Search Results for: blog what i learned from my childs pain

Lessons Learned the Hard Way

I think one of the most difficult things to do as a parent of a teen is watch your child have to learn things the hard way. But honestly, sometimes it is the only way for life lessons to be taught. In fact, some of the greatest lessons and opportunities for growth come through challenging times. Yet they are very painful, as I recently expressed in my blog, “What I Learned from my Child’s Pain.” It isn’t easy to convey what is in my heart without completely divulging my daughter’s personal business, so I will definitely have to tow the … Continue reading →

If I Didn’t Homeschool My Kids

If I had a dollar for every time someone said, “If you didn’t homeschool your kids, you would have more time for”… They always finish that sentence with something that serves them, or something that they thought was more worthwhile. I quit my Tae Kwon Do training when the instructor outright told me to put my kids back in school so I could spend more time volunteering at the center. I have stopped speaking to “friends” who told me homeschooling came in between our relationships. I have had to tell relatives that they their comments were selfish. Sometimes, even I … Continue reading →

Adults Can Get Fifth Disease, Too

Did you know that while most adults have been exposed to the paravirus that causes Fifth Disease (also called Fifths Disease), not all are immune. In fact, adults can get Fifth Disease, and the symptoms can be different and more severe than those that appear in children. Furthermore, Fifth Disease is often hard to diagnose in adults, not only because there are different symptoms, but also because most physicians won’t be likely to test for it. I found this out first hand, after a pretty scary couple of weeks. On the first day that I really noticed anything, I woke … Continue reading →

Crushed

I am that mom. The mom whose heart breaks every time she sees her child in pain. The mom who feels just as bad watching another mother’s child hurt. After all, once you join the sorority of motherhood then another mother’s pain is your pain. I felt that way reading Stephanie’s blog about her daughter’s recent heartbreak. Fortunately, her daughter’s pain was temporary, but from what I could gather, Stephanie’s ache lingers. I am that mom. The mom who regularly thinks the grass is always greener in another mom’s yard. Only, after reading Stephanie’s post I was suddenly cured on … Continue reading →

Tips for Married Life After Baby

Yesterday we looked at how some new Moms abdicate from normal life when baby arrives. Here are helpful tips and ways we went about preventing this. From the time my children were born, I got them used to noise. The radio or music was always on. We never tiptoed round the house when baby was asleep. They learned to get used to everyday noise. I still went out to tennis, to bible study, to whatever I was involved in. Our daughter was five days old when my husband and I took her to Sunday school with us, where we were … Continue reading →

Children Who Can’t Trust

When an infant has a need (such as the need for nourishment) which is not met, there is a big emotional response. That’s because the stakes are so great. If the child isn’t nourished, he will die. So he makes his needs known rather dramatically, crying and thrashing about. If this emotional response eventually brings him the sustenance he needs, he begins learning to trust. He discovers that when he is vulnerable, someone in his life will respond lovingly. As the child grows and develops, trust continues to build as the cycle repeats over and over again. For example, the … Continue reading →

Role Play Can Help Children With Social Issues

Having watched three children almost grow up, I have to say that dealing with socialization and social issues is one of the most difficult and painful ongoing lessons of childhood. Different kids respond to the challenges of social interactions differently and some of the toughest lessons are learned from situations we parents have virtually no control over. We can help our kids with those lessons, however, and one of the ways we can help is through role play and discussing what could and can be done. Of course, older kids are probably not going to want to “role play” but … Continue reading →

Designing A Versatile Kids Room

In previous blogs I detailed the work that went into transforming my daughter’s nursery into a “big girl’s room.” It was not as labor intensive or as expensive as I thought it would be. As a result, I’m thinking of updating it again soon. My daughter will be turning three in a few weeks and while she is not a very tall child, her toddler bed doesn’t seem to accommodate her… well, let’s just call it… active sleeping. Basically, she’s a roller. Some nights are better than others, but for the most part she has a hard time sleeping in … Continue reading →

More Toddler Room Decorating Tips

A few months ago I detailed the makeover we gave our daughter’s bedroom. The transformation from nursery to toddler’s room was made with careful planning and a lot of input from our daughter. (She may be a toddler, but she voices her opinions like a teenager.) Little did I know that our day’s worth of labor would simply be the start of what has turned into a multi-month long project that’s still a work in progress. Since my last blog my daughter has acquired a freestanding puppet theater, a plastic ball pit and another kid-size table and two matching chairs. … Continue reading →