SPEAK LIFE

Right from the womb a baby starts to recognize the mother’s voice and the voices of other people that are constantly around their mother during the period of pregnancy.

This played out after I had my first child , she was in her grandma’s arms and I had walked by the room to go get something and was talking while I walked by, I heard grandma comment on how quickly her neck turned and her eyes followed me across the room. She was still a few weeks old at that time.

Dear parent, your voice is the first thing your child gets to know about you therefore it is important to look inward and outward and ask if the impact of our voice on our children is positive or negative.

When your child is going through a tough time in life and they remember your words, will it emotionally boost them or throw them deeper into despair?

When your child faces challenging situations of life will they come to you for comfort or hide the situation from you?

It is also important to know what your child's love language is; if it is words of affirmation then every word you speak to that child will be stored permanently in their mind and it will become a determining factor by which they view themself.

Your words creates an environment around and within your child.

Your voice will eventually become your child’s inner voice.

Here is a quick check to self evaluate the impact of your word on your child.

After a conversation with my child I notice these:

Discouraged / Encouraged

Low self esteem/ Better or high self esteem

Lack of motivation / Increased motivation

Sadness / Remorse

Strained relationship / Healthy relationship

More effort towards desired goal / Complete disdain towards desired goal

The above exercise is to get us thinking and be more intentional in our conversations with our children. In as much as we want to parent and guide our children aright, we must not lose focus of the fact that just as our children are growing we must also grow alongside them so we can stay relevant in our approach to guiding them into adulthood.

You have been graced by God to rasie that child well; do not give up.

May our words be seasoned with grace, wisdom, and love. May our children be better for it.

Shalom!

Olawumi