Responding to the above quote from a parent, Reg said: ‘If we’re replacing tangible time with our children with things, then actually we are reinforcing, as parents, all the bad messages that make you believe that you are loved more if you’ve got all the latest stuff, rather than just for who you are.’
I’m mum to two tots (aged one and three). I don’t want my children to grow up believing that they become more valuable when they own more stuff. But what do my actions tell them? Perhaps when I constantly buy my children presents, however small, I’m not always helping them understand the nature of love. Maybe, sometimes, a gift is really an expression of my guilt that I put money before quality time or things before people.
The true measure of what someone is worth is what he’d be worth if you took away everything he owned. I want to raise my children with that message in their hearts.
I’m loving working on Premier Childrenswork magazine. God uses my work in researching, interviewing and writing for the magazine to prod me and expand my heart in his own incredible way.
I hope he’s using Premier Childrenswork to prod you and expand your ministry too. You can read the rest of my interview with Reg – in which he further explains how we can protect our children – in issue 2. Sign up for a free copy.
