Surviving the Economic Crunch as a Family

Families need help. Your family needs your help. Children are facing the fear that they hear on the news. They are seeing their parents cut back financially. They are listening to your conversations, they are watching your faces. They are reading your lives and what they are reading from you is forming their perspectives. Prepare your child and your family to walk through this economic season in peace.

Here are some steps that will help:

Talk to your children about your financial situation. Give them encouragement that no matter what your current situation is... that all will improve. Determine as a family areas that you can agree to cut back on to save money such as turning off lights when leaving the room, adjusting the thermostat, or cutting back on eating out. Bringing the family in together and creating priorities and areas of reducing will keep everyone in unity and out of concern or even hurt feelings. Set aside money for fun as a family no matter how small the amount because your family needs to have fun in life.

Apologize for choices that you have made that have put your family in a negative position. Excess debt, payments higher than what you could afford, marriages that failed, etc. Your children are watching you and if you always qualify your decisions and blame bad choices on circumstances your child will become bitter and even learn to follow those same patterns in his life. Apologizing will create an open door for your child to understand that you care about them and the effect that your choices have on their lives. This will bring healing and will bring you closer as a family.

Determine to think positively and speak politely as a family. Speaking and thinking positively will close the door to depression, fear and anxiety. Today children and youth are suffering physical symptoms from stress and thinking positively will help them learn how to cope with tough situations and remain healthy.

Pray as a family. Your children will learn to call on God if they hear you call on God. As a child I prayed for puppies to be healed and nice weather on my birthday and as God answered my faith in His ability to rescue me grew. The Bible is filled with passages such as Psalms 34 that teach us to call on God for help and he will help us. Your child needs to know that God will help you if you call on Him for help. You can pray out loud while doing the dishes or making their bed. Let your children hear you pray and you will begin to hear them pray.

Join a church. Find a local church that has family programs and begin to attend. Your family will grow in faith and in unity as you attend church and worship God. You will be amazed at the growth that you see in your family and the peace that emerges just from attending church.

God bless you and your family. May you find great peace in this economic season. May your family find security, peace and restoration of relationships as you apply these simple truths.