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Dear Heavenly Father,
Make me a better parent.
Teach me to understand my children,
to listen patiently to what they have to say
and to answer all their questions kindly.
Keep me from interrupting them,
talking back to them and contradicting them.
Make me as courteous to them
as I would have them be to me.
Give me the courage
to confess my sins against my children
and to ask of them forgiveness
when I know that I have done them wrong.
May not I vainly hurt the feelings of my children.
Forbid that I should laugh at their mistakes
or resort to shame and ridicule as punishment.
Let me not tempt my child to lie and steal.
So guide me hour by hour
that I may demonstrate by all I say and do
that honesty produces happiness.
Reduce, I pray, the meanness in me.
May I cease to nag; and when I am out of sorts,
help me, O Lord, to hold my tongue.
Blind me to the little errors of my children,
and help me to see the good things that they do.
Give me a ready word to honest praise.
Help me to grow up with my children,
to treat them as those of their own age,
but let me not expect of them
the judgments and conventions of adults.
Allow me not to rob them of the opportunity
to wait upon themselves, to think,
to choose and to make decisions.
Forbid that I should ever punish them
for my selfish satisfaction.
May I grant them
all their wishes that are reasonable
and have the courage always to withhold a privilege
which I know will do them harm.
Make me so fair and just,
so considerate and companionable
to my children that they will have
a genuine esteem for me.
Fit me to be loved and imitated by my children.
AMEN
Author unknown
(
Prayer # 2 )
Help Me give my children the
best, not of trappings or toys,
but of myself, cherishing them on good days and bad, theirs and mine.
Teach Me to accept them for
who they are, not for what they do;
to listen to what they say, if only so they will listen to me; to
encourage
their goals, not mine; and please, let me laugh with them and be silly.
Let Me give them a home where
respect is the cornerstone,
integrity the foundation, and there is enough happiness to raise the roof.
May I give them the courage
to be true to themselves;
the independence to take care of themselves
and the faith to believe in a power much greater than their own.
See That I discipline my
children without demeaning them,
demand good manners without forgetting my own
and let them know they have limitless love, no matter what they do.
Let Me feed them properly,
clothe them adequately and have enough to give them small allowances,
not for the work they do but the pleasure they bring
and let me be moderate in all these things, so the joy of getting
will help them discover the joy of giving.
See That their
responsibilities are real but not burdensome,
that my expectations are high but not overwhelming and that
my thanks and praise are thoughtful and given when they're due.
Help Me teach them that
excellence is work's real reward, and
not the glory it brings. But when it comes, and it will, let me revel
in each honor, however small, without once pretending that it's mine;
my children are glories enough.
Above all, let me ground
these children so well
that I can dare to let them go. And may they be so blessed.
Author:
Marguerite Kelly
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