Parenting is hard, but does it all have to be work? NO! With a positive attitude and a little imagination, there are plenty of fun things that can help boost your child’s self-esteem. Here’s just a small list to get your creative juices flowing.

1. Sing loving songs to your child.
2. Sit with your baby or young child on your lap with a mirror in your hand. Allow them to see themselves with you and the love you have for them.
3. Carve out special time just for your child and give them your full attention.
4. Ask your child’s opinion.
5. Ask them to “teach” you something they know.
6. Play.
7. Address them by name.
8. Recognize a special talent and encourage them in it.
9. Set aside a WALL OF FAME in your house to showcase your children’s accomplishments.
10. Plant a garden.
11. Allow your child to be part of the vacation planning.
12. Cook together.

Here is a fun cooking activity we can do with our children. Just like many of you, my sister-in-law, Michelle, made free-hand pancake shapes with her kids - one day she saw the vision and created oven-safe Food Shapers!  Now Shape-It’s offers a one-of-a-kind product called The Play With Your Food Kit! All are designed to make playing with your food a mother-sanctioned and memorable family tradition!

Shape-Its food forms are manufactured from an aircraft aluminum alloy that has been specially processed to provide years of durable use with out losing it’s shape. These forms work great for shaping any kind of shapeable food (i.e. pancakes, cakes, cookies, gelatin, ice cream, marshmallows treats, brownies and more.) Each form is easy to clean, dishwasher safe, oven safe to 350 degrees and will not rust. All Shape-Its forms are equipped with folding handles to make storing easy.

Shape-It’s has a wide variety of kits that contain 2-3 Shape-It’s food forms, 2 decorating gels, 2 decorating sprinkles and 4 food-safe markers that come in a clear, re-usable vinyl bag for just $16.99.

Shape-It’s also offers Single Food Forms that kids will love; Animals, Dinosaurs, Holidays, Sea Creatures, Trucks, Trains and Airplanes for only $5.99 or $6.99 each.  Place an Order Here.

Michelle has given wonderful suggestions of creative ways to make the cooking experience fun for everyone! 

With a little imagination, the above list will grow and grow. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your child’s self-esteem is to just spend time. Time in a busy world speaks volumes.

Tell me how you have fun with your children and boosted their self esteem in the process~

In bringing up children, spend on them half as much money and twice as much time.

I’m a parent of eight children. They are “stuck” with me, just as I am “stuck” with them. However, it wasn’t until my second adopted child was a teenager that the term “stuck with us” became a family expression. When my teenage daughter, like many teens, didn’t like the family rules, she wanted to move in with her friend. In her mind, they were a better family and she didn’t understand why she couldn’t live there! I said, YOU’RE STUCK WITH US! I explained that just like all of her siblings, she can move out when she’s 18! Until then, we are all she’s got!

Usually our children are stuck with us during the formative years of birth till two or three. Adopted children don’t always have that benefit. Since many kids are stuck together during those formative years it’s important to understand how much influence we have as parents and the best ways to use it. How we raise our children will have a far-reaching impact farther than anything else we do in our lives. It’s not just about our interaction with our children. It’s how they interact with those around them. How they pick a spouse. How they raise their children. How their children interact with those around them. How they pick a spouse, raise their children and on and on it goes. Our positive (or negative) influence in their lives potentially lives on for generations and generations.

My mom set a great example for me when I was young. She broke the cycle of abuse in her family. It probably would have been easier for her to continue along in the patterns of abuse. Change is hard. Especially change that involves issues of self-worth. But my mom didn’t choose the easy way out. She chose a higher ground. She proved to me that change is possible.

Because of my mom’s bravery, she and my dad were able to raise my brother and me in a positive atmosphere. We knew they loved us and we never questioned that we “belonged”. Yes, we, too, were stuck with our parents and they were stuck with us. Fortunately for us, this sticky relationship developed many good characteristics in our lives and gave us a strong foundation for when we began raising children of our own.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, I’ve become my mother, after all.

Did your teenagers ever wish they had a different family? How did you handle it? Stories, I want stories! Leave them in the comments below!