Children Bedtime Rituals

Children bedtime rituals

Children bedtime ritualsChildren Bedtime Rituals

 

You’ve heard it time and again, but it’s true…!  The children don’t stay little long and before you know it, their off on their own.  Embrace the time you have with your little ones.  That’s easy to say and much harder to do as you deal with 2 and 3 year old antics. Yet, continue to tell yourself, it IS worth it. Consider some bedtime rituals. My older children have told me that they especially loved the nights after the lights were out, when I would go in, lie on their bed and just talk with them.  Actually, I mostly listened and let them pour out their hearts to me.  There is something about that time of night, lights out, alone with mom, that really gets them talking. I found that the children wanted this ritual even as they got older. They really enjoyed when I would take turns asking each of them (if more than one child was in the room) the same question such as “What made you laugh today?”  “What would you love to have for dinner if you could have anything?” “Do you know my mom and dad’s name?” “Tell me the name of two continents.” “Would you rather me scratch your back, play with your hair, or rub your feet?” But mostly they just wanted to talk about their day.

Functional Family Elements

family

familyFamilyFunctional Family Elements

At one point in my life I had the following 12 ideas taped to the wall in my bedroom. I had each one printed on a tacky colored paper. It was definitely an eyesore…but I read them frequently. There is so much value in each thought below.

1. There is an inviting, comfortable, loving atmosphere in the home and in the company of the family. HAVE A HOME THAT FEELS GOOD.  You know those homes the kids friends want to be in.

2. Parents offer their children all of their love and support without worrying about the outcomes of their parenting.

3.Parents in a functional family, parent consciously and intentionally.

4.Parents are very aware of the impact they have on their children.

5. Parents understand that the family is the best place to address basic human needs.

6. In functional families, relationships are of supreme importance.

7. In functional families parents are teachers.

8. Functional parents have clearly defines rules and responsibilities that they mutually agree upon.

9. Functional parents exhibit strong and confident leadership and are passionate about their responsibilities as parents.

10. Functional families realize that they do not need to be perfect.

11. Functional families like to play and have fun together.

12. Functional families make their home a gospel school.

(The ideas listed above came from a family life course I took from BYU.)

 

 

 

 

Parent Payback

parent payback
parent payback

parent payback

Parent Payback

Every once in a while, don’t you just bask in the parent payback?  Sometimes it doesn’t come around as much as I would like it to!  But, if you are lucky it may come. I was reading through some of my old journal entries and found one that almost made me giggle. My little pre-teen can be quite volatile in his moods these days and will act like I pretty much just bug him. This is what he said to me about a year and a half ago, “Mom, I feel bad for kids that don’t have you for a mom, don’t you?”  I am hoping that maybe, possibly, hopefully he still feels that on occasion:).

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