How do you support your child now that he or she is back in school?

I know there may be many ways to do it, but in the following lines, I will suggest only five.

Also, these practices are some of what Lydia and I have been doing as parents. I hope they are of some help to you too. 

Pray for your child

Why do we have to pray for our children? Well, there are three things kids need to be successful every day as they are in school, and which only God grant to them.

The three I list below are, according to me, the necessary things all children need to have:

• Pray for safety.
• Pray that God’s light shines through your child.
• Ask God to give your child power, love, and sound judgment.  

Study the Word with your child

So often, when it comes to helping your child study the word, we think of Sunday School or Youth group or any formal Bible study.

Don’t we? What I am talking about here, however, are not just the forms of Bible study we know.

But, it is an opportunity, you, parent or guardian, can take to engage your child in a conversation.

Every time you use God’s Word as the authority to help what you talk about making sense in real life that is what I refer to a study.

As of my family, this is something we do almost every day and a lot of time around the table in the evening. 

You do not always need a fancy study layout or a perfect environment or room for study with everyone having a bible in their hands.

No, that is not the point.

Study of God’s Word can happen anywhere and in any form possible!

Listen to your child

What we have to keep in mind all the time is that we are all unique. And because of our uniqueness, we see things very differently.

Even when we look at one thing at the same time and in the same way, our perceptions and interpretations of what we have seen will differ from one person to the other.

Listening to your child is also something that applies to every single member of our families.

Therefore, your experience of school will be different from your child’s.

Listening is a skill every parent or guardian needs. If you feel like you are not a good listener, then this is something you can ask God to give to you.

You will need it to be able to do the next practice.  

Always encourage your child

Encouraging your child can only better be done if you know what is going on in your child’s life. And to get to that point, you have to listen.

Sometimes, children have no idea about what to tell you. So, you have to initiate the conversations by asking questions.

There are a lot of scriptures in the Bible for encouragement.

Today, with the internet, you have to search for something like: “Bible verses for encouragement.”

You will get all kinds of verses that you can go through to decide what you need to keep for yourself and your family.

What will also help and equip you with more knowledge of God’s Word is that you should take time to study the Bible on your own.

Speak with someone in your church or your pastor to get some help on how personal and daily devotions. 

Be authentic and live with integrity

Authenticity and Integrity are what will make our children believe what we believe.

What they hear from us about God should be what defines how we talk to each other and them.

It should be the framework for why we do what we do.

Out of our integrity and authenticity as Christians, they will know that we will always be there for them. They will trust us and still look up to us because of our God-centered lifestyle.  

Talking about God’s Light is not enough. But letting God’s Light shine through who we are is the only thing that will inspire our children and eventually help them grow into faithful disciples of Jesus Christ! 

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22: 6. ESV.