The Most Important Thing about Kids

2021 Update: I wrote this post in 2014 when I was in charge of kids at church, but as I re-read it almost seven years later I thought how true it is still, especially with teenagers. It really is the MOST important thing. I hope you take it to heart.

A room of 50 kids, full of energy and the excitement of friendship.  How on earth to contain them?  So many happy spirits in a small room where we hope they will be reverent and sweet.  My minds whirls at how on earth I will make it work.  How will I get across what I am hoping to?

Have you ever read the book The Important Book, by Margaret Wise Brown.  I think I first heard it when Spencer was in Kindergarten.  She goes through and talks about many objects, but with each one she says one important thing about objects.  Like, the most important thing about balls is that they are round.  I think the reason they read it was to focus on details on objects (they were in writers workshop at the time).

But, that book comes to mind at other times.

Back to me and 50 kids.  I head up the church children’s group.  It’s an overwhelming task.  I am a control freak and I only wish that spreadsheets could do the trick with kids.  I mean, if they could just SEE my pretty excel file that I have laying out the year, I’m sure they’d all be quiet, right?

I was with a good friend, whom I admire quite a lot, a couple of years ago.  We were driving somewhere.  She teaches seminary (a period where they focus on religious studies) to her ward’s high school kids.  She is a wonderful woman and they are lucky to have her.  She was talking about how inadequate she felt {untrue}, and told me something that I think is the most important thing about kids.  She said that they knew she loved them.  While all else failed she had a deep and abiding love for each of the kids, and they knew that.  She felt that was what was most important.

It’s not amazing sharing times, or amazing things I have learned from the scriptures to share with them.  The MOST important thing, when working with kids, children in particular, is that they know you love them.

Children are quite keen.  They know when someone really does love them, and when they’re acting.

Here’s 5 ways I came up with to love them:

1.  Learn their name.  Say hello __________ and give them a brief touch, be it a fist bump high five, or a shoulder squeeze.

2.  Find the loveable-ness inside each of them.  It’s true, some of them I want to throw them out of the room and SCREAM, but if you take them apart {no, not literally} piece by piece they have some VERY lovable parts.  Savor them, you’ll need them.

3.  When you see them outside of whatever thing you’re in charge of, say hello (using their name).  Besides being heavily involved at church, I am also involved at school.  Those kids need to know I love them no matter where they are.

4.  Know the details.  Do you know their grade, perhaps their teacher, or their favorite thing?  Make a mental filing cabinet.

5.  Have fun them.  Kids love nothing more than being silly.  I, frankly, am also a big fan of being silly.  For me, at chruch, I sing a mean 1 octave (my range is pretty limited) of opera.  They find it HILARIOUS and I break it out every now and then.  I’m crazy amusing.

So, when my mind whirls at all that is on my plate or all the places we could go or things we could do, or worst yet — all the things that could go wrong!  I need to re-center myself back to the most important thing.  Love them, show them you love them.  That’s the most important thing. {not dazzling handouts, sorry.}

Have you found this to be true? Tell me in the comments, I’d love to know what you think the most important things were you’ve done/did with kids?