Family

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How Do We Teach Healthy Values To Our Kids?

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If you were to Google ”parents’ values” or ask other parents on Facebook what are the best values to teach our children you will get a list that looks something like this.

1. Humility
2. Respect
3. Kindness
4. Honesty
5. Courage
6. Perseverance
7. Self-discipline
8. Compassion
9. Generosity
10. Dependability

We would agree that’s a good list but a list isn’t the hard part; practicing the list is the hard part. Printing the list and hanging it on the refrigerator is easy. We have done similar things as parents. When a list is visible, it can serve as a reminder and help prompt you to make better, wiser choices, and I understand that.

However, simply memorizing a list

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This Is The Biggest Obstacle Facing Today's Modern Family & What To Do About It

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Below is a chart put together by Stephen Von Worley showing the original 8 colors produced by Crayola in 1903 through the many choices they offered in 2010. According to his math, Crayola will have over 330 choices by 2050. Here is the question, “Do we need 330 colors or will 8 do?” The answer may be different for everyone and that’s my point.

 

The biggest obstacle facing today’s modern family is too many choices.


A question I like to ask parents when speaking at family or parenting events is this, “Is it easier to raise kids today or was it easier to raise kids 20 years ago?” The overwhelming answer is,

7 Ways To Create Family Connections

Creating family connections isn’t always easy with our schedules so I thought I would throw out a quick process and a few ideas that will help family’s connect at least once everyday for the next 7 days.


Number 1

Monday: Just before bedtime, read aloud Ephesians 5:15-16 together as a family; then pray this prayer. “God, help us to be careful with our time. Give us wisdom as a family to know how to make the best use of our time together. Amen”


Number 2

Tuesday: Invite each family member to tell

11 Phrases To Get Your Kids Talking

One of the most important things you can do with your family is eat together. The reasons?

  • It Gets the Family Sitting
  • It Gets the Family Connecting
  • It Gets the Family Talking

When we first started having our family eat together on a consistent basis it wasn’t as easy as we thought it would be. We started with three strong willed, openly opinionated and verbally blessed children around the table. On the first attempt we met with some resistance. “Why are we doing this?” “Are we in trouble?” “What’s the point?” These were just a few of the

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Video Games And Violence - Is There A Connection?

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There are a few questions I frequently get from city to city when doing parenting conferences. Here are a few of them.

“How old should my child be before I give them a cell phone?”
“How much time should my kids spend online?”
“What should I do when my child tells me no?”
“Does every teenage girl roll their eyes at their mother?”
“What is your opinion on violent video games?”

When parents ask about video games, especially certain games like Halo, Call of Duty, GTA (Grand Theft Auto) I do have an an opinion and a few thoughts about these games.

There has been a lot of research done on the topic of video games and their link yo criminal and aggressive behavior in children and teens. Before you read further let me say that the research may surprise you.

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3 Things You Should Never Give Your Kids

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3 Things You Should Never Give Your Kids

One of my greatest memories growing up was a certain Christmas where I got the perfect trifecta of gifts! When I was seven I got an erector set, a wood burning kit and lawn darts! Can you imagine an ADD kid with lawn darts?

Now, especially during this season, we think more about giving gifts than not giving gifts but I would like to suggest three things that we should not give our kids this season. 5 gifts if you include lawn darts and a wood burning kit.

 

1. Never Give Up

Parenting is tough. It isn’t an easy road and it’s a never ending journey. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an amazing journey and a joyful road

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How to Find Family PEACE In A Season of Hurry

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Here are five ideas that will help all of us find Family PEACE this season.


P - Plan Ahead

Easy to say and hard to do, I understand. I don’t plan ahead well however, my wife does and there are times I ask her for help. I like what Proverbs 21:5 says from The Message, “Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry puts you further behind.” Use your calendar and communicate to everyone. Planning ahead will bring peace today and worry away.

 

E - Expect Less

Someone recently asked me at a parenting conference, “What;s the secret to a happy family?” The response I blurted out, “Low Expectations.” Lol. As I