Becky Kopitzke Archives - Page 3 of 5

When Fear Ruins All Your Fun

“I don’t want to go on that. It’s too high.” My five-year-old daughter tipped her chin toward the sky and squinted at the super potato sack slide. We were on a special family outing to the local amusement park—a surprise trip, which my husband and I anticipated our kids would love, love, love. We were wrong. “How about the race cars, then?” I suggested. “Do you want to ride those?” “No.” “The floaty boats?” “No.” “The ladybug buggies?” My daughter shook her head and stared at her shoes. I heaved a sigh and raised my eyebrows at my husband. “Come …

Teaching Gratitude to Ungrateful Children

Some things I vowed I’d never say to my children. Like this one. “Don’t waste those waffles, girls. Did you know there are kids starving in Africa??” “What?” My younger daughter, age four at the time, looked up at me and crinkled her nose. “In Africa. And all sort of other places around the world. Even here in our own country! Not all kids get to eat as much as you do.” “But I don’t want waffles! I wanted cereal!” My seven-year-old whined. “Too bad. Eat the waffles. Some children are lucky if they get a bowl of rice—and …

When Your Net is Empty, Keep on Fishing

Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I don’t call that insanity. I call it faith. There’s a story in the gospel of Luke where Jesus is sitting in Simon Peter’s boat speaking to a crowd along a lakeshore. When he finishes preaching, he tells Simon to put the boat out into deep water and let the nets down for a catch. “Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets’” (Luke 5:5). …

It Hurts Because I Love You

I dreaded this appointment for weeks. On the surface it was a routine wellness visit—height, weight, heartbeat, pick a sticker from the bucket. My kids have been through the doctor drill before. But this was a special rite of passage—the five-year checkup. Which meant kindergarten immunizations. Heaven help me. Shots are never fun. It’s hard enough to spring them on my babes when they’re tiny and oblivious, but dragging a 5-year-old to the doctor’s office for pre-K vaccines felt like walking the plank. She knew what was coming. And I was a conspirator in her misery. Whether you’re an …

Why You Shouldn’t Apologize for Loving Your Kids

“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it,” (Proverbs 22:6). Open enrollment is underway at local schools in my area, and it’s a crazy season for many moms. No really. School choices literally make us crazy. A few days ago I got a frantic text from a friend, asking how many days a week my daughter’s preschool meets. Turns out the only options in her town are either five days a week or full days, neither of which is ideal for her family. So naturally our conversation …

An Invitation to Make Christmas Matter

“Mom, I want that!” My daughter points to the television set. It’s a commercial for squishy sand. Batman Duplos. Scooters, Dora apps, a self-cleaning fish tank. The toys may change day by day, but the response is the same. “Mom, I want that—for Christmas!” It’s natural for a child to crave presents. And I do love giving gifts to my kids. But the gifts I long to give them aren’t just the toy store kind. Above all, I want my children to receive kindness, generosity, mercy and love—and to know how to pay them forward. Those are the true gifts …

7 Fun Indoor Birthday Parties for Kids

With colder weather blowing in, it’s time to start thinking about indoor activities for the kids. Parties in particular require some tricks up your sleeve if you’re hoping to keep a house full of children occupied. I know this firsthand. My family lives in Wisconsin, where snow covers the ground a good five months of the year or more. Since both of my daughters have winter birthdays, you can imagine we don’t sit around the pool eating cake. I am forever confined to hosting indoor, heated birthday parties. Over the years, I’ve discovered plenty of creative ideas for fun indoor …

Four Things I Will Not Tell My Kids

I stood in the corridor of my daughter’s dance studio waiting for ballet class to finish. The walls were lined with posters of kittens and violins and satin toe shoes, each displaying some cutesy motivational quote. If you dream it, you can do it. Nothing is impossible for you. Now is your time to shine! Do those words make you feel warm and fuzzy? Or, like me, do your raise your eyebrows? I’m all for building my children’s confidence. But there’s a big difference between puffing up and pointing up. Here are four popular statements you won’t hear me saying …

How to Conquer Your Child’s Fear of the Dark

BEFORE WE GET STARTED, WE WANT TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNER OF DR. GARY CHAPMAN’S AND ARLENE PELLICANE’S NEW BOOK, GROWING UP SOCIAL! DRUM ROLL PLEASE…. AND THE WINNER IS – Arianne de la Torre! Arianne de la Torre, you’ll be receiving an email from The M.O.M. Initiative today! CONGRATULATIONS! ———————————————————— S Supposedly a family of bears lives in my daughter’s closet. People-eating bears, I’m told. And when the bears take the night off, a monster steps in. Sometimes an alligator. Funny, but none of these critters show up when the sun is shining. (Silly Mom, bears are nocturnal. So are alligators. Sometimes I …

Motherhood Is Universal

She clutched a cranky toddler at her hip while her husband lugged a stroller up three bus steps. “Come on, buddy, find a seat!” She urged an unruly older brother, maybe four or five years old. Through her thick southern accent, I heard the unmistakable sound of tired. Make that tired-yet-trying-to-muster-patience. After all, we were in Disney World. It’s the happiest place on Earth. I chuckled under my breath as my husband hauled our own double stroller onto the bus. Our six-year-old climbed into a seat, so I wilted beside her and lifted our three-year-old onto my lap. She stuck …

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