Helping Our Kids Build Spiritual Health
- Health is multifaceted, including physical, emotional, social, financial/economic dimensions.
- One of the least mentioned dimensions of health and one that may be of singular importance is spiritual health.
- Spiritually healthy people feel connected to something positive that’s greater than themselves. They experience a sense of purpose that contributes something helpful to the world, feelings of gratitude, and they demonstrate generosity toward others.
- Together, these ways of being help spiritually healthy people feel grounded, optimistic, and joyful—all of which are keys to resilience within our complex world.
- Thanksgiving and the upcoming holidays are all about gratitude, giving, reflection, and looking toward what lies ahead, so what better time to talk about how parents can help our kids build spiritual health?
- As with so much of parenting, our position as a role model is key.
- We can show our children and talk with them about the ways that we experience connection to that which is greater than ourselves.
- This may involve our connection to a community of faith, the natural world, music and other aspects of culture, community organizations, and the work that we do for a living.
- We can talk with our child about the ways that we prioritize gratitude.
- Some of us may spend a few moments every morning or evening saying out loud a few things that we’re grateful for. Some people keep a gratitude journal. We may invite our child to do the same.
- We may invite our child to participate in giving activities such as volunteering at a local food bank, community kitchen, or animal shelter.
- We may help our child prepare and deliver holiday gifts to families in need.
- All parents want our children to live joyful, fulfilling, successful lives. We can help them realize this aspiration by guiding them toward developing a foundation of spiritual health.
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