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With a loud culture that promotes individualism and materialism, one Christian author is sharing wisdom on parenting a grateful generation.
From Houston, TX, Kristen Welch is a wife, mother of three, Christian author, as well as the CEO of Mercy House Global. Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World is a book of hers that continues to gain traction.
"It's a book about, really, our own entitlement as parents and how we inadvertently give our kids the world and unintentionally give them too much," says Welch. "We're modelling one of two things; gratitude or we're modelling 'I deserve it, it's mine, I got to have it.'"
The book focuses on parents 'practising what they preach,' showing God's love to the world around them through service and gratitude.
"Service shows us what we have instead of what we don't. When we open our doors and invite people in, or open our doors and go outside of our normal, we're providing a place of positive comparison. It's a practical way to emphasize what we're doing as parents, which is raise successful, well-rounded people who contribute to society."
While some parents find it hard to say 'no' to their children, Welch believes it's vital in raising well-rounded children.
"Parenting takes courage. Our kids don't need us to be friends as much as they need us to be an authority. We're teaching them how to answer to their bosses one day and live in a society with rules. Having guidelines and being able to say no is actually one of the greatest forms of love we can demonstrate to our kids."
Welch started Mercy House Global in 2010. It's a non-profit in Houston that helps empower vulnerable families, including teaching English lessons to refugees, providing skills for people in poverty, and more.
"Starting this is what showed me the world's normal. It impacted me as a woman and a parent. I began to realize how entitled I was and in turn really saw that I was entitling my children. It's been a journey of living outside of my normal."