5 Creative Ways to Teach Children the Power of Words (and book giveaway!)
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Recently I was completely embarrassed by some of the words I heard one of my children say to another child at the ball park. In front of both parents, the words sounded mean, though I didn’t feel in my heart they were hateful. Sometimes children don’t recognize the power of words. In fact, many adults don’t always recognize the power of words, right? This situation needed to be addressed right on the spot, but I also wanted to be more preventive in the future.
So I began to brainstorm ways I could work on this issue and I came up with 5 creative ways to teach children the power of words. Keep reading for my ideas and I sure would love to read yours in the comments!
1. Emphasize the results of positive words.
For example, if I say to my youngest, “Great job for taking your plate to the sink” and she smiles, then I smile at my older child and say “See how much she likes to be praised? It’s a good thing to praise others.” Now please believe me that I haven’t perfected this method. But I’ve been working on it this week and I truly believe in the impression made on both children.
2. Brainstorm positive words about a family member and make a word cloud.
Just open up a Word or Google doc and type out positive words that are said about the named person. Then copy and paste the word list over to a word cloud site such as Wordle or Tagxedo. I asked two of my children to quickly do this for Daddy and here was the result:
Now it kind of looks like he is a “fast singer” but you get the idea. 😉
3. Model the power of positive words.
Falling in the trap of constantly correcting my children is so easy for me. Don’t get me wrong- they do need to be corrected, but if all I ever do is correct and never deliberately praise them, we have an imbalance and injustice. This is the reason I have created the following lists- 20 things to say to encourage your husband and 20 things to say to encourage your children. I have the lists printed off and right now they are in my checklist binder that I keep in the kitchen. Because I open this binder several times throughout the day, I see the lists and am reminded of my goal to be positive. If I’m having a particularly trying day, ummm, maybe like today when my 3 year old spit her gum in my purse and made a sticky mess, then I’ll post the lists to the fridge.
4. Use positive words to build an acronym of your child’s name.
My son did this at his school this year. I noticed that he kept it on his dresser from December even until just now when I asked him if I could post it here- that’s how much this exercise meant to him. These words gave him a goal of how to use his own words to reflect the person he wants to be- his character.
5. Use Bible verses to build an acronym of your child’s name.
Here’s what my name would look like:
R- Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Ex. 20:8
A- A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger. Prov. 15:1
C- Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee. Ps 55:22
H- Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. Prov. 3:13
E- Even a child is known by his doings, Prov. 20:11
L- Let the words of my mouth, and the medications of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer. Ps. 19:14
My friend, Betty, mailed her verse list to me and I’m providing you with a copy of what she sent to me. Her list is King James Version AND I have no way to credit the original creator of the list, but I really thought you would enjoy it. Click here to download.
You could find your own verses that have personal meaning and use those verses for this exercise also.
In our current culture, bullying seems to be more evident than ever. What is bullying? Well, to me, it simply is the misuse of the power of words. Perhaps you have different definition, but I believe the need for Biblical resources to address this issue is high. I’m excited to let you know about the first book of a new series by Nancy Rue, So Not Okay: Mean Girl Makeover. The series is designed for girls, ages 8-12, and tells the story of bullying from three different perspectives. The bully, the victim and the bystander all have a book in the series and this particular book is the story of the bystander, a role in which many preteens find themselves.
I thought you would want a sneak preview of this book:
Today I’m privileged to be giving away one copy of So Not Okay, just follow the Rafflecopter to enter. If you’d like to order the book, you can find it here.
Have a thriving Thursday!
Rachel
Disclosure: Product provided by publisher for review; all opinions are my own. Post contains affiliate links. Site may be compensated if purchase is made. See full disclosure policy here.
My 10 year old daughter was bullied in fifth grade this year. I encouraged her to talk to the proper authorities, but also to take some of the sting out of the mean comments by finding a way to compliment the perpetrator. It might not change the situation but it would change her inside.
I’ve been blessed not to have had much issue with my children bullying, although one of my sons was bullied. We dealt swiftly with the perpetrators and talked openly about our beliefs about respect. Love the Wordle idea.
I have a preteen that this would be perfect for!
My daughter’s name is Rachel so can I just steal yours? 🙂 Words are so powerful! Especially if you have a sensitive child as my Rachel is. I love modeling using good words and holding back those words when you know you can’t trust the words that might come out! I also love using words to be humble when I fail the children with words I used before or words I used against someone else (especially driving!). Words are huge and can be used as weapons to destroy or encouragement to build up.
Conversations about the power of words are constant with both of my children. I have a son and a daughter, and my girl seems much more influenced by “fitting in” and what others think and say about her. I want both of them to know their value and their preapproval from God.
This would be so helpful! I really try to direct to the behavior I desire, instead of the negative. But, my boys are just 11 months apart and the constant picking of the older boy on the younger is very much frustrating me and I need some help to curb and then stop the behavior. The younger boy has started fighting back now. But I want to see them using words of what they feel, and how this is bothering them instead of the nasty and the hitting.
Greetings Joanne,
These challenging behaviors can surely wear you down, but consistency on your part is the key.
Setting strong boundaries for acceptable behaviors, and sticking to them them. Don’t back down out of feeling tired and frustrated. Hold a family meeting where everyone is together, and together as a family set the ground rules. Involve the children in the “making of your family rules.”
When your children are being part of creating the rules, they’re most likely to follow them. Ask each child what is acceptable behavior to them and what is not. Talk about respectful language and what it looks like. Gather pictures from magazines, showing “hugging and tickling.” Encourage them to express their thoughts and feelings, then show them pictures of “hitting, kicking, and poking.” Again
encourage a reaction, and get them talking, using their words.
Once the rules have been agreed on and set, write them down, and create visuals as cues to help the kids remember that if the rules are not followed, there are consequences to be had. Consequences could well be, privileges taken away for an “x” amount of time, confession time to Jesus, and an apology letter. I have found in my home that family devotionals work beautifully and supernaturally.
I always say that, “the family that prays together, stays together.” I pray the good Lord will continue to bless you and your family richly!
May the grace of Jesus Christ be with you,
Yolanda
These are some great suggestions. My older son is interacting with more and more kids as he’s getting older and at first he was rather shy but he’s gotten more assertive and sometimes bossy lately with other kids. So we’re working on positive things to say and ways to interact with others. Thanks for the ideas!
My 10 yr old darling daughter is a bit of a bully with her younger brother. All of it with words!
I think this book series would be a great follow up to some conversations we will have beginning today and some of these activities are great for her,too. We can start with the Wordles- She enjoys making those!
Thanks for the thoughts and ideas!