Ever experienced the outplay of a two-year-old’s punch to the face? As a mom of 7, I’ve experienced some version of it, several times over. One little boy, many moons ago, slapped me in the middle of a Hobby Lobby trip. Several have yelled “no” at me. And this happened almost a year ago: It…
Tag: childrearing
When the Person That “Wears the Pants” in the Family is a Size 2T
{This article has been updated from its original publishing in 2008.} There is something that bothers me and seems to get lost in the whole infant feeding/sleeping debates, and even in the debates about certain parenting methods. These debates cloud the real issues at hand regarding child training. And it is possible that those who…
10 Bible Truths To Help You Understand Your Child
Parenting can be such a challenge. Sin outside our home… sin inside our hearts… the stresses and strains of life in a family… These things swirl together and threaten to knock us off-kilter. As my husband and I go about life with our seven children (currently, ages 13, 11, 9, 7, 5, 2, and 7 months),…
Should We Train Our Children for Non-Moral Personal Traits?
Here’s 4-minutes of my off-the-cuff thoughts about training our kids’ quirkiness. SOME HIGHLIGHTS: 00:25– “it’s just an annoying habit; should we train for it or not?” 01:00– example from my real life, yesterday, with my two-year-old 02:00– encouragement from Gregg Harris 02:45– why this is extra-important to me as a homeschooling mom 03:00– how I…
Is This One Reason You’re An Angry Mom?
Sometimes we blame our anger on circumstances (“it annoyed me that he kept doing x”), people (“she just gets under my skin,” or “our personalities just clash”), and sometimes–perhaps more rare– we own it all ourselves (“I’ve got an anger problem.”) However, I think there’s one thing that is nearly universal in the way it…
Are You Letting Your Kids Walk All Over You?
I sometimes hear moms almost bragging about it… “it’s been ages since I’ve used the restroom alone.” “She’s persnickety & suddenly won’t eat anything I make!!” As if being a Mommy Martyr makes you a good mommy. There is a HUGE difference between what the average mom puts up with today, and what would have been allowed…
Do Your Kids Recognize Your Authority?
Elizabeth Krueger, mother of 10, and author of Raising Godly Tomatoes, is also a horse owner. She recently shared some great thoughts about training horses to recognize a rightful authority and how it can be similar with children. I thought Elizabeth’s observations were extremely insightful and she graciously agreed to let me share them here:…
What Everybody Ought to Know About Moms & Sons
Have you seen the images on Facebook, trumpeting the amazing, lifelong, unbreakable bond between mothers and sons? Here are some quotes I’ve seen on these photos: “There has never been, nor will there ever be, anything quite so special as the love between a mother and son.” “The bond between mother and son… remains unchanged…
Are You Ignoring Your Mommy Radar?
Over the years, in myself and others, I’ve observed a tendency toward laziness as moms. I’m not talking about laziness in how we clean, decorate, dress our children, or save money for our family. No, in those ways we can be quite purposeful and diligent. What I mean is this: many of us tend to lazily overlook the…
A Child Left To Himself
One day last year, I walked into our bathroom and found my 3-year-old, Moses, with his arms awkwardly positioned, slightly up in the air. Upon hearing my footsteps, he dropped his hands. His big, winsome smile didn’t fool me. 🙂 It was clear there was something in one hand he had pulled down and was trying to…