The Holistic Child

No, not the "'Holy'stic" Child. If you were treading those waters, let your thoughts tarry now. What I mean by "holistic" is a fairly simple concept - it has to do with having a decent sense of balance with our perspectives on what is important when it comes to child-rearing. I know we have all encountered friends and family members or seen strangers who seem to put a somewhat unhealthy amount of pressure on their children to succeed in one particular area of life. This may be the child that is raised to be a sports machine, but has an insignificant amount of initiative in his/her studies. This could be the child that seems to relate well to other kids and is quite friendly, yet when asked to comply with parental requests, has little ability to control his/her emotions. You get the picture. What we fail to recognize so often as parents is that we all get out of balance when it comes to teaching and training our children in how to develop in a broad combination of domains.

In the education world, I seek to train children to be socially secure, emotionally regulated, physically adept, intellectually initiated, and spiritually acute. Because I focus so highly on the holistic education, I have learned to notice rather quickly when one of these areas is a major strength or if it is a major weakness. I stress the importance of the holistic education because for many years our school system has done a sufficient job teaching children the 35 different mathematical constructs (geometry, physics, algebra, trigonometry, etc.), but has insufficiently provided in depth training on building positive peer relationships, developing a solid sense of self-esteem/self-confidence, and has altogether compartmentalized spirituality into its own private sector. As parents, if we are desiring to do our best to guide children in the way they should go, it must include a serious look at the full spectrum of what God has created in our human nature. I believe this to be a great attribute to the parent who is seeking to engage their children in a lifelong process of learning and engagement with the world around us. I firmly believe that the holistic education is the most provocative and truth-revealing manner of teaching our children about life. It will open up their senses to initiate a lifestyle of curiosity, but maintain a healthy discernment about what is helpful and what is not. It will free their spirit to be untamed, but wise. And it will promote a bodily health that is invigorating, not debilitating.

Consider this avenue as we seek to learn the best and most effective ways to raise our children!