In my previous post, I discussed the power of words and how they can affect children. Words help shape a child’s thinking about others and about themselves.  In their book, Teaching Your Children To Tell Themselves the Truth, authors William and Candace Backus stress the importance of helping children replace wrong beliefs about themselves with the truth. In some cases, these wrong beliefs can be the result of a discouraging experience.

Children who are discouraged tend to overemphasize the negative and think that because they’re not good in one subject, they’re not good in any.  Or, they dismiss compliments from others because of comparisons with their peers where they feel they fall short.Teachers can help discouraged children feel more valued and competent by helping them to recognize their strengths.Encouraging words that are sincere and thoughtful can help build confidence.

But communication is not limited to our words.  Nonverbal communication is also important. Adults who get down on a child’s level, and smile, and laugh, and pray with them—are communicating a great deal about their feelings toward them. Our facial expressions, body posture, and tone of voice can state our message even more forcefully than our words. We can be more effective when expressing confidence in a child’s strengths when our words are coupled with body language that matches what we are saying.

It’s clear from Scripture that Jesus did this as he took time to be with children and paid attention to what they were doing and saying. He enjoyed their exuberant praise (Matthew 21:15,16; Matt. 18:1-4)! He took them up in his arms and blessed them (Matthew 19:13)! What a beautiful picture!

Let me add here that I’m not implying that we shouldn’t correct children—or that we should be permissive teachers. That would be a serious mistake. We know that not all of the children we teach are discouraged or feel incompetent; a child’s confidence and behavior is the result of many different factors. But all children can benefit from words and actions that build them up. And that is true with any age group. But if you’re like me, you’ve probably noticed children in your class who occasionally need some special attention and encouragement from their teacher.  Teachers, God has not only given us a ministry to teach—but a ministry to encourage children! And what we say—really does make a difference!

“A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).

God Bless You Today!

Verda Rubottom