10 Ways I Can Be a Better Mother

Last Updated on August 30, 2013

We all want to be the best moms to our children we can be! Sometimes though it can be overwhelming to know where to start. I know for me … I want so badly to do everything well, support my husband and be the best wife I can be, raise my children to be the amazing people I know they will become and keep them from harm, have a fabulously clean and well-ordered house (I’m batting zero on that one … but I keep trying!) have time for all the social activities required to make and keep wonderful friends, volunteer my time, sew and quilt and be crafty … Oh! and come up with the world’s best chocolate chip cookie recipe as determined by my kiddos.

The only problem with all of that? It’s not realistic! I can do some of that but I can’t do all of it all the time. There are some practical steps I can take though to be the best I can be. In a FamilyLife Today broadcast Karen Loritts laid out 10 practical ways to be a better mother. Read the steps below and then make sure to click over and listen because Karen is the kind of mentor we all want to have in our lives.

1. God wants to hear from me regularly.  I have to start with God.  I need to ask myself, am I truly loving and putting him first, seeking His kingdom first?

2. I need to love my husband.  If you’re married, you’ve got to love the man God has given you.  Love, honor, respect, submit to, protect, and encourage your husband.

3. I must make my home a priority.  God says our responsibility as nurturers is to help create a home that is a haven to our families.

4. I must give respect to my children.  Respect involves consideration and acceptance and encouragement.

5. I need to be a listener.

6. I  have to teach life principles to my children. Integrity is SO important. I need to help teach them (along with my husband) that they have to be a person of their word.

7. “Learn how to do right.  Doing right, as it says in James 4:17, is living in fellowship with our children.  We have to live in an environment of forgiveness and reconciliation.”

8. Be a friend to my child.  (I think this is different than being my child’s friend.)

9. Be wise. Search the Scriptures.  Be on my knees. Sometimes it will seem like nothing is working, but keep praying.  The only one that can truly make a difference in their lives is Jesus.

From a FamilyLife Today broadcast with Karen Loritts – Listen to the whole broadcast online here.

Katie Howard Clemens

Katie is the mom of two children and thoroughly enjoys eliciting giggles and grins from them. As a brain tumor survivor who found herself raising her two children alone, she learned first hand the power of on-line relationships and has a heart for sharing help and hope with others. Katie has been a mom for 9+ years and has been remarried for 2 years.