The words “children are the future of our world,” resonate daily across the globe. When we see good statistics on school grades, the census is that we are educating our future well. What happens when grades are low, or youth delinquency is on a rise? Does this mean that we are creating a future, where these will be the trends? Maybe, this just means we need to find a way to inspire the youth of today, to see an inspirational future.

With 5 children, ranging in age from 2 to 24, boys and girls, I see a varied spectrum of interests for each. While one is all about sports and vampire books, this bores others. The same is true for most children, very view have the exact same interests. They will have similarities, but seldom the same. Thus, each child requires an individual perspective and approach to keep them engaged. As parents, we become familiar with the ever changing likes and dislikes of our children. Using this knowledge, we strive to find what we can do as a family, that will satisfy everyone’s desires and keep their attention peaked. Let’s be honest, we are all looking for something they will all agree on, to avoid a meltdown in the middle of a family weekend. What if there was a way to achieve exactly that?

In the search for peace in my house, I have decided the only way to achieve it, is to inspire my children to achieve it. Each of my children have an interest in games and baseball/softball. Working with this base to form the foundation for group activities will give me at least 20 minutes of agreement. Next comes individual interests. Each week another interest can be added to family activities, with the understanding that, they do not have to like said activity, they just have to explore it. Like, trying a bite of new foods, before deciding they are disgusting. For example, 2 of my children love Harry Potter, 2 others were not interested. So, one weekend, that was what we watched. Everyone had to sit and watch part of the movie, then after awhile, if still uninterested, they could do something else. Turns out, they all enjoyed the movies, and mom got to sit and watch a couple hours of tv with minimal frustration. A win, win situation.

Thus, if we want our future to be an inspirational one, we need to teach our children to make it that way. Negativity and conflict, breed more of the same. So too, positivity and peace, breed the same. If we give choices, with a try first approach, we can breed this positivity and peace. Thereby, setting the stage for a positive future. Teaching our children to make good choices is excellent, inspiring them to try new things and make educated choices, is even better.

So what will we inspire today? I personally am set out to inspire love, peace, and educated choices.

Mary