Like many of you, I’ve got kids, so I’m thinking we may face many of the same challenges. Since I’m firm in the belief that I’m just not all that special, when I’m faced with a “challenge,” I always assume that SOMEBODY in the world has faced a situation similar, if not identical, to mine. I figure at least one of those people has written about their experiences.
Being a compulsive reader and a lifelong learner, my first plan of action is usually to hunt down that information. As a firm believer in The Underwear Principle, I pick through the info, ignore the stuff that doesn’t apply and the solutions that wouldn’t fly in my household, and finally, take my newly acquired knowledge and come up with a plan of action. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Most of the time, I just modify the plan until it does work.
Below are some of the things which have worked for me with regard to parenting.
Intentional Parenting:
sometimes, we have to do what’s required. (teaching kids a work ethic and developing realistic expectations.)
a jar & 2 cups of coffee (a reminder to focus on the big things)
freedom to be different (letting my daughter fly high & watching her imagination & confidence soar)
taking every opportunity (Hannah Montana and an “object lesson”)
i want no regrets (making the most of this gift of time)
collect them all (assurances that I’m not raising Veruca Salt)
be consistent. (behavior modification through consistency)
What Works. What Doesn’t
mom. Mom. MOM! (ideas for overcoming summer)
Kids and Health:
sometimes I buy what I hate (teaching kids to develop healthy eating habits)
the underwear principle & ADD (our success with behavior modification techniques)
how many kids . . . (trading time-outs for complex carbs – managing our daughter’s low blood sugar)
ella, aqua & ralph (a sick day remembered)
Parenting Book Quotes:
freedom to be different (from the book Grace Based Parenting by Dr. Tim Kimmel)
Real Moments:
breaking point (great mom, nice mom, pushover mom . . . )
sweet honesty (training up a child in the way he should go . . . )
adolesence and menopause in the same house? (oh, please tell me no.)
youtube favorites:
spoiled bumblebee (a dad’s song about kids who want MORE)
pk baptism (a pastor’s kid and a baptism “first”)
mom overture (Anita Renfroe’s version of the William Tell Overture)