I just finished reading this book and I want to take a moment to recommend it to you. Do you have children who push the boundaries you have set for them all the time? Or, do you have trouble deciding what the boundaries should be? I have always known that children need boundaries in order to be safe and feel secure. The area where I have struggled is setting the appropriate boundary for each child during different phases of their life...and implementing the appropriate consequence for crossing that boundary. I found this book helpful in identifying the character traits of my children and understanding what types of actions are needed for each of them. It helped me understand how important boundaries are and how destructive life can be without them.
We all have had struggles in our life and have learned valuable lessons from them. When we use these experiences to set boundaries for our children we show them how much we love them. While we can not and should not save our child from all the challenges of life, we can spare them some of the pain we endured by setting appropriate boundaries. Think of it like building a platform for your child to "start" life on where you "left" off. In other words, you are setting your child up to "succeed in" and "experience life" in far greater ways than you have already! This is a gift. When you look at disciplining your child or setting healthy boundaries for them as a "gift" for their future...you will be able to endure the challenges your boundaries create...even when it seems your child is not cooperating. It is not easy to set boundaries and enforce them. But, when you see the fruit of your labor as your children grow into responsible young adults...you will look back and be glad you did!
If you believe that your goal is to prepare your child for the future...whatever that may hold...and teach them to be contributing, responsible adults...then you must set loving, on purpose, restricting, yet freeing boundaries for your child. You can get ideas on how to do this more effectively when you read Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsends' book Boundaries with Kids. Just click on the book or the link below to order your copy today!
