ADHD of the Christian Kind - Helping Your Child Learn to Serve

Helping Your Child Learn to Serve

What I encounter in my own children the most are ugly heart attitudes toward work and chores. One of my children can become quite irrational at times. We will see that this is a result of a wrong attitude, selfishness and listening to the wrong voices. Below is a scenario that took place in my own home.

My 10-year-old daughter completes the refrigerator cleaning job she was assigned by cleaning out the freezer. In the trash go bags of bread pieces, items that were past their prime, and other items that were deemed inedible.

Enter my 12-year-old ADHD son. At being instructed to take out the trash, which is his responsibility, he responds with a demand that his sister should do it because she filled it up. I consider this response irrational because everyone puts trash in the trash can, not just my son, and he is always expected to take out the trash. But now I am dealing with a response, an irrational thought allowed by my son to come out as words and a bad attitude. He embraced the wrong thought, and foolishness came spouting out of his mouth.

I explained to my son that in each job we do we are serving one another. My daughter had just finished cleaning the refrigerator that my son uses every day. She had just served him by cleaning it out. He needed to serve his sister, his brothers and his parents by taking out the trash. I also reminded him that I had served him just this morning by making him eggs for breakfast.

As always, it is the Word of God that is our primary tool in training our children. Even if we must use the rod of discipline, the Word of God should be used as well.

The following Bible study is designed to instill in our children the truth about serving and working, and our attitudes about both.

NEW! Scripture Memorization Cards to print out and bind to aid your children in memorizing the life-changing scriptures referenced in this devotion.

Before you start:

A prayerful attitude: ask the Lord for insight and understanding of His Word for each family member
Gather the following tools:
1. Bible in one or two translations
2. Children's Bible for each child
3. Copy of this Bible study (permission is granted to print out for personal use) for each child
4. Simple dictionary
Be sensitive to the attention spans of your children. Stop if their eyes are glazing over or they have wandered mentally. You can start up again any time.

Go on to devotion Helping Your Child Deal with Serving