Cranford‘s delightfully absurd Miss Pole (an unmarried elderly woman who had hardly ever talked to a man) said, “My father was a man. I think I understand the sex.” Well, as a mom of 7 boys, 15 years in, I think I actually *do* understand more about raising boys (at least *little* boys) than the average…
Tag: long-range parenting
A Letter to the Young, Gentle Christian Mama
Hi there. If we haven’t met properly, I’m Jess. I’m not a mom with all the answers, but I’m not a mom with no answers either. I’ve been a mom for nearly 15 years, which is long enough to know some things by experience. And I’m a mom to 8 kids, which is enough kids…
How I’m Fighting 3 Fears, Right Now
I’ve always thought of myself as pretty brave. Whether that’s true or not I don’t know but I looked to the externals and deemed it so: moving around the world, multiple times, as a growing family keeping having babies even though it HURTS (!!!) every time, and makes life harder quitting my dream job and moving to…
Mom Exhaustion Doesn’t Have to Steal Your Vision
Over the last year, I didn’t realize what was happening, but looking back, I was fighting a combination of fatigue and laziness. Though I still cared immensely about how our kids turn out, getting off the couch very often felt like too great a burden to ask. Being mentally engaged and physically active throughout each day with…
Is Homeschooling a Safeguard Against Rebellion?
On a list of my favorite quotes about homeschooling, one reader took an issue with this: “We cannot continue to send our children to Caesar for their education and be surprised when they come home as Romans.” ~Dr. Voddie Baucham She commented: I do not agree with #11. I homeschool my children, but I was public-schooled….
Here’s Why the Arguing and Complaining is Non-Stop in Your Home
Q: “With 4 children ages 10, 6, 2.5 and 15 mo, the discipline and training (especially of the 10 year old, who has a propensity for argument and complaining and always seems to thinks she knows best) could seriously interfere with normal, everyday activities like supper, bedtimes, homework, etc. Am I looking at this the…
Q&A: Keeping Children Near Mom?
One mom posed this question after reading my article, A Child Left To Himself. Q: I have two little girls (2.5 and 10 months). I would love to hear how you manage this [keeping kids near you and watching and training them throughout the day] practically and still get things done! When you say they are near are they…
Should Kids’ Screentime Be Unlimited?
Devices are a sticky subject now. 20 years ago it was TV time. No matter what, though, unless you’re Amish, you have to reckon with it. I’ll share what we do- but would love to hear your thoughts. A Yahoo!Parenting article (which — as a sidenote– I think should be retitled more honestly as Yahoo!UNparenting,…
Did You Know February is Homeschool Burnout Month?
Are you exhausted? Feeling like it’s just too hard to keep going with your homeschool plans? Ready to throw in the towel? Be encouraged, mama! February is a really, really common exhaustion point. Last month was the beginning of my 10th year of homeschooling. Back in the beginning of my homeschooling years, I lived overseas and didn’t have real-life examples…
25 Things The Bible Says About Parenting
Here are 25 things the Bible says about raising children, discipline, and parenting. The classic parenting verses are here, as well as a few unusual (not-often-quoted) portions that include direction and insight about how God sees children, parenting, and discipline. One of the things I considered as I read through these verses is that a lot of modern controversy centers on…