I was reading a blog by Matt Appling in which he wrote about parenting. Though he is an awesome school teacher and pastor, it's something he's never done.
Instead of becoming a serial commenter on his post (3 or more comments on one post - you know like a serial killer: one that has killed 3 or more people), I decided to finish my thoughts in a blog.
Everyone has had some experience with kids. We were once kids, most of us had childhood friends, maybe we are aunts or uncles, and a number of my readers have kids; some grand-kids!
There is nothing like being a parent!
I like what Dr. Phil says. "we are not raising kids, we are raising adults." That is the part that Matt got right, and articulated in his typical, but gently sarcastic style. What are the barriers to getting kids (and Christians) to grow up?
-1 Poop: That's right, in the hands of an infant, it is tool to control us. You think your done, and then you find out grandpa gave the kids like two pounds of green grapes. You have to carry a bag to care of the child's poop needs which is bigger than most handbags.
-2 Toys: The more stuff kids have, the less interested they are in others. As long as there is entrainment, relationship can take a back seat. If the toys are really engaging, it is unlikely that they will even notice another person in the room. Toys stifle creativity, slow the process of learning (even educational toys can).
-3 Whining and Crying: This is not exclusive to kids and church meetings, but that is where it starts. And if it produces results, it is unlikely to ever stop!
-4 Permissiveness: Maybe you are just too tired to tell them to stop sassing you, or too busy to monitor the Internet. As a parent you cannot be their friend or you lose the ability to discipline. Maybe they are at a friend's house where you haven't even met the parents yet. Possibly you just let them watch whatever they want because "everyone else is doing it." Parenting is for adults.
-5 Overprotection: Until I was 7- or 8-years-old, cars didn't have seat belts! I am still here. I am not saying it was the safest, I am saying that there were risks to life, and there still are. I only knew one kid that was not allowed to play sports, he was hemophiliac, it is really was for his own safety. The rest of us messed around in the woods, rode bikes, played rough sports with a minimum of equipment. We walked a mile to town and back and rode the school bus for years! At 6 I was getting off the bus with my brothers and hanging out until mom got home from work. Kids need to earn trust in different situations.
-5 1/2 The Notion that Christian Kids have a Junior Holy Spirit!
Instead of becoming a serial commenter on his post (3 or more comments on one post - you know like a serial killer: one that has killed 3 or more people), I decided to finish my thoughts in a blog.
Everyone has had some experience with kids. We were once kids, most of us had childhood friends, maybe we are aunts or uncles, and a number of my readers have kids; some grand-kids!
There is nothing like being a parent!
I like what Dr. Phil says. "we are not raising kids, we are raising adults." That is the part that Matt got right, and articulated in his typical, but gently sarcastic style. What are the barriers to getting kids (and Christians) to grow up?
-1 Poop: That's right, in the hands of an infant, it is tool to control us. You think your done, and then you find out grandpa gave the kids like two pounds of green grapes. You have to carry a bag to care of the child's poop needs which is bigger than most handbags.
-2 Toys: The more stuff kids have, the less interested they are in others. As long as there is entrainment, relationship can take a back seat. If the toys are really engaging, it is unlikely that they will even notice another person in the room. Toys stifle creativity, slow the process of learning (even educational toys can).
-3 Whining and Crying: This is not exclusive to kids and church meetings, but that is where it starts. And if it produces results, it is unlikely to ever stop!
-4 Permissiveness: Maybe you are just too tired to tell them to stop sassing you, or too busy to monitor the Internet. As a parent you cannot be their friend or you lose the ability to discipline. Maybe they are at a friend's house where you haven't even met the parents yet. Possibly you just let them watch whatever they want because "everyone else is doing it." Parenting is for adults.
-5 Overprotection: Until I was 7- or 8-years-old, cars didn't have seat belts! I am still here. I am not saying it was the safest, I am saying that there were risks to life, and there still are. I only knew one kid that was not allowed to play sports, he was hemophiliac, it is really was for his own safety. The rest of us messed around in the woods, rode bikes, played rough sports with a minimum of equipment. We walked a mile to town and back and rode the school bus for years! At 6 I was getting off the bus with my brothers and hanging out until mom got home from work. Kids need to earn trust in different situations.
-5 1/2 The Notion that Christian Kids have a Junior Holy Spirit!
Comments
#2 - I see that in my little cousins. They're 6 and 7, have ipod touches and they all have cracked screens because they get that stuff all the time. It's like there's a sense of entitlement. But that's not my monster to worry about.
Don't get me started on #5, now it's against the law to not wear seatbelts. It's like getting pulled over because the "M" in MD on your tag is covered!
Thanks for the shoutout of my blog! Have a great weekend.
nicodemusatnite.com
Your blog is one of the 3 1/2 that I follow.
@Andrea - I am doing OK. i have hat a couple of set backs, but scheduled to return to work at the end of May. Until then, I live life as best I can on disability.
Thanks to both of you for your continued readership!
A note on toys - even though I said we wouldn't we still have accumulated a massive amount of toys for our daughter. I will say almost all are gifts (blame the grandmas)- but my point is that anything can be a toy - that's the beauty of children.