Lazy parents urged to read

"Lazy parenting is resulting in children starting school
developmentaly disadvantaged because
they watch too much TV instead of playing or being read to.

A neuro-psychologist in the UK, Sally Goddard Blythe,
researched the link between children
who missed out on simple childhood activites
and those who started school with learning problems.

She found many toddlers
were watching 4.5 hours of TV a day instead of playing,
and went on to school
with poor emotional development and motor skills."

Quoted from the Sunday Telegraph 19.6.2011

Clean as you go . . .

One of my keys to managing my day with toddlers was

'clean as you go'.

This not only gave me a relatively clean house by the evening,
it provided lots and lots of incidental moments
to teach patience to my little ones. 

I would pack away the cereal, milk and spreads immediately
so only had a few dishes to wash at the end of breakfast
and with a quick wipe down of the bench we were done.

Part of getting ready for the day included putting pyjamas 
under their pillow and making their bed so I would hover and do
a few minutes of tidying in their room while they worked on this
(and straightened out the doona at the end of their effort!)

Room time would always end with me helping them
put their toys in the right place
so there was no big mess to come back to later.

One-on-one time and craft time included setting up
and packing up together which sometimes meant my
toddler would sit and tell me a story for a few minutes
while I did the final clean up.

During outside play I would get a few bigger cleaning jobs
done uninterrupted and make a start on dinner preparations.

Morning outside play time would likewise end with a shared
packing up time, and I have fond memories of myself
sweeping the sand one way
and my little ones helpfully sweeping it the other way!

For lunch, I would pop them in their highchair or booster seat
and make the lunch and clean up before givng it to them.
This provided a few minutes of patience practice and again meant
a very quick clean up at the end. Reading time straight after lunch
was a great focusing activity for my toddlers, and a little break for me too!

Likewise, I cleaned as I went for the afternoon activities.

Doing a little bit at a time throughout the day
meant that most nights I had very little to tidy up.
My husband came home to a relatively tidy house and our
evenings were free to relax rather than work.

I love being efficient with my time and try and double it whenever
I can - cleaning and training at the same time was most rewarding!

To be a Mother is a Call to Suffer

I remember hearing a sermon a few years ago by John Piper with the title 'To be a Mother is a Call to Suffer'. It made an impact on me at the time, and some of it came back to me in the middle of the night last night:


How do you handle the setbacks, the disappointments, the abuses, the heartaches, the calamities, the bitter providences of your life? And I ask it specifically to mothers, because to be a mother is a call to suffer. When Jesus looked for an analogy of suffering followed by joy, he said (in John 16:21), "Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world."

To be a mother is a call to suffer. Not just at the beginning of life, but also at the end. Simeon said to Mary, Jesus' mother, "Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed – and a sword will pierce even your own soul" (Luke 2:34-35). Mothers suffer when their children are born. Mothers suffer when children leave them and go to the mission field. Mothers suffer when their children die. Mothers suffer when their children are foolish. "A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother" (Proverbs 10:1). To be a mother is a call to suffer. Oh yes, it's more. But it's not less.

(taken from 168hoursblog.com.au)

Peaceful Sunday Afternoon

My 13-year-old son spent Sunday afternoon building a raft.

Adventurous,

challenging,

messy,

complicated,

absorbing,

and fun.

It was delightful watching the (failed) launch and
totally undaunted, hearing his immediate plans
for raft number two already on the next weekend.

(Reading this over my shoulder just now he smiled and said
"Yes, it was fun and oh I have this great idea for next time . . .")

Strong-willed toddler?

Tough,
determined,
focused
and
persistent.

Describes your toddler?

Be
calm,
firm,
gentle
and
consistent.

You will reap a harvest of virute.