Subscribe today and receive your FREE copy of… FACING OUR FEARS – 31 STORIES FROM M.O.M. By Guest: Lyn Smith Recently, I made a comment about how fun my older kids are. A friend, with a younger child, asked if I could give her some tips on how that happened. Here is what I shared with her. I pray it encourages and helps you on your parenting journey. 1) Cultivate an atmosphere of joy. Life is funny! We choose to laugh a lot. I have made a conscious effort over the years to smile at my kids. …
eBabies + iTeens + YouToo: Kids and Cell Phones – the WHY
Subscribe today for your FREE copy of… FACING YOUR FEARS – 31 STORIES FROM M.O.M. eBabies + iTeens + YouToo: Kids and Cell Phones – the WHY I couldn’t wait to see Annemarie’s face as she opened her final 8th grade graduation gift. The video camera was rolling and my husband was strategically positioned to catch close up photos. “You have to guess what it is before you can open it!” I said, handing Annemarie a simple gift bag. When the bag began ringing and vibrating, she almost dropped it in surprise. Shock and comprehension …
eBabies + iTeens + YouToo: See Mommy Text & Day 6 Giveaways
Today’s Great Giveaways! 3 CD Set, Let’s Get PURSE-onal!, Personality Puzzle for Parents of Preschoolers, and Raising a Reader By: Cheri Gregory In these 3 power-packed CDs, Cheri not only helps moms be better moms by understanding themselves but she also shares the primary goal and two major needs of each Personality type so moms can understand and relate to their children better. She also presents 2 parenting DOs and 2 parenting DON’Ts for each one personality type. And in Raising a Reader, Cheri helps moms develop a love for reading in their children. Just Enough Light for the Step I’m …
Pure Possibilities
Ephesians 5:3 states, “Among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” “Mom, is it even possible for me to grow up being sexually pure?” was the question my 13 year old son asked me that stopped me in my tracks. As we sat and talked, I was reminded of the real battle each of our sons and daughters have every day. The sexually tempting billboards along the roads, the relentless commercials flashing sensuality on TV, the constant drumming of sex …
eBabies + iTeens + YouToo: Questions About Kids and Technology
I first heard the term “Generation M” while reading the 2006 Time magazine article “The Multitasking Generation.” The explosion in technology, I soon discovered, brought with it dozens–even hundreds!–of new questions I needed to be asking as a parent. It’s easy to mistake kids’ technological sophistication for maturity. Parents and teachers often back way off because they feel like kids are so far ahead of them. But kids have no idea the kind of firepower they’re playing around with. Adult guidance and wisdom are not obsolete. Kids need us now more than ever. As part of an ongoing series called “eBabies …
To Homeschool or Not to Homeschool in the Summer
The theme song to a popular kids’ television show sings, “There’s a hundred and four days of summer vacation and school comes along just to end it.” That may or may not hold true for us homeschoolers. Since we have freedom to work with a much more flexible schedule than those in traditional school systems, we have a choice: to homeschool or not to homeschool during the summer months. I have been homeschooling since 2000. Over the years, we have worked our calendar a variety of ways. In the beginning, I worked an office job, so our dedicated school days …
I Want My Mommy… Still!
I remember it like it was yesterday. My mom had bought a television… FOR MY ROOM! That was a really big deal in 1976 and I was one excited teenage girl! But Mom had become a busy working woman whose priorities had changed. Not long after that gracious gift assumed its rightful place in the corner of my room, my mom and I had a big blow out. In the midst of the mayhem my sweet mom looked me in the eye and cried out, “Good grief, Stephanie! We bought you a television for your room! What more do you …
When parenting means… having a gentle answer
Some days, parenting is hard. That was my exhausted thought as I drove my daughter home from swim team one night. The whole day had been a battle. I can’t even remember as I write this what the issues were, but it just seemed like everything was a challenge that day. Maybe it was because we had a busy schedule and I was being impatient. Or maybe it was because she’s a pre-teen and she’s becoming more independent. Whatever the reason, I was frustrated. She was mad. And it was one of those days. There we were, driving along on …
Packing a Young Person’s Heart
Last Friday we took our daughter on a college visit. Serene lawns and still hallways echoed the time year: Spring Break. As we toured the campus, thoughts about our sweet girl’s future exploded in my mind like kernels in an air popper. I longed to see some students as evidence that when kids grow up they’re okay. But they were on Spring Break. Inside the dorms, our guide was kind (bold? crazy?) enough to show us several rooms where it looked like the Rapture had taken place. Books, guitars, clothes, pizza pans, and shoes littered the floors and beds. There …
Parenting Teens thru Spring Break
What will your teen do over Spring Break? Maybe you’re in the sippy cup years, looking ahead with fear and trembling to the Facebook years. How can we watch out for our teens in today’s world? Last night I feel asleep to the sound of laughter drifting upstairs from young women in our basement. Two are on the threshold of college; two others are are signed up for the ACT. All are counting the days ’til spring break. If the teen years are such a vibrant time of life, why do we dread parenting through it? You can prepare yourself …