold and keep a job later on in life. They tend to have higher divorce rates and often struggle with substance abuse in adulthood. One of the reasons children struggle with these issues, is due to the fact that they feel as though they will never live up to the standards that other people set for them. Look at the world we live in today. Our children are constantly being told that they are not good enough. Social media consistently glosses over the struggles people have, making it look as though everyone else is living a perfect life. It’s time for these false perceptions to be laid to rest and for parents to come alongside their children as they teach them healthy ways to develop socially, emotionally, and spiritually in a world with so many outside voices and pressures.

As parents, it is our responsibility to “Train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it.” (Prov. 22:6) God’s greatest desire for our kids to is know Him and live a life pleasing to Him. We have the opportunity as parents to model this for our children, and we hold an important place in our children’s lives to foster and develop them into healthy adults. This is no easy responsibility and there is no step by step instruction manual to follow in raising our kids. But, it is encouraging to know we do not walk this journey alone and there are people and resources that can help us help our children.

Here are just a few helpful tips:

1. Develop a healthy line of communication and emotional vocabulary with your kids. Create feeling charts with your family, integrate an emotional vocabulary to into your family conversations. For example, at dinner time ask your kids one positive and one negative emotion they have had that day.
2. Create healthy boundaries for your kids. Creating healthy boundaries with your kids give them a safe place to share their emotions. Allowing your kids to say no to others when they don’t feel emotionally, socially, or spiritually safe is developing a healthy child.
3. Join a parenting group. Be encouraged that you are not alone on your parenting journey. Learn the necessary skills to guide your children in the 12 key emotional, social and spiritual milestones each child needs to reach. Wellspring is hosting a new parenting group that starts on April 6th or April 8th – click here to learn more.

Article by Alicia Foss, RMHC

Learn more about Alicia

This week Lindsey Steffen, LMHC, and Alicia Foss, RMHC, talk about the main emotional, social, and spiritual needs of our children.

References

Goff, S., Thomas, D., & Trevathan, M. (2017). Are my kids on track?: The 12 emotional, social, and spiritual milestones your child needs to reach. Bloomington, MN: Bethany House.