The Power of Words One of the most important aspects of raising children is the words spoken to them. Words are very powerful. Happy, healthy, encouraging and positive words bring out the best in our children while hurtful, angry, negative and harmful words bring out the worst.

I have noticed in my short walk as a mother, the more positive and encouraging my words to my children are, the easier it is to discipline and teach them. I think once reality hit me that everything thing I say and do will affect my children as they grow, the spirit of fear bounced. I began to fear and have a guilty conscious that I wasn't doing and saying everything the right way or I was yelling too much or constantly saying NO.

I noticed on the days where the word NO, stop that, you hurt (him/her), pick this up, do this, do that, and "your driving me crazy" were the days my kids cried more, acted out more, slept terribly and family time was not pleasant. I desperately wanted to enjoy my time as a mother and desperately wanted to enjoy the toddler/pre-K years before the two went off to school. When I began praying about how to handle my children and myself as a mother, the negativity has mostly gone away.

I want my children to never doubt my love. I want my children to enjoy their childhood as much as I want to enjoy celebrating my walk as a mother. I want my children to hear words of praise, laughter, joy and peace. I want to discipline them the correct way and not scream at the top of my lungs, teaching them it's ok to do the same thing. I want to remain calm and patient when frustration kicks in and I smack some circumstances. I want to change my words!

Diligently controlling the words that come out of our mouths is difficult. There are slips and then there are regrets. As mothers, everything we say and do will be come back to us as we watch our children grow into adolescents, pre-teens, teenagers and into adulthood. Their behavior WILL mimic what we have instilled in them from when they came out of the womb. The very thought can bring fear if we grasp the concept, but I refuse to allow fear to control me. I will watch my mouth, I will control my words, which in turn will control my actions.

Moms, I have had to remove myself many times from different situations. I have closed the door to my room, cried in a pillow, pray for recovery and the right words to say. I never wanted to open the door and not be ready to handle the next situation that came up. It isn't easy, but in the long haul, it will be worth it.

I don't want my children to scream at their classmates when something doesn't go their way. I don't want my children to throw a fit and haul a toy across the room in a rage. I don't want my children to tell others how bad they are or say "you're driving me crazy". They start learning from us. We instill in them the power of words. It is our job to teach them words are powerful, whether used for good or used for harm. The task is difficult and takes constant diligent behavior to watch what we say and do with our children, but the reward will come from your hard work.

The reward will come from watching your child encourage another on a project. The reward will come when you're crying and hurting and your child is the one who wants to console you. The reward will come when your child sings praises to their sibling(s) because of work well done. The rewards will come in the teenage years when parenting gets tougher. The rewards will come when you least expect it; all the years of positive words spoken over your children will come back on you.

You can do this. You can encourage, uplift and teach your children good, healthy, loving, kind words to express. When I prayed about this, the Lord said, "It's time to take on the responsibility and diligently seek to praise at every opportunity." You can NEVER spoil your child with love, affection, praise, and encouragement. Speaking blessings of love over your children will give them the power they need to succeed in a world determined to express negativity.

Thank you for celebrating motherhood!
Nicole Crivello