Shannon and I are torn. We have been bouncing around the idea of home-schooling the girls. For a long time, I was against the idea because Haylee especially is very social. Having her at home all day, everyday, would not give her the social attention she needs. It wasn't until I started substitute teaching did I realize home-schooling might be an option. The things that come out of children's mouths at such young ages scares me. Haylee already is a little parrot. I cannot imagine what she will bring home.
There are people in our lives that have given us advice on both ends of this topic. Some feel taking them out of the school system will not give the Lord a chance to let our girls shine their light for the Lord in all the darkness. There are also those who hate the school system and make us feel we are terrible parents for wanting them to go through it. This is such a difficult decision because it will effect the rest of their lives.
As of late, our decision is to put in her pre-school two days a week to see how this works. This will help with some of the behavioral learning. We will take a look when it is time for Kindergarten. I am sure this will change a hundred times until she is done with school.
Take a Time Out Parents
Parents give time-outs all day long and sometimes, in the hussle and bussle of life and parenting, we lose touch of reality of who our spouse is and why we got married in the first place. So what does this have to do with parenting tips? A lot! If you lose touch of each other, you start living separate lives and if nothing is changed, divorce is knocking on the door. This effects the kids. No child wants to see their parents split up. Many children will start to blame themselves for the divorce. So what is the parenting tip in this?
10 Great Dates What is this? It is a marriage study that will energize your marriage. They have different books depending on where you are in marriage and in life. We took it through Relationship Skills Unlimited We met for 20-30 minutes once a week to watch a short video on the topic of the day. After that, we briefly discussed the video and we were then sent on our way to have a date. The only rule is we do not go home. We had to go on our date, read the portion of the book, and complete the tasks in the workbook. The topics you will learn about include:
*Communicate better
* Put the sizzle back in sex
* Process anger and resolve conflicts
* Develop spiritual intimacy
* Appreciate your differences
* Balance busy lifestyles
* And much more!
Do your marriage a favor and check this out. Don't just get the book and read it. You will experience so much more in a group setting learning about how to revive your marriage.
Why Won't They Stay In Their Beds!
Why is it children are scared to stay in their beds? I went through it and now my daughters are doing the same thing. Haylee comes in the middle of the night saying she is scared and wants to sleep with us and now Sarah has started it with us. We end up with everyone in our bed. No one is getting sleep and we are all tired. We went through the "There are monsters in my bed" phase. We started having Haylee sleep on the floor when she comes in hoping this would stop her from coming in. This was working but now she wants to start the night on the floor instead of her bed. Last night I started when she comes in, I say nothing to her and take her back into bed and tuck her in, and then go back to my bed. She screamed and cried and came in about 15 times. This started Sarah crying and screaming as well. So I had both girls screaming and I wanted to go to sleep. I did not give in. I kept it up. Finally I told Haylee to stop crying because her crying is scaring her little sister and she is a big 4 year old and should be able to sleep in her bed at night. She stopped and went to sleep. Sarah, still worked up from crying, took a little longer. I am hoping to keep this up tonight to see what happens.
OK most of you are saying, this does not sound like a parenting tip because he is still experiencing this issue. I agree with you except for the fact that the tip is, get them into a routine. There are a couple of steps you can follow at night time that might help which we are going to start to implement (I know a little late but better late than never)
1. Stick to the same bed time as much as possible This is very difficult in today's times of meetings, sporting events, church stuff, etc but it needs to be done. This will get them on a routine of ok now it is 8:30 and we should be in bed.
2. Read the bible with your children before bed pointing out God's love for children This will hopefully show them that God is watching over them and will keep them safe while sleeping.
3. Create a bedtime ritual that you stand by such as dinner, dessert, bath, jammies, story time, sleep time
4. No monsters in the room or under the bed I don't know where they get it but every child says there is a monster in the room somewhere. Prove to them there are no monsters in the room by going on a monster hunt. When they do not find one, eventually they will realize there are no monsters. Telling them God will protect them during the night will help as well.
Good luck and don't give up. This won't take place the first time you do this and it might not even take place the 100th time you do this but it will eventually work. Have patients and trust in God to lead the way!
Shop.com
I came across a great internet shopping website called www.shop.com Shop.com is a comparison shopping website. You can use this website to shop for the best price on an item. This website offers many products for sale. The reason I was interested in this website is because they have many products for Christian parents. There are books, magazines, and Christian music for sale. After doing a search on Christian Parenting, the site came back with 94 items for sale.
After doing a search on Christian music, the site came back with 2,641 different items. There are many different styles of music to choose from. Check the website often as they have special offers constantly so you can save even more. You can check their sale page for more discounts and on sale items. Shop.com also has a coupon section where you can get great deals. Stop by their contest page to enter for great prizes.
I really like this website because it offers many items. You could in a sense do all your Christmas shopping on one website and not have to go into one store during the holidays. Check out their free shipping page before you start shopping for an extra savings.
After doing a search on Christian music, the site came back with 2,641 different items. There are many different styles of music to choose from. Check the website often as they have special offers constantly so you can save even more. You can check their sale page for more discounts and on sale items. Shop.com also has a coupon section where you can get great deals. Stop by their contest page to enter for great prizes.
I really like this website because it offers many items. You could in a sense do all your Christmas shopping on one website and not have to go into one store during the holidays. Check out their free shipping page before you start shopping for an extra savings.
Pray With Them!
If you are like me, you only prayed with your family at meal time and it was something simple to get it out of the way. I don't have many memories of my parents coming into my room and praying with me before bed.
It is such a good thing for children to see their parents praying. People get their vision of the Lord through their relationship with their father on earth. If you have a father who does not pray with you and is not the spiritual head of the household, it is very hard to envision God and pray on your own. This is something I struggle with to this day. On the other hand, if you have a father who prays with you for more than just the nightly meal, you will have a better understanding of having a good relationship with the Lord.
Parents, especially dads, pray with your kids. There are men in my life who I look up to because of their relationship with their children. I know this is directly related to them praying with their children. My goal is to have the same relationship with my children.
Please pray with them. Not just about food or finances. Hit the big topics about what is going on in the world, blessings to all, and serious health issues. If you do not know how to pray, find a church home and get into an ALPHA group. There you will learn to pray with your family!
It is such a good thing for children to see their parents praying. People get their vision of the Lord through their relationship with their father on earth. If you have a father who does not pray with you and is not the spiritual head of the household, it is very hard to envision God and pray on your own. This is something I struggle with to this day. On the other hand, if you have a father who prays with you for more than just the nightly meal, you will have a better understanding of having a good relationship with the Lord.
Parents, especially dads, pray with your kids. There are men in my life who I look up to because of their relationship with their children. I know this is directly related to them praying with their children. My goal is to have the same relationship with my children.
Please pray with them. Not just about food or finances. Hit the big topics about what is going on in the world, blessings to all, and serious health issues. If you do not know how to pray, find a church home and get into an ALPHA group. There you will learn to pray with your family!
Fireproof Your Marriage
Yes I am talking about the movie Fireproof with Kirk Cameron. Here is the trailer from the movie...
You might be wondering why I am writing about marriage on a parenting tip blog. This is a fair thing to wonder. My thought is a solid marriage is a parenting tip as well. Children know if you are constantly fighting. It creates a very intense way of living. Older children will start acting out to get you to stop fighting. The one thing they do not want to see is their parents getting a divorce.
Shannon and I have a great marriage. I am not saying we have a perfect marriage. I do not think anyone can have a perfect marriage. We realize this marriage was from God. When we got married, we signed a marriage covenant acknowledging our marriage is from God. We have gone to marriage courses and weekends away because we realize a good marriage needs to be worked on.
Fireproof is about a couple whose marriage is all but done. I recommend this movie to couples who might be considering a divorce but I also recommend this movie for any married couple. This movie teaches us that 40 days can change even the most destructive marriages. If there are children involved, you owe it to them to at least see the movie before calling it quits.
You might be wondering why I am writing about marriage on a parenting tip blog. This is a fair thing to wonder. My thought is a solid marriage is a parenting tip as well. Children know if you are constantly fighting. It creates a very intense way of living. Older children will start acting out to get you to stop fighting. The one thing they do not want to see is their parents getting a divorce.
Shannon and I have a great marriage. I am not saying we have a perfect marriage. I do not think anyone can have a perfect marriage. We realize this marriage was from God. When we got married, we signed a marriage covenant acknowledging our marriage is from God. We have gone to marriage courses and weekends away because we realize a good marriage needs to be worked on.
Fireproof is about a couple whose marriage is all but done. I recommend this movie to couples who might be considering a divorce but I also recommend this movie for any married couple. This movie teaches us that 40 days can change even the most destructive marriages. If there are children involved, you owe it to them to at least see the movie before calling it quits.
Potty Training!
This has always been a interesting topic because there is no right or wrong time to start potty training. Check out this video from The Dad Lab
With Haylee, we started potty training around 15 months but only because she started motioning she wanted to use the potty. We never pushed her to do it. She went through stages of wanting to and then not wanting to. She was doing really well and then Sarah was born. She went through a phase where we had to put the pull-ups on especially at night. She was about 3 1/2 and she finally was potty trained. Sarah is now almost 2 and she takes her diaper off and goes and sits on her potty.
The key is not to scold the child for accidents. It is not their fault. Do not get angry with them if there are accidents. Work with your child. He or she will eventually be potty trained, just keep working with them!
With Haylee, we started potty training around 15 months but only because she started motioning she wanted to use the potty. We never pushed her to do it. She went through stages of wanting to and then not wanting to. She was doing really well and then Sarah was born. She went through a phase where we had to put the pull-ups on especially at night. She was about 3 1/2 and she finally was potty trained. Sarah is now almost 2 and she takes her diaper off and goes and sits on her potty.
The key is not to scold the child for accidents. It is not their fault. Do not get angry with them if there are accidents. Work with your child. He or she will eventually be potty trained, just keep working with them!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)