“It’s not FAIR!” If you have parented for very long (and especially if you have more than one child), you have probably heard these words many times. There is something in all of us that wants life to be fair – especially in our favor. Your kids are no exception. They expect their parents to be fair and as they get older they will be somewhat dismayed that God does things they don’t consider fair either.
Fairness is a very difficult concept to explain to children. It does seem “fair” that good always wins, bad always loses, good things happen only to “good” people and bad things happen to “bad” people. How do you explain to your kids, (especially when they get to be teens) that God doesn’t promise fairness (in that sense) and that’s okay?
There are some basic principles your kids need to understand as you have these discussions about fairness and God. Most can be introduced even to young children and then expanded upon as your kids reach their teens.
Last week in 
Want to feel badly about your mothering skills? Attend a homeschooling conference. I felt like I was a fairly decent mother until I met a few of those uber moms. They homeschooled multiple children all while sewing their family’s clothes, running a farm and a side internet business and not only baked their own bread, but ground the flour to make the bread. Seriously?! There was no way I could do half of that and I was only homeschooling one child.
Have you ever noticed the best selling books for kids on sites like Amazon? Most have bright cheerful covers. The titles often promise there will be humor on the pages inside. Then take a look the next time you are in a bookstore at best selling books for teens and young adults. Suddenly, the books are filled with stories of last survivors, people fighting for their lives, vampires and other “dark” tales. Even the covers look depressing, with dark colors and dramatic drawings.
One of the best things you can do as a family is play games together. Family game time creates wonderful memories, encourages family bonding and can even help teach your child some godly principles. Professionally manufactured board games are expensive and you need to purchase one for every type of different game you might want to play with your kids.