Tuesday 26^th August, 2025

Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 6: 6-7

Memory Verse:  A refusal to correct is a refusal to love; love your children by disciplining them. Proverbs 13:24 (MSG)

Julie Stucke, PhD is a behavioural health psychologist. She wrote on 10 tips for raising independent kids. This include:

1. Let children do things for themselves: While it may be easier to do things yourself, this doesn’t teach your children anything about the tasks at hand. Show them, teach them, and then let your children do things on their own.

2. Give children responsibilities: Everyone lives in your home and makes messes, so everyone should help to keep the house clean. Chores help teach children valuable life skills, responsibility, and respect for themselves and others.

3. Teach children life skills: Knowledge of basic life skills including cooking, laundry, and managing money (how to save and spend) will help children grow into independent adults.

4. Teach children how to care for others: By caring for others, children learn important lessons regarding responsibility and the need to think of others. Start by allowing your children to care for a pet (you can start small with a fish), or allowing older children to care for a younger sibling.

5. Allow children to work out conflicts themselves: Teach your children how to resolve conflicts with siblings or peers (e.g., negotiating, tolerating) so they will know how to handle these situations without your help.

6. Create an independent environment: Allow your children to make some of their own choices (this can range from choosing their clothing for the day to picking between a “regular” class and an “honors” class in school). Give your children space when they need it. Alone time can be healthy, allowing children to gather their thoughts and create their own plans.

7. Show confidence in your children: Take pride in your children’s accomplishments. Be sure to praise their effort and work put into something rather than just praising success. If you only praise success, your children with learn to think failure is bad.

8. Teach children to advocate for themselves: Don’t immediately rush in to “rescue” your children when a conflict or problem arises. Talk your children through different ways they can advocate for themselves, even engaging in some role-playing so your children can practice what they will say to stand up for themselves.

9. Encourage children to get outside their comfort zone: Growth occurs when children take risks and step outside their comfort zones. Encourage your children to take risks, even when the possibility of failure is very real.

10. Let your children make mistakes and fail gracefully: Teach your children that failure is one possible outcome that happens to everyone at times. It is not something that needs to be feared or avoided at all costs. Teaching your children, it is okay to keep trying at something will give them the confidence to try new things in their adult life.

Quote:  To constantly intervene in the life of your children is to interrupt their becoming

Prophetic Decree: Receive wisdom for parental guidance, in Jesus name. 

Prayer Focus 

1. Thank you Father for the gift of children. 

2. Any arrow of death fired at my children, backfire by fire, in Jesus name. 

3. Satanic appointment set for my children, be cancelled by the power in the Blood of Jesus. 

4. Witchcraft date and time earmarked for my children, fail in Jesus name. 

5. Occultic manipulation of times and seasons for my children, scatter, in Jesus name. 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lamentations 3-5