A parenting tip-the Basketball analogy-helping our children be prepared for the future.
We all have people we admire and look up to. Today I will talk about two people who have helped me with my parenting. Back when Gandalf was probably a baby, maybe even in my tummy still, I was visiting with friends and one of my dear friends Linda shared an analogy that she had learned. She happened to learn it from my favorite High School Seminary teacher. (Seminary is an extra class LDS kids attend in high school. Usually in California it’s before High School, like 6:30 am in the morning. You learn about the scriptures for like 45 minutes.) The lesson my dear friend shared with me has stuck with me all these years.
Basically he compared our life to a Basketball game. The first half of the game is compared to a child’s life before he turns 8. In our faith we believe that all children are pure and innocent. They of course make mistakes but are incapable of committing sin. If a child dies before their 8th birthday they are worthy to return to live with Heavenly Father as they are made alive in the Atonement of Christ. 8 years old is the age of accountability. That is why children are allowed to be baptized when they are 8. They have no reason to be baptized before that.
My teacher continued with his analogy saying that for the first half of the basketball game the other team, or the adversary, is on the bench. And it’s just your kid playing. But after half time the other team, or power of the adversary, has influence and they begin their offense. Our job as parents is to utilize the first half to our advantage. We don’t need to worry about playing defense. And we don’t need to show off any fancy moves. (If I was a little more sporty I would have used some basket ball talk there) We just need to keep making lay ups. Again. And again. And if we can get our kids so far ahead with their score, when the adversary has influence over them, they will be so ahead that things will turn out.
This idea really hit home for me. I knew I should not put off teaching my children, waiting for them to be old enough to understand. I need to teach them when they are young. And I need to keep teaching them even after they turn 8. You may ask, how can I help my child make baskets? By doing the small and simple things.
- Prayer
- Reading the scriptures
- Holding Family Home Evening
- Going to church
- Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
- Bearing testimony of our Savior
- Taking the sacrament
- Listen to General Conference
- Serving others
Teaching is important. And it’s crucial that we keep doing those simple things. Remember we want to score as many points at possible. David A Bednar talks about this idea of little things having a lasting impression on the lives of our families.
“Each family prayer, each episode of family scripture study, and each family home evening is a brush stroke on the canvas of our souls.”
We can teach young children to pray. ( I love the picture above of Georgiana praying when she was 1. It was General Conference and when the prayer was done I saw that she had put down her donut and was still folding her arms and closing her eyes. I quickly snapped a picture to remember that moment) We can read the scriptures with them. We can show them pictures of our Savior, Temples, and other important things. We can teach them by example and we can talk simply to them. As they grow we can keep talking to them about those most important truths. I am so thankful for this lesson that was shared with me. It is one of my favorite things to listen to Georgiana’s prayers. She talks to her Heavenly Father about things that are dear to her heart. And I know, even though she is small, she has a testimony of prayer. I have had many tender moments talking to my children about the Gospel. Usually at an everyday moment where we are working side by side. Or during family scripture reading time. Sometimes I hear people say their kids are too young to get anything out of scripture study or family night, but I know that’s not true. Children have tender spirits that can recognize truth. Now I like to keep things short and simple when they are quite young, but children are more capable than we realize.
I know that as we strive to help our young children feel the spirit while they are young we will be blessed. They will develop testimonies of their own. And if you are reading this post and your children are older and you are feeling discouraged please read this post It’s never too early and it’s never too late. We can always start where we are and go forward.
I remember walking the halls of my church with my oldest when he was a baby. Sometimes it was hard for him to be quiet during sacrament. I loved to point to the pictures of past prophets and teach him their names so we were both getting some kind of spiritual enlightenment. Some people would tell me, “He’s not going to remember those names you know.” I would brush it off and continue teaching him. On one of these Sundays my favorite Seminary teacher came walking by to see me teaching Baby Gandalf about Heber J. Grant. Brother Richardson came over and shared with us both his full name. And that his middle name Jeddy was after his mother’s Grandfather, if I recall correctly. And I love it! I know he was encouraging me teaching my son. And was expounding our lesson with his knowledge.
We need to teach our children. And we need to lift each other. Parenting can be hard sometimes. It’s my hope that we can be more diligent at home in teaching our children what is most tender to our heart. And we can encourage and lift other families on the way.
Happy Sabbath!
What is your favorite tip for teaching your young children??? Leave a comment and share your ideas!
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