November 19th, 2009
Thanksgiving at our house includes a lot of people under the age of 10. So, this year I decided to involve those kids in a unique way. I asked each of them what food he/she would like for Thanksgiving dinner. Fortunately, many of the answers were foods I was already planning such as turkey, pickles and enough pumpkin pie “that there will be some left over for breakfast.” However (not surprisingly), the 5yo said chocolate.
So the other night, I had the 5yo and his two sisters help me with a special project. We purchased candy bars for everyone. Then, on the computer, we designed a fall-flowered label which fit around a chocolate candy bar. Then, because we are very thankful to the Lord for our family, we made a “thank-you” candy bar for each family member. Each person’s name has an adjective, starting with the same letter as their first name. The kids themselves chose the words to make the project even more fun. I didn’t give them any hints. We’re all looking forward to the surprise on the guests faces when they see the candy bars at their places Thanksgiving Day.
How do you encourage the kids in your house to be thankful?
(Hmmm … now if I could just figure out how to include the 6yo’s request for pizza …)
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November 19th, 2009
Recently I happened to be in a situation where a man was looking at some of our newer Awana handbooks and products. At one time he had been very familiar with Awana and his kids had been in it, but then his family lived ou
t of the country for several years and they lost contact with what was happening. He picked up one of the books, randomly opened to a page, read one sentence and then said, “I can’t believe Awana has gone in that direction.” (By the way, this wasn’t a doctrinal issue.)
What direction? He was totally wrong in his evaluation. If he had read the context of the statement, he would’ve understood that. But no, he took one sentence out of context and stood there and lectured me on the evils of the perceived lifestyle he felt Awana was promoting.
I was totally frustrated because that’s NOT what the book said. No one else has taken it that way. If he had read the sentence before or the sentence after said statement, he would’ve known that. However, there was no explaining. He was sure he had the full story.
That experience made me think about what we sometimes do to our kids. They’re playing with their friends and we overhear one sentence and assume the worse. As soon as the friend leaves, we’re prepared with our best parent lecture on why what our son said was wrong - without getting the full story. Or a teacher tells us our daughter said this or that and we get angry with our child without giving her opportunity to tell her side. Or we hear an argument in the other room and our younger child runs to us, saying that big brother pushed her and immediately we punish big brother. In other words, we jump to conclusions – no wonder we sometimes frustrate our kids.
James wrote, ” let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” Sometimes we’re good at doing that – except when it comes to our own kids.
Here are some suggestions the next time you’re in a situation like this.
1. Ask in what context something was said and then listen to the explanation. You know your child well enough to know whether or not he’s prevaricating.
2. Offer to go with him to talk with his teacher/leader. If this is something that has happened at school or at church and your child insists he was innocent, suggest you talk to the teacher/leader together. Usually, a child’s willingness to talk to the person who was in charge when the situation occurred is a sign that he’s telling you the true story. Most kids won’t want to put themselves in that situation (with both parent and teacher) if they know they’ve been wrong. They’ll think of an excuse NOT to go.
3. Give each sibling an opportunity to explain himself in a dispute. Give them each three minutes to tell you what happened. During the explanation, the other sibling is not allowed to interrupt. If you can’t get a sense of who was right and who was wrong, separate them from each other for a certain amount of time.
4. Remember that “who started it” is not always important. Even if the 5yo started it, the 8yo kept it going by fighting back.
5. Accept that your kids make wrong choices. Yes, sometimes we blame unfairly, but often your child is at fault. Make sure he is punished for what he’s done. Don’t undermine the teacher or leader’s authority by not taking the infraction seriously.
Be willing to listen.
Be slow to lecture
And very, very slow to react in anger.
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November 16th, 2009
Our Awana at Home program encourages families to have family nights – to study the Bible, to memorize Scripture and then to do something just for fun.
Here’s a great idea which could lead into some good discussions.
Give your kids an opportunity to interview you.
Here are some questions they could ask.
Mom …
1. What is your favorite leisure activity?
2. When you were four, what did you want to be when you grew up?
3. What is your favorite food?
4. Did you have a pet when you were a child? What kind of pet and what was its name?
5. Where were you born?
6. What was your favorite subject in school? Your least favorite?
7. How did you meet Dad?
8. Who was your best friend as a kid?
9. Which of my qualities do you like the most?
10. When did you trust Christ as Savior?
Dad …
1. What exactly do you do at your job?
2. What was your first car like and how did you get the money to buy it?
3. What was your first job?
4. What did you get in trouble for when you were my age?
5. How did you propose to mom?
6. If you were given a lot of money, how would you spend it?
7. When did you trust Christ as Savior?
8. What quality of mine do you like the best?
9. What famous person would you like to meet?
10. What Bible character (besides the Lord Jesus) would you like to meet and why?
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November 15th, 2009
The December 2009 Good Housekeeping reports on a Nielsen Company study on teens and texting.
Would you believe that the average teen gets and sends 2,900 texts a month? Figure it out – that’s almost 100 a day.
Some psychologists are worried that texting interfers with sleep and causes anxiety.
The article continues by advising families to have text-free zones and for kids to be required to recharge their phone somewhere other than their bedroom (to avoid late night/early morning texting.)
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November 12th, 2009
Yes, I know that not too many parents have a handkerchief at church anymore, but a parent could stick a square piece of material in a purse or a pocket and have it ready for an on-the-spot quiet activity. (How many years have parents been doing handkerchief twins to entertain a restless toddler during a church service?)
If, your mom DIDN’T do this with you – here’s how, so you can do it with your kids.
1. Fold the material in half diagonally to form a triangle.
2. Roll both sides toward the middle.
3. Pull the one point (the one underneath) under the two rolls and out the other side.
4. And now your toddler has twins in a blanket – which they can rock by holding on to the points.
(See diagrams below – I never claimed to be a technical writer.)
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November 12th, 2009
Here’s a good game you can play at club or use as a review tool for your son or daughter.
1. Each team/person receives a pile of paper strips or index cards.
2. Each team/person secretly chooses a verse from the handbook. You could set a word requirement such as a verse between 12 and 15 words.
3. The team/person writes down one word from the verse on each index card.
4. The team/person who goes first holds up one of the cards. (You would probably start with commonly-used words such as “in” or “and” rather than instant giveaways such as “wages.”)
5. The other team/person guesses at the verse.
6. If the guesser is wrong, the first team/person holds up another card.
7. Teams earn one point for each word they had to display before the other team/person guessed the correct verse.
8. Alternate back and forth between teams/people.
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November 11th, 2009
Last night I was looking at some parenting websites and blogs to see what others had to say to the dads and moms of the world.
I came across one blog that listed ten things parents do wrong.
Ok. Interesting. I looked at it. I didn’t copy the list, but some of the things made sense. However, one point jumped out at me. “Parents think they’re the bosses of their kids.”
Guess what?
We are the bosses of our our kids. That doesn’t mean that we treat them harshly or critically or don’t see them as valuable people – but we still have the authority over how they behave.
The bloggers’ point was kids have just as much right as parents to make decisions or to do what they want to do.
So if my 5yo wants to play on computer all day – I have no right to give him an hour limit? If my 14yo wants to go out and party all night, I have no right to put a stop to it?
Hello! God tells us that we are to obey those in authority over us. Specifically, He tells us children are to obey their parents. He also says parents have the responsibility of training their kids. (And sometimes training is saying that something you are doing is wrong.)
Being the kind, gentle, caring boss (trainer) of your kids will result in not the wrong thing to do.
It is the right thing to do.
In my opinion, one of the things parents do wrong – is to give up the responsibility they have as authority to their kids.
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November 10th, 2009
1
. Sin is anything we think, say or do that goes against what God says in His Word, the Bible. (Remember, it’s not just what you do or don’t do – it’s what you think.)
2. Everyone sins. You, me, the Pastor, our neighbors, etc. (Romans 3:23)
3. We were all born sinners. No one had to teach you to lie, steal or scream in anger.
4. The Lord Jesus Christ is perfect. He did not sin. He could not sin because He is God.
5. Our sin deserves punishment – separation from God forever. (Romans 6:23)
6. Yes, Christ took the punishment for our sins when He died on the cross, but that does not mean that you will never again be given earthly punishment. Your parents punish you because they love you and want to teach you to make right choices. This is a different kind of punishment.
7. The wages of sin is death. That is, spiritual death. Christians still die physically, but they go to heaven. Just like walking into a wall hurts, but walking into the shadow of a wall isn’t painful at all. When a Christian dies, he only walks through the shadow of death because he is immediately with his Savior. (Psalm 23)
8. To provide a solution for our sin problem, God Himself became a man. (Philippians 2:5-8)
9. Salvation is an individual response to Christ. You do not get to heaven because of your parents, your friends or your church.
10. Eternal life starts at the moment you trust Christ. You do not have to wait until you get to heaven to have eternal life.
Tags: Salvation
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November 9th, 2009
CURRENT BESTSELLERS FOR KIDS – ACCORDING TO AMAZON.COM
(We have not read any of these books, and therefore cannot recommend or not recommend them, but are listing them here as a glimpse into kid culture. If you’re familiar with any of them, please leave a comment/critique.)
1. LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary
2. Julie Andrews’ Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies
3. Skippyjon Jones, Lost in Spice
4. Where the Wild Things Are: The Movie Storybook
5. Listen to the Wind
6. Waddle!: A Scanimation Picture Book (Scanimation Picture Books)
7. Otis
8. Gallop!: A Scanimation Picture Book (Scanimation Books)
9. Strega Nona’s Harvest
10. Runaway Mummy: A Petrifying Parody
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November 6th, 2009
Patience is not only a virture – it’s part of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) … and therefore, something we should be teaching our kids.
Unfortunately, not only do we as parents have patience problems, our kids do, too.
One mom came up with a solution. After her 4yo asked for juice (for the 37th time), the mom felt her stress level go sky high. She knew she needed a solution. So, she went to the store and bought a timer.
Now, when her daughter asks for something while the mom is doing something else, the mom gently says, “I am busy paying bills right now, but I will be done in five minutes. We will set the timer. You don’t have to ask me again. When the timer goes off, I will get the juice.” The solution works well.
Not only does this give the mom time to finish what she’s doing, but it teaches the child to wait patiently instead of getting instance gratification.
Try it and let us know how this works for you.
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