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Teaching Children Christlike Attributes: Developing Christlike Attributes at Home

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Teaching Children to Develop Christlike Attributes in the Home

Your Job Is NOT to JUST Help Your Children be Successful Adults…Hear Me Out 🙂

The world will have you think your job as a parent is to teach your children everything they need to know to become successful adults during this life. 

I’m here to tell you otherwise.  Helping your child to become a successful adult is only part of your job. And the “successful adult” is sort of a subjective description. Meaning, your definition of successful could look very different than someone else’s “successful”.

No…Your job, as a Christian parent, is to help your child learn, grow, and become more like Christ.  YOUR goal is to teach each of your children to live a life of service and to love as the Savior did.  Your job is to teach your child how to be a disciple of Christ beyond just this life.

Your job is to help your children develop Christlike attributes!

as a parent, your focus should be to prepare your child for eternity. teach them how to follow the Savior and become Christ-like. 

Life is so much more than just the time we’re given on Earth.  You and your children are eternal beings and YOU get to be their tour guide during this life!  How cool is that?!

My goal in writing this post is to help YOU get started with teaching and developing Christlike attributes in your very own home!

Good List of Christlike Attributes

This may be uncharted territory for you. And that’s just fine!! When I say Christlike Attributes, I am talking about specific characteristics of our Savior. When the Savior said “Come, Follow Me” I think He quite literally meant for us to learn to become even as He is. This is the very journey He intended us to be on and the very purpose of this life! Let’s learn to walk in His footsteps and go about doing good.

Alright…So here are some examples of Christlike attributes you can start working on today!

  • Virtue
  • Integrity
  • Benevolence
  • Patience
  • Humility
  • Knowledge
  • Temperance
  • Faith
  • Hope
  • Charity

This is just a handful, but it’s a great jumping off point! If you’re feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to start, I created a Family Attributes Binder to help simplify teaching these virtues to your children.

Let me share with you what my family is currently doing and hopefully that will give you some ideas!

How Do You Develop Christlike Attributes?

Monthly Attribute Focus

As a family, we have a monthly attribute focus. At the beginning of each month, we set family and personal goals to help us stay focused for the month. Throughout the month, we learn more about what that attribute looks like and study examples of it from the life of Christ in the scriptures.

The beautiful thing is, developing Christlike attributes is a life long pursuit. Just when you think you know everything you need to know about faith or charity, further study and practice will show you there’s always more to learn and to become. What a valuable lesson to teach your children!

Steps to Developing Christlike Attributes

  1. Set your Goal for the month
  2. Deepen your understanding of the attribute and study from examples in the scriptures.
  3. Plan daily learning activities you can do as a family and individually that will give your family an opportunity to practice.
  4. Pray for help from God as you strive to develop your attribute for the month.

The steps are simple, but let me give an example of how I would put them in action!

Step 1: Set an attribute Goal

Let’s say you’ve noticed a lot of sibling squabbles lately and have decided this month you’re going to work on “Brotherly Kindness”. This goal will be your focus for the month. Put up some quotes on the fridge and keep reminders around your home.

Step 2: Deepen Your Understanding

It’s hard to develop “Brotherly Kindness” if you don’t know what it is, right? So now your job is to lead discussions and teach your children how Christ exemplified “Brotherly Kindness”. Study the New Testament and look for examples from Christ. Talk about them and discuss how you can also live that attribute today. Hold regular family devotionals or meeting. You get to define what “regular” means. Is that daily? weekly? It’s up to you! Keep it simple and teach from the scriptures!

Step 3: Plan Christlike Attribute Activities

Planning out your attribute activities can be fun! Remember to focus on developing and learning the Christlike attribute. Simple is often better! So I would start planning the last week of the previous month so you’re ready to go! You can plan small daily activities (maybe 15-20) or you could pick 4 or 5 to do on the weekends when you have a bit more time. You choose!

Some example activities for “Brotherly Kindness” could be…
  • Draw a name from a hat and write that person (family member) a thank you letter.
  • Plan a special one-on-one date for two siblings who seem to struggle with getting along.
  • Pick an extra family job to do for the day.
  • Share your favorite toy.
  • Play a family game and split into teams. (Maybe pair older children with a younger child).
Step 4: Remember to Pray

The best way, and the only way, you will ever succeed in developing any Christlike attribute is to ask your Heavenly Father for it in prayer.

When you remember to pray for help, you will be blessed with opportunities throughout your day that will help you stretch and grow as you practice the very Christlike attribute you’re seeking. You will be blessed. Your children will be blessed.

Remember your goal in each and every personal and family prayer. Pray for help daily and look for opportunities as you go about your day. I promise He’ll answer you! This step is key.

No matter all the planning you might do, you MUST allow the Lord Himself be your teacher!

Now Rinse and Repeat!

Each month, choose a new attribute and repeat the process! As Christian parents, we must show our children that being a disciple of Christ is following in His footsteps. This life is a time to learn, to grow, and to become more Christlike each and every day. If you’re going to do that, you need to INTENTIONALLY lead your family toward Christ.

There’s no time to waste! Be intentional. Be proactive. Teach your children HOW to live their lives as the Savior would have them live!

The very purpose of this life God has given us, is to practice our faith and Come unto Christ. We do just that when we walk in His footsteps. Your family was designed by God and is the perfect place with the perfect people surrounding you to help you grow to your divine potential!

I’m Happy to Save You Some Time!

I’ve already created lesson plans for the entire year for my own family! My own family has 6 kids (from baby to tweens) and each attribute has several fun activities for the spectrum of ages and attention spans!

Let me save you some time so your family can get started on their journey today!

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