Search Results for: blog stop doing for your kids what they can do for themselves

Kids Today Aren’t Assigned Chores

Do you require your children to do chores? I don’t mean the occasional request to help with a little bit of cleaning. Instead, I mean regularly assigned tasks that you expect your child to complete on a daily or weekly basis. It appears that the majority of parents today are not assigning chores to their children. A survey conducted by Whirlpool found that 82% of Americans did chores when they were children. That same survey found that only 28% of parents today are assigning their children chores. What changed between today and when the current generation of parents were kids? … Continue reading →

The Horror of Cyber Bullying

I read a story today of a 15 year old girl who committed suicide this week because of the relentless bullying she was getting both at school and online. A month before her death she posted a youtube video sharing her story in hopes that it would help someone else going through the same thing. I’m not sure why her story stuck with me so much, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it all night. This girl was absolutely beautiful and incredibly talented, yet even in death, there were many cruel comments posted on the video. I … Continue reading →

Score One for the Kids

Since becoming a parent I try very hard not to judge other moms and dads. However, there are some things that I simply cannot reconcile being done to children regardless of circumstances: severe beatings, starvation, mental abuse… and leaving a kid alone in a vehicle. I realize that many, many parents routinely leave their children unattended in vehicles during quick pit stops at stores, the post office, gas station or when picking up older kids at school. I once met a mom who left her 6-month-old strapped in an infant carrier in the back seat of her vehicle while she … Continue reading →

Things You Just Get Over With Another Baby

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I just added baby number 3 to my bunch. It’s been a whirlwind the past 3 1/2 months as we all get used to this new bundle, and as I, the mama, get used to having three kids!! It seems like so many people to raise. And, to some it is, but to other Moms, my little trio of children probably doesn’t seem like any trouble at all. I love this picture of my three little ones. It’s perfection in my mind. It’s real motherhood. It was 10 am and we were all still in PJs and baby brother was … Continue reading →

Things You Shouldn’t Say

There are certain things that one should never say to the parent of a child who has special needs. This little piece of compassionate wisdom seems lost on some people, however. For reasons that I cannot fathom, some people just feel the need to “share” their misguided opinions at the most inopportune of moments. It has happened to every parent of a child that has special needs. Your child has very loud “meltdown” in a public place, and everyone turns around to stare. As if the stares weren’t bad enough, there are some people who are heartless enough to make … Continue reading →

Seeing Cancer Everywhere!!

Prior to my diagnosis I never really heard from people that they knew of someone or they themselves had cancer. It seems everywhere I turn there is someone knew with the diagnosis. I really don’t know if it is that more people are getting cancer, that people are more willing to talk about it or if they are just willing to talk about it because they have heard that I too am a cancer patient. I am not quite sure when a person turns from being a cancer patient to being a cancer survivor. My oncologist tells me that you … Continue reading →

Your Kids: Your Best Pieces of Evidence

We’ve all been there—someone finds out you homeschool, and they question your decision. Sometimes they are genuinely curious, sometimes they are looking for reasons to debate. Regardless of their intent, we know we need to answer them calmly and reasonably—no reason to add fuel to a fire they may have because of past negative interactions with another homeschooler. We’ve memorized some statistics and we feel ready to answer any questions that might come our way. We’ve prepared answers from an educational standpoint, from a spiritual standpoint, and we might even have scribbled key words on the cuffs of our sleeves … Continue reading →

Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before…

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All parents work hard at being a parent. It’s not easy to give up hours of sleep because your child needed you, and then head into work the next morning. It can be frustrating to have your child going through a “difficult stage”, no matter if that stage is due to age, personality, or just the result of a really bad day. When your child is in a public place, and behaving in ways that make people stop and stare, it can be completely embarrassing, for you, the parent. These are the moments when you are going to be the … Continue reading →

When Quiet Time Isn’t Working

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I’ve been lucky because up until about 4 or 5 months ago, my 4 year old was still napping everyday. She has definitely outgrown the naps. Occasionally when she is really tired she will lay down and take one, but that time is rare. Since I also have a toddler that still naps, we are in the house during nap time still. I have explained to my daughter that nap time is now quiet time for both her and Mommy. The rules of our new “quiet time” are that she has to stay in her room, and play quietly or … Continue reading →

Why teenagers? Do you have any idea what you’re getting yourself into?!

The initial response received from others when announcing that you are planning to adopt varies widely. I have heard the occasional “That’s wonderful!” And that’s nice. We’re not doing this for praise, but it is nice when others can be supportive; whether it’s the reason for doing something or not, everyone likes to get a positive response to news shared with friends and family. However, what I most often hear, especially when we add that we are adopting teenagers, is more along the lines of “why?”… “Do you know how difficult that is going to be?”… “Do you have any … Continue reading →