• Helping Kids…Honor Their Dads

Posted by: kidhelper on Thursday, June 6th, 2013

Helping Kids…To Honor Their Dads

It’s sometimes awkward to help your own children to honor you, as the Dad. It is my opinion, that “Honoring Dad” lessons are best taught by their Mother and grandparents. However, if we are so committed to partnering with parents, as we allege to be, then we must step up and enter into this intergenerational dialogue.

So as Children’s Ministers we must help kids to honor their fathers (and mothers, a subject for another time). So below are some elements that we might selectively address, perhaps not all at once, but over the extended time of your influence. Showing Honor to whom Honor is due or Over Due?” I don’t think you can ever over do honoring Dads, so put some more gravy on the potato!

So here are My Ten Things that need to be done to help kids to honor their Dads…

1. Share what the Bible teaches about Honoring Dad. “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” This is the fifth commandment, found in Exo. 20:12 (NRSV) See also Deut. 5:16 and Lev. 19:3. Note: there is no specific behavior indicated here.

2. To honor Dads, there must be some teaching about what Honor means to revere, respect or fear. So multiple behaviors must involve things like: esteem, concern, respect, love, thankful, obedience, appreciation, affirmation, applause, recognition, language of honor, caring for them.

3. We must illustrate what Honoring someone involves. Being thankful for, be loving towards, willing to obey, showing appreciation, giving recognition, speaking affirmation, caring for, and giving gifts are a few examples. But it has to be deliberate or purposeful.

4. Brainstorm with kids how they can practically demonstrate Honor. Encourage a challenge to do some of these ideas.

5. Define words like appreciation and affirmation for children, then demonstrate how to use these kinds of expressions to honor their Dad.

6. Teach and demonstrate how obedience is a way of honoring Dad.

7. Describe how showing affection is a way of honoring Dad

8. Help kids learn how focused listening to Dad honors their Dad

9. Encourage children to have some One-on-One time with Dad. Sharing Dad’s interests honors Dad.

10. Demonstrate how to ask Dad for help, advice and seek his counsel, which honors him.

In working with kids, sometimes it is helpful to share what “honoring your father” is not. Here are some ways to dishonor Dad. Obviously, we are not teaching kids to emulate any of these examples.

1. Disobey what Dad tells you

2. Misrepresent family values

3. Ignore your Dad. Avoid talking to him.

4. Never do anything your Dad asks

5. Fail to take Dad’s instruction seriously

6. Hating your Dad and telling him so.

7. Never do nice things for your Dad

8. Show no appreciation for his support

9. Avoid listening to Dad when he talks to you.

10. Insult your mother, which indirectly hurts your Dad

11. Belittle your Dad’s efforts to provide for you.

12. Looking for ways to be derogatory to Dad

13. Misrepresent your father’s good intentions.

14. Curse your Dad (this is serious trouble)

 

“ ‘Honor your father and mother’ ” this is the first commandment with a promise….” (See Eph. 6:2-4)

 

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2 Responses to “• Helping Kids…Honor Their Dads”

Sabrina Says:
June 18th, 2011 at 12:31 am

Thanks for these great tips Barney. I look forward to instilling some of these dad-honoring principles in my nephews. Great advice!

kidhelper Says:
June 18th, 2011 at 12:58 am

Sabrina, Thanks for the comment, I appreciate that coming from you, my friend. May you experience great delight in honoring your father on Father’s Day (and model for your nephews just how it done) coach

 

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