Living by Design for Children

What are some of the benefits of raising High-Octane children as God designed them?

Their attitude about life is one of purpose

Every parent has had to deal with a child who has a bad attitude. It can be a frustrating experience. Dealing with a child not challenged in the area of their gifting is painful for all parties involved. Children are more apt to enjoy something they have a talent in because they are gifted to do it and that gifting produces excitement and passion.
Motivation is built in by God himself.

Understanding how God made your child will assist you in encouraging your child in activities that they have a built-in motivation to perform. Let me illustrate. My oldest son, Michael, loves skateboarding and is well known in our community as a talented skateboarder. It does not take any prodding on my part to get Michael to practice—the motivation is already built in him. God created Michael with the unique ability to use his mind and body to control machines. Whether it is a simple skateboard, an off road motorcycle, or even an off-road racecar. Indeed. Riding in an off-road vehicle with Michael can be compared to an E-Ticket ride at Disneyland. Even though the ride is fast and scary, like Disneyland, it is also a safe ride because personality testing has revealed that one of Michael’s built-in “strengths” is responsibility. This strength of Michael’s will always keep you safe when you are riding with him. It also means he will return your phone call when you call and leave a message, or that he will complete a task he has undertaken for you.

They have focus

A child that is directed “in the way he should go” will have focus; focus that moves them toward goals that they are excited about and are naturally motivated to reach. They will tend to be less attentive to distractions around them and will demonstrate uncommon persistence in achieving their intended results.

People who rise to positions of dominance in any field are persistent and usually meet adversity with determination because they have learned that they are over-comers in their field. President Lincoln was such an individual. He did not do well in public life early on, losing many of the campaigns for office that he set out to capture. Persistence and focus eventually won out and he became one of the greatest leaders in our nation’s history. Lincoln’s leadership skills were honed over the years through public service. However, he also possessed God-given talents he needed to succeed, and that gave him the focus and persistence to reach his goals.

It is easy to fall into the trap of believing that discipline and focus create the talents, and that personality and behavioral traits help make us achievers. In reality, it is the other way around. Attempting to push a child in a direction they were not designed by their Creator to be “bent into” through constant prodding provokes the child and will eventually frustrate the parent. This causes the parent to worry anxiously that their child is not motivated. The children sense something is wrong and try to perform to their parent’s expectation only to be disappointed later on again by poor results.

They have personal significance

King David of the Old Testament is a great example of someone who fulfilled the purpose that God had made him for. In Acts 13:36 we read, “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers” (emphasis mine). Many Christians want to be like King David, who the Bible says, “was a man after God’s own heart.” A man who found personal significance and lived life the way God designed him to live. He pursued the joys of his heart where he found persistence and focus, great tools in achieving what God had purposed him for.

They have more self-confidence

When a task seems easy to us it builds confidence in the ability to repeat the task with similar results in the future. High-Octane direction in a child’s life will guide them toward activities and tasks that they are well suited to perform. Of course, all children have the ability to clean their room and wash dishes, but not all children excel at basketball or music. Great basketball players have height, strong lungs, and a healthy dose of competitiveness. Talented musicians have the ability to hear music in a different way than the rest of us and seem to learn a variety of instruments with ease. God builds special talents and physical characteristics into each child so they can have success in life. As a child experiences small successes, it builds confidence to attempt more, and each time success is achieved self-confidence and a feeling of personal significance results.

Taken from my book "Raising High-Octane-Kids" available on my website 2nd quarter 2006.