Have you ever noticed that it seems like your kids can tell when you don’t quite have all your ducks in a row? Even when I make a concerted effort to *act* organized, they still seem to sense that I don’t have my feet under me. When they sense that lack of preparation, it seems to affect their own attitudes and actions.
Commence Meltdown!
When I’m not on top of things, feeling calm, cool and collected, my girls have trigger-fingers on their meltdown buttons. They each melt in their own way (one crumples, the other screams), but it is amazing to see them gearing up for it. They sense my stress, hurry, impatience or frustration and they react exactly the opposite way of what I need! What’s up with that?? When I really, really need them to just go with the flow and obey quickly, that’s when [...]
I am very excited about this post. These are three things that help me get perspective and really make a difference in my family. Do you remember my post back in January about controlling emotions? This is a bit of a follow-up and I can tell you that these three things really have been a key for me!
“We have all heard the saying, “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!” Horrid grammar, but it’s so true. We ladies have the power to set the atmosphere in our homes.” Read the rest of this post over at A Biblical Marriage and be sure to subscribe and “like” that fantastic blog, while you’re there!
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Deep Roots at Home: Encourage One Another A Wise Woman Builds Her Home Raising Homemakers The Welcoming House WholeHearted Home Our Simple Country Life: Hearts4Home Rediscovering [...]
With the huge focus the last several years on teaching babies and very young toddlers how to read, I think there are many parents out there feeling inadequate if their preschooler isn’t already breezing through books. Our culture tend to equate education and accomplishment with worth. If a child is “behind” most of the other children his age, it is often seen as an indication that something is “wrong” with him. In many situations, the child is treated as though he has failed.
I am concerned about this mentality. Yes, when a child has real developmental delays, they need to be addressed. My concern is with assuming that just because we *can* teach a very young child to read (or whatever other developmental milestone), that it means that we *should*.
Always Learning
From the time a baby in his mother’s womb becomes aware of his surroundings, he [...]
My mom tells a story about when I was about three. I was babbling on about something (me?? babble?? ) and she was giving me the “uh-huh” and “hmm..” replies. I stopped my story, got her attention and told her to “listen to my with your eyes!”
We’ve all done it, haven’t we? Our little ones have been jabbering on and on and eventually, we get distracted. We’re still partway listening, but our main focus is someplace else. There are so many important things to do. There is so much to decide, remember and organize. Our brains are just busy places! Important things need to be done.
But then, a precious little soul wants to connect with us. Sure, the topic of conversation might not be the deepest one. What the imaginary monkey said at the pretend tea party isn’t exactly a headline story… to us. To that little [...]
I am concerned. I just read some comments on Facebook about parents “sneaking” healthy food into their children. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for healthy food. It’s the premise behind the “sneaking” that concerns me. These parents aren’t just using good ingredients, many of them are going so far as to lie to their children or intentionally deceive them. One suggests that a mom of a picky teen pour out cheap milk and refill the container with raw whole milk.
What I want to know is, how honest do these parents want their children to be with them? Do they expect their children to be more honest than they are? Do they really think that telling a child a lie “for their own good” is really good?? Don’t they understand that their children will learn so much more from what their parents do than what their parents tell [...]
Have you been asked this question about being “ready” for having more children? I’ve noticed that when I had just one child, the question was, “Are you ready for another one?”. Now that I have two, it’s switched to, “Are you done or do you plan to have more?”. Of course, the way that these questions are asked makes a huge difference. Danielle from More Than Four Walls talks about the mindset behind the negatively asked questions.
“Why do people talk about children like this? Like they are burdens?
I hear this most often from people who actually have children…
Having children is like touching heaven. It’s a glimpse of God’s goodness.”
Read the rest of this post over at More Than Four Walls!
When you’re sleep-deprived and overwhelmed, a post like this can be a lifesaver! Take a deep breath and read what Sara from Your Thriving Family suggests!
“Being a parent is your new career and the first few months are going to be filled with adjustment. You WILL make mistakes and your plans and schedules WILL go awry. Learn as you go and constantly asking and seeking advice will now be a way of life. After all, we want to do what’s best for our little blessings.
Even if this isn’t your first, these will help you get in the mindset. Here are a few things you can avoid before the chaos, that is your new life, begins!…”
Read the rest of this post over at Your Thriving Family!! [...]
Here’s another wonderful post in our Blog-Share! This one is by my sweet bloggy friend Debra at Sweet Kisses and Dirty Dishes!
I absolutely love this post! Debra talks about several ways we can show respect to our little ones. It always breaks my heart to hear and see parents lying to their children or getting angry at them for being children.
“Even while they are super young. How can we expect respect without demonstrating it? The respect we need to give them is not a mirror image of the respect they show us as parents, or even what it will look exactly like as they get older, but it is respect all the same…”
Read the rest of this post over at Sweet Kisses and Dirty Dishes!
Some sweet bloggy friends and I are starting a fun blog-share group that is going to be giving you, my dear readers, some different perspectives and content. At the same time, I will be blessed with wonderful things to share with you on those busy days when our new GAPS diet takes too much of my time and energy!
Each month we will each be sharing post from our sites on a specific topic. October’s topic is “Little Ones”, which will cover all things babies and children. I believe that these ladies have some beautiful words that will encourage and inform us all, so I hope you enjoy this new project!
Today I am featuring a post from Renown and Crowned. A talks about how our children get their “first information” through us. The way that they approach the world and evaluate new information [...]
*Disclaimer: If you’re already preparing to tell me that you grew up playing with Barbies and have had no issues whatsoever with body image, please read the full post with an open mind and try to hear me out. This isn’t a post of judgement, it’s a call to prayerfully consider God’s heart on the subject. I grew up with Barbies, too, and I actually remember thinking that someday I would be “beautiful” like them. I am all grown up and I am far from having a figure like that! I believe that feminine and innocent “dress-up” is much, much healthier for the shaping of a little girl’s heart.
Pumpkin in her “princess dress”
Our four-year-old, Pumpkin, loves to dress-up. She is so enthusiastic that she already has our not-quite-ten-month-old, Babykins, trying to do it! We keep a big stash of dress-up items available, but we are very [...]
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