A friend asked about a particular problem. I thought I’d write my answer here, since we’ve also encountered this difficulty. The question is what to do about a very young child who has discovered that touching himself in a certain way is pleasurable. Here’s how we’ve dealt with it: This is clearly not a sin [...]
Filed under: Practical Parenting
File away on things to be thankful of later: At 7:01, I hear David saying to Bethel “Wake up. We can get up now. It’s 7:30!” I suppose I should be jubilant that he is so prompt, so consistent! He doesn’t quite have the time right, but he’s been getting up at exactly 7:01 for [...]
Filed under: Introspection
This morning we worked on cleaning up the living room. When it’s overwhelming, I usually assign the children a job one item at a time (Put away this; throw away that, etc.). I’ve tried to do games, but they don’t get it. I’ve tried to do races, and it doesn’t affect their speed in the [...]
Filed under: Chores
How do you determine if a child has the ability to do something or not? After writing about Bethel not knowing how to whisper, I started having doubts… Isn’t it doubtful that she doesn’t know how to whisper? Those who read probably are thinking, “What a dumb mother who is taking this extra step to [...]
Filed under: Communication and Meaning
The Problem: Bethel has been quite noisy in church. At our new church, children are involved in the first part of the service (singing, Scripture reading, prayer, and offering), and Bethel has been giving a constant running commentary: “All done singing” “That’s Pastor Tyson” “Praying now?” and so on. I wouldn’t mind her talking if [...]
Filed under: Attention, In the Car and on the Go
Why do we pray for our food? I was reading the Lord’s prayer this morning and asked this question of my children. Here is what I told them: We tell God thank you for our food because Jesus tells us to pray each day (“this day” “daily bread”) for our needs. And I’m reminding myself [...]
Filed under: Prayer
Just a bit ago, David was teasing his sister. I asked him if he was being kind. He immediately hid his eyes with his hands and wouldn’t answer. When I pulled him to my lap, I asked him to look at me, and had great difficulty looking up. This is the first time I can [...]
Filed under: Communication and Meaning, Salvation
Lee and I were discussing the dependence/ independence concept and our children. He mentioned that one significant pitfall to avoid is teaching a child to be so independent that He doesn’t see his need of God. We want to encourage confidence, without Emersonian self-reliance. This is no small challenge, and I do think a potential [...]
Filed under: Child Development, Discipleship
One of the disadvantages of teaching children to be independent is the need to appeal, disagree, or give an opinion respectfully. Of course, I don’t see this as a real disadvantage, merely a necessary long-term lesson as a result of my emphasis. Some would consider it a disadvantage, perhaps. They eliminate the need for this [...]
Filed under: Child Development
There’s something exciting about God’s Sovereignty. I’m fairly passionate about giving our children as many different experiences as possible, to prepare them for however the Lord leads them. Right now, I want our children to experience as much of God’s creation as possible. Some experiences I can create, like a music class that I’ll be [...]
Filed under: Child Development
