Archive for the ‘Practical Parenting’ Category
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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30November2007
Paying Attention in Church
Posted by Michelle under: Attention; In the Car and on the Go.
Making the Cross-Country drive was not as painful as it has been in times past. I have a few fairly short audio stories I’ve been saving for a trip, and Lee and I were both surprised at David’s ability to follow along. This is a new development. He still kept asking for clarification, but he [...]
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21November2007
Fighting Laziness
Posted by Michelle under: Chores; Wisdom.
Today’s Wisdom Wednesday isn’t about a single verse or passage, and it’s not very deep. I think God must be working on this specific area in my life, because the last few times I’ve been reading Proverbs, all the slothfulness verses keep leaping out at me.
The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in [...]
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20November2007
How to Respond to Destructive Behavior
Posted by Michelle under: Manners; Uncategorized.
My two children were happily eating a midmorning apple at the table, while I sat and tried to concentrate on writing the next Pulitzer quality blog post. After awhile, I became aware of a curious noise of something small hitting the kitchen floor. A child must have found some dried piece of food on the [...]
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13November2007
Teaching an Infant to Behave
Posted by Michelle under: Child Development; Mealtime.
I keep forgetting how often what I think is misbehavior in Laurel (13 months) is really trying to do what her older siblings are doing. Sometimes she truly cannot do what they are doing (like cut and paste paper nighthawks). Other times she is stretching herself to do something well within her ability to learn [...]
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4November2007
Creating a Work Ethic
Posted by Michelle under: Chores.
Yesterday we spent our Saturday (and one of Lee’s few non-call weekends) working most of the day. I have traditionally felt bad about spending weekends working, because Lee has limited time at home and I’d like the children to actually have fun and enjoy their dad when he’s home. I know all the Type A [...]
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20October2007
Chaos in the Car and Grocery Store
Posted by Michelle under: In the Car and on the Go.
Today at the grocery store, both my older children kept touching food (e.g., dropping expensive peaches and pinching holes in ground beef packages), whining about something or another, and asking for food items. My youngest kept standing in the seat and crying when she was buckled in. At the checkout, I was embarrassed because I [...]
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17October2007
Giving Up My Rights
Posted by Michelle under: Getting Along; Humility; In the Car and on the Go.
Thinking about rights and bullies has started me inspecting my own life, and how often I help my children learn humility in this area. I think perhaps they do better than I do. In some areas, I think I’ve got this under control; in other areas, I think I could use more work. I’m most [...]
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16October2007
Somebody Is Bullying My Child: Part 2
Posted by Michelle under: Getting Along; Humility; In the Car and on the Go.
Yesterday I mentioned I wasn’t happy with how I responded to a child who was bothering my daughter during storytime. Here is what I did: I quickly walked over to them, pulled his hand off my daughter, and said, “She asked you to stop poking her. Stop poking.” He got the message.
Afterwards, I finally figured [...]
Popularity: 42% [?]
