Overprotected Kids <- click here
Good article on overprotective parenting. Would love to know what all of you think after reading the article. Here is one quote that caught my attention
“our fear of children being harmed,” mostly in minor ways, “may result in more fearful children and increased levels of psychopathology.”
BTW I really want to build one of the playgrounds in the article
Still Learning from Mr. Rogers
I think most of us over the age of 30 are familiar with Mr. Rogers. His message was simple: you are special, you are lovable. This article is a great reminder of what he stood for and there are lessons in his quotes that all parents can learn from. Enjoy a little flashback to your childhood. (click the blue link to read the article)
“There’s been a recent backlash against how frequently this generation has heard that it’s “special,” and maybe some of that is deserved. But when Mr. Rogers called you special, it didn’t feel like entitlement or mindless praise. It felt more like a responsibility—like he was reminding you to live up to something.”
This is an article that my uncle posted on Facebook. It from Forbes Magazine, so it is not written from a Christian perspective but it is filled with a lot of truth. Let me know your thoughts.
Raising a Generation on Helpless Kids (-Click the blue link to read the article)
I have seen this article posted several times on Facebook. One of the people who posted it is my Dad who is a high school teacher in the town I grew up in, he says the problem with helpless kids and over functioning parents is rampant andI tend to agree.
How are we as Christian parents called to raise our Children? The most important part of our job is always going to point our children toward Christ making sure they know they have a God who loves them and wants to know them. After that I believe our job is to raise children who can join God in his work of making this earthly kingdom a better place. If we raise a bunch of children who are not independent, who can think for themselves, fight for themselves, and be self motivated, how are they going to be effective in being a part of God’s kingdom work.
My favorite line from this article is: “We need to become velvet bricks,” Elmore says, “soft on the outside and hard on the inside and allow children to fail while they are young in order to succeed when they are adults.” That is some good advice.
Pop culture can give us great insight into world, in particular the world of teens. Walt Mueller is a writer/blogger who I have mentioned before on this blog. He is some I have a great deal of respect for. Above is a link to his review of the movie Thirteen, which is ten years old but still gives us a look inside some of the struggles of middle school girls. Walt’s review of the movie Thirteen is spot on, and is a guide to some of the most important points of the movie. . It is a movie you should put on your watch list, there is great insight in that movie about the struggles and emotions our teenagers face on a day to day basis.
Walt also suggests a few other movies that you should watch:
Breakfast Club (I can’t believe anyone out there hasn’t seen this movie)
Dead Poets Society (It is on my personal top ten list)
Little Miss Sunshine (amazing movie, Alan Arkin’s character is all time favorite)
Here a few movie and TV shows I suggest:
–Friday Night Lights the TV series (My all-time favorite show, don’t let the football keep you from watching, it is about so much more that football)
–Mean Girls (funny and insightful)
–Easy A (intelligent, smart, not your typical teen comedy, you will learn a bit about the moral compass of teenagers)
–Empire Records (The huge cast gives you a look at many of the struggles teenagers go through. The movies wraps up a little to neatly but it has an amazing soundtrack)
This list is certainly incomplete, do you have any movies or TV shows that give a look into what it the life of a teenager? I would love to see the movies, shows or even songs you would suggest.
A Conversation Between a Father and Son.
This is a link to blog post written by Nate Pyle, who is a friend of Jess and I.
Teaching our sons how to respect, treat, and see women is important to Jess and I, this article reminded me just how vital that is.
Nate’s blog has recently gained a lot of attention, this article was even featured on the Huffington Post. I highly recommend following Nate’s blog, his posts are always insightful and well written. Please click on the link and read the article. I would love have a conversation about the article, please leave your comments.
Would you send your kid to a college that didn’t allow cell phones?
I found this to be a very interesting article. So I ask would you send your kid to a school that didn’t allow cell phones? Why or why not?
This article is about signs at a Chicago area at youth sports fields. It is a good reminder to all of us that we should just let our kids play and enjoy watching them. I attended a lot of sporting events, I coached high school sports for several years and now coach my son’s little league team and the one constant at all sporting events are parents who take it far too seriously. Their serious attitude almost always goes to the point to they make fools of themselves and embarrass their children. The sign in the article is a humorous way to remind those types of parents what sports is about.
What a great article about bringing young children to church. Many of the same things could be said about bringing teens to church. It is hard to get them out of bed, they seem bored, but they have so much to benefit from being part of a worshiping community.
Could you do this? Could you focus on being anti-franctic so that you could become better at being present with your kids? Click the blue link above to read the article.
Standale Reformed Parents 