Teeth Brushing!

We had a terrible time getting Haylee to either brush her teeth or let us brush her teeth! We have to keep in mind, those little teeth are always cutting in, swelling up, and generally not comfortable. When we stick that toothbrush in there and brush back and forth, we are hitting those swollen gums. It doesn’t feel good. This is why the Lord has us forget the pain of cutting teeth. One thing we started (after her first visit to the dentist) was saying it was time for dentist boy (Me). She totally gets into this. I act like I am the dentist and she is my patient. She tells me her daddy brought her to the dentist but he is waiting in the lobby. She tells me about her day while I brush her teeth. When we are done, I tell her she has perfect looking teeth and to thank her mommy and daddy for doing a great job with her teeth. She says good bye and then asks, are you daddy now? My point is, I have distracted her enough to get her teeth brushed and we do not have to pin her down anymore!

Selective Hearing!

I remember growing up my mom would only hear things she wanted to hear. I always thought she had a hearing problem until I had kids of my own. Selective hearing is selecting what you want to hear. It is so hard when our kids are saying Daddy, Daddy, Daddy over and over when I am trying to read something or talk to someone on the phone. I have started the selective thing and I don’t like it. Sometimes this is the only way they girls know how to communicate and I am ignoring them. Parents need to listen to their children. There are times the kids need to understand mommy and daddy are busy and they need to wait but sometimes parents use the selective hearing thing too much! Just listen to your kids and chances are they will not do the Daddy, Daddy, Daddy thing!

Play with Them!

Nothing will make your child not want to be around you faster than you telling them you have no time to play. I know it is difficult when you have bills to pay, dinner to make, and countless other things. There are times Haylee will ask me to play with her and I have to tell her I cannot. It makes my heart sad to do that cause all I really want to do it play with her. I try not to say no very often. All it takes is 5 minutes to read her a book until she gets focused on something else, then I can go back to what I was doing. We get married at least once a week. Another thing Haylee and I do together is dance. We can be walking in a shopping mall and she will turn to me and ask me to dance. The embarrassment factor kicks in and all I want to do is say not right now. What I actually say is of course. When she is grown and on her own, I will remember those times of dancing with her in the middle of everything and know that I did my part in playing with her. When Sarah is at the age of wanting to do these things, I will do the same with her, whatever her “thing” is.

Believe in your Child!

One thing our girls will not have to worry about is do we believe in them. Shannon is especially good with that because she always tells them “God made you amazing and beautiful. You are wonderfully made” I tell Haylee and Sarah that I believe in their abilities and God has great things in store for them. Even as adults we want to hear someone believes in us. The most important people in our lives to say this is our parents, even if you didn’t have a great relationship with them. As a matter of fact, if you had a bad relationship with your parents, you want to hear they believe in you even more. Take time to tell your children you believe in them

Let them do it!

This is something I didn’t experience with my own dad. He was a contractor and very artistic. Whenever I had a project for school, it turned into his project. He got a lot of A’s for me. The problem is I didn’t learn anything from it. There were many things I wished he would just let me do it on my own. Now I have noticed when my wife or others in my life try to help me, I get upset cause I want to do it on my own even if I goof something up or break something. I find myself doing the same to my girls and I have to stop and let them do it, even if they are going to fail. I don’t want them grow up wishing I let them do it on their own. This is one way children find their individuality. If everything is done for them, how can they become independent?

Praise your Children!

Praising children for a job well done can be foreign to some of us. When our children do something good, we first assume they did what they were supposed to and shouldn’t need praising. Now think about you in your own job. When you do something good at work, your boss or supervisor will hopefully say “Hey you did a great job on that” or “thank you for your hard work.” If you do not hear this after doing something, you might feel let down or under-appreciated. Now picture your son or daughter doing something to get your attention and you do not acknowledge them. This tells them that nothing will impress you so why bother trying to do well for you. If I am guilty of anything, it is over praising my girls because I want them to always know I am so proud of them and everything they do.