A vision for your children

A vision for your children

Yesterday, at my MoM's group, a fellow mom shared some excerpts from the book The Danger of Raising Nice Kids by Tim Smith. Seems like a very interesting book.

One thing that she shared which struck me was the need to have a vision for your children. Ask yourself what you would like your children to be when they reach 18 years old. Create that image of your child so that you will have something to work towards. Parenting has to be purposeful. You are molding your children. If you want to create a masterpiece for God, you must have an idea or image of the final product.

The author gave an example of their vision for their then young daughter. They had created a target for each aspect of life. They wanted a fully-developed young woman, spiritually, emotionally, physically, mentally. They also wrote life skills targets like by that age, their daughter would know how to cook simple meals, etc.

I think this is a very practical advice for parents. Think about how you would like your child to be, then you can make a plan for how to lead them towards that goal. If your vision includes an adult who knows how to be financially responsible, you slowly teach your child about the value of money. When you have something to aim for, I think it makes it easier to navigate the unsteady course of parenting.

On a side note, we also got to talking about living trusts and such. Maybe it was borne out of the discussion on earthquakes. Do any of you know if this can be done on your own and simply have it notarized? Or do you have to employ a lawyer to draw it up. I was told it could be costly, ranging from $500-$1000. It seems like an important thing to leave for the kids just in case one or both parents die but I don't know if it is that important to spend that much money on. I'm thinking I'd much rather spend it on a no exam life insurance or increase the benefits of our current policies. Might have to talk to DH about this.