Kids Need to Hear Our Stories

How can you help your children face hard situations with courage? (Courage is the strength to face hard situations without fear.) I really can’t overstate how important it is to talk to your kids about your own struggles with hard situations. Hearing your story can actually be one way to give them courage. (If my dad was afraid on his first day of school and he made it, so can I!)

Write the following situations on slips of paper (first day of school, spending the night away from home, a bad storm, facing a bully, getting lost from a parent, facing peer pressure, standing for what is right, or others you think of).

Let one person draw a slip of paper and read it aloud (or hand it to you so you can read it aloud). Ask the following questions:

How would you feel in this situation?
What could you do so you could face this situation with courage? 

Continue letting each person pick a slip of paper and brainstorm ideas about what to do in each situation. 

G E O R C U A …What?

Write each letter of the word courage on an index card or small piece of paper. Hide the letters around the room (or even outside if you like). Tell your kids there are seven pieces of paper they must find to learn the seven letters of a word for something they will need when they face hard situations.

After they have found the letters, let them try to unscramble them to find what they will need. (If they have trouble, give them the starting letter and the ending letter.) After they have unscrambled the word, ask them what courage means. (A good definition is: Courage is the strength to face hard situations without fear.)

Ask your kids:

How can you have courage? (Courage comes from knowing that God is with you and will help you. You are not alone.)

A Little Bedtime Comfort

At bedtime, ask your child:
What gives you comfort? (a special blanket or stuffed animal?)

How would you feel if you couldn’t find it or if it was taken away?

When do you need comfort? 

Say something like this:
It makes you feel good to have a special blanket when you go to bed, doesn’t it? It probably even makes you feel comforted knowing it is in your room, if you should need it.

There was a man in the Bible named Paul who needed comfort. Some people told a lie about him and he was arrested. They even wanted to kill Paul. Paul loved God, but he faced many hard situations. God never promised we would not face hard situations, but He did give some words to comfort us. One of the most comforting words to know is this:  God is with me. Paul faced many hard situations with courage because he knew God was with him and he believed God would help him.

You may want to open the Bible and let your child read Hebrews 13:5b-6 (“I will never leave you”). Remind your child that these are God’s words written to him. Let your child repeat the phrase, “I will never leave you.” Hold up a different finger as you say each word and then place the child’s hand over his heart.) Let your child repeat this phrase several times and encourage him to say it whenever he needs comfort.

Say a prayer thanking God that He is with you and that He will help you.