In all the American Idol talk of the last couple of days, I wanted to take a minute to push the bandwagon a bit for Fox’s new series that premiered after Tuesday’s Idol showdown.
I’ll admit that I was a little unsure of what Fox was thinking with Glee – a story of high school “losers” who are intent on winning against all odds, led by a teacher reliving his glory days as a member of a fiery school show choir. But, I was surprised at how the rather predictable plot pulled me in to pilot.
Of course, there’s a bit of me that couldn’t help but watch since I was in show choir in high school myself (just check out last week’s YouTube link for the big hair evidence and all!). But, the storyline is one that is reality for far too many kids in school today. If you’re not in with the “in” crowd, high school can be a truly traumatic experience. Let’s face it, kids can be just plain mean a good deal of the time.
As parents – and moms in particular, I think – we feel the pain that our kids experience, and want to do everything we can to help them overcome it. And building a solid home life is among the best things we can offer for those times when they come home in tears because of what another kid said or did.
It’s very easy for our children to try to not take risks or shut out things that might bring pain. It’s a pretty natural reaction for us as adults, as well. But without taking those risks and sometimes experiencing the pain, they also miss out on the chance for true joy.
But what – exactly – can we do? Just a simple little exercise can become a habit … can become a tradition they’ll carry on to their own kids.
• Turn the dinner table or evening devotional time into the opportunity to discuss the best and worst thing that happened during the day. Sometimes just saying it out loud makes the good times better and the bad times not so bad.
• Set aside two minutes before the bus comes each morning to say a prayer with your kids before getting on the school bus or out of the car line. Encourage them to ask God to help them – and all the other kids at school that day – to make good choices throughout the day.
• Teach your children to offer help or a compliment to one other child at school each day – and take five minutes before bed to learn what they did that day, and praise them for their efforts.
If you haven’t seen it, take a peek at the Glee pilot online. The caption under the old glee club director’s photograph in a trophy case reads “By its very definition glee is about opening yourself up to joy.” Teach your kids to open themselves up to joy.
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