Daily Devotional
Encourage Your Children

May 7, 2020

Ponder This

Children need encouragement like a plant needs water. They need it over and over again.

And you need to catch them doing something right! Let them know you believe in them. Let your speech affirm them. Be positive. Constantly encourage them.

Encouragement is twice as powerful as praise. There’s a difference between praise and encouragement. Praise says, “You are great because you did something.” Now there’s nothing wrong with praise, but I’m just saying that encouragement is twice as strong as praise. Encouragement looks at a child not primarily for what the child achieves, but for who the child is—and says “Thank you. I’m so grateful for you.”

Practice This

It’s a fine line, but think about it. Catch your children doing something right and let them know through your encouragement that you believe in them.