Big Rocks of Parenting

There is sand. There is gravel. And then there is rocks. Rocks take up the most space and weigh the most. This is a great illustration for how to fill your time, but I want to draw a parallel today with our parenting values.

I’m doing the two week Makeover Your Morning course (that I bought with my own money, not sponsored) and it has truly revolutionized how I think. That’s a big word, I know, but it came at just the right time. She uses this illustration for your day.

How does this relate to parenting? Glad you asked.

The big rocks of parenting must happen intentionally.

The big rocks must be put in first or they simply won’t fit later. We can’t just wander aimlessly from morning until evening for years and expect our children to exhibit self-discipline. We can’t neglect to read the Bible or have family devotions and assume our children will follow our faith.

We must be intentional about how we spend our time parenting our children. This doesn’t mean being frantic, stressed, and guilt ridden about every decision. In fact, it’s the opposite. If we know what our “parenting rocks” are then we can make them happen. And that will relieve the guilt.

Determining your “big rocks.”

Prior to the Makeover Your Morning course I’d been in a bit of a funk. Feeling so busy and yet not having time to do the things I actually valued. Enter the guilt. Guilty because while the kids were well taken care of and happy, I was simply not doing the few things that mattered more than the things they were doing. If you get me.

Why? Because I hadn’t really sat down and determined my “parenting rocks.” Well, now I have. I’ve chosen my parenting rocks for this season, and just having labeled them means I feel more focused during the day. For my family, my parenting rocks are sharing my faith with my children, molding their character, and having my kids hearts (and giving them mine).

Here’s a free printable for you to download…

Building your day around your parenting rocks.

When you know what matters most to you, and these things will vary family to family, you can easily fit them into your day. And then, if that means other things go by the wayside, guess what? You won’t care! Why? Because you’ll feel accomplishment at having focused on the things that really matter to you.

We’ve just bought a family devotion for preschoolers and want to do it each evening before bed as a family. I’ve committed and to putting discipline and effort into helping shape my children’s characters all day. This is flipping exhausting, but it’s important to me. Also, I’m more intentional about just stopping and sitting and being with them. Listening, paying attention, and bonding. It doesn’t even have to be a huge thing, but it’s powerful.

Starting your day with your parenting rocks.

One way to set your day up for success is to start off by hitting a big parenting rock. If your goal is to do more activities with your kids, this might mean planning the night before and doing an activity immediately after breakfast. It gives you a sense of accomplishment, and then if nothing else happens throughout the day you’d still consider it a success.

If your rocks are more metaphorical, then why not write them down and hang them up somewhere like the refrigerator, the family command center, or in the playroom. By reading your priorities they’ll be in the forefront of your mind to help you make more intentional decisions throughout the day.

Tomorrow I’m talking about work + play so stay tuned!

So tell me… what are your parenting rocks?