Archive for the ‘Practical Parenting’ Category
29February2008
Modesty with a Three Year Old
Posted by Michelle under: Modesty and Purity.
I’m entering brand new territory with my girls. We’re teaching them modesty, and I’m coming to the conclusion that modesty is inconvenient.
My goal is simple. I want to teach them to love modesty when they’re young so that they love modesty when they’re teenagers and adults. That goal has given me some challenges.
Right now, it’s [...]
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30January2008
Toddler Bed Attempt #2
Posted by Michelle under: Bedtime; Introspection; Wisdom.
I didn’t intend my last post to end so dramatically. I feel somewhat sheepish because the change really isn’t that big of a deal, although dealing with my attitude is why this post fits the Wisdom Wednesday theme.
Have you ever considered that pride causes us to act in the best interest of ourselves, not our [...]
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14January2008
Driving Home on a Sunday
Posted by Michelle under: In the Car and on the Go.
Once again we drove home from California on a Sunday. I lost my purse, and we spent Saturday trying to find it with no success. So we packed up and left extra early Sunday morning, just in time to get to church in Phoenix suburbs. Last time we did this and found that it gave [...]
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6January2008
Getting Left Out
Posted by Michelle under: Emotions; In the Car and on the Go.
Yesterday I noticed Bethel was getting clingy and irritable, and today I figured out why. David is her best friend, and the past week, he’s not played with her at all. Even though the cousins do play with her some, most of their games don’t interest her or make sense to her. I think she [...]
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5January2008
What’s Different at Grandma’s House?
Posted by Michelle under: In the Car and on the Go.
One of the things that Lee and I talked briefly about is the difference between parenting at home, and parenting at Grandma’s house with cousins all around.
For one, our children watch more TV, play on the computer more, and play video games. They’ve done more of these activities in a week than they normally do [...]
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3January2008
Why Not Preschool?
Posted by Michelle under: Practical Parenting; Uncategorized.
There’s a lot of pressure these days to send your child to preschool. Everywhere I turn, I’m asked whether our children attend. Perhaps some of the questions come out of curiosity because my husband is a pediatrician, but perhaps not. All sorts of reasons to do so have been set forth: socialization, academics, giving mom [...]
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19December2007
“Me First”
Posted by Michelle under: Getting Along; Manners.
We picked out another Helen Lester book at the library the other day, called Me First. I thought it would be a good conversation starter, and although it has been, I realized that the moral of the story is actually selfishly polite. Why should we share? Because sometimes being first isn’t desirable for my pleasure [...]
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8December2007
Potty Training Update
Posted by Michelle under: Potty Training.
I haven’t posted any commentary on the potty training saga, mostly because I think I learned the lessons I needed to learn, and Bethel just needed time. But it’s time for an update.
About a month ago, I came to the conclusion that we’d be done with diapers, and I’d just try to anticipate the potty [...]
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4December2007
Destructiveness, Part 2
Posted by Michelle under: Manners.
This post is a result of a discussion about destructiveness. I made the statement that young children do not by and large understand the value of property. This statement was challenged, so I’ve been reevaluating what I think.
I still stand by my statement, with a qualifier that perhaps my own children uniquely do not understand [...]
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1December2007
Children Behaving in Public
Posted by Michelle under: In the Car and on the Go.
One of the great opportunities of travel is that you get a good idea of your strengths and weaknesses in how you are parenting. You see where you need more work, and where your instruction is paying off. Sometimes it is humiliating. Sometimes it is a time for giving thanks.
Today I took the children out [...]
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