Character Training – Page 68 – Parenting Like Hannah

5 Important Facial Expressions for Parents

5 Important Facial Expressions for Parents - Parenting Like Hannah If you were told the only food you could eat for the next week is your least favorite food, what expression would be on your face? You almost don’t need to think through the process of how to show the disgust you are feeling. After years of practice, it comes naturally when faced with an unpleasant situation.

Unfortunately, children often see expressions on the faces of their parents that can cause them unnecessary pain. Over the course of their childhood, these parental facial expressions can also mold your child’s character and self-image in positive or negative ways.

It is crucial for you to realize what expressions your face makes in certain situations and intentionally work to send the appropriate messages to your kids with your facial expressions as well as your words.

Here are five important facial expressions to use intentionally when interacting with your kids:

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4 Godly Things Your Child Can Learn From Having Good Sleep Habits

4 Godly Things Your Child Can Learn From Having Good Sleep Habits - Parenting Like Hannah If you have read many parenting blogs or books, one of the top areas of concern is how to get children to sleep well. There are a lot of reasons your kids may or may not be sleeping. Some are easily fixed, while others may require the help of your child’s pediatrician.

In general though, one important fact about your children’s sleep habits is true. You can’t force a child to fall asleep, but you can give boundaries for appropriate behavior during rest times and enforce them. I’m sure many of you are rolling your eyes at that last statement, but it’s true for all but the very youngest of children. You should be able to make and enforce reasonable rules for your children’s rest times, just like you do for other areas of their life.

Doing so may take some extra effort on your part at first – especially when they are transitioning to a new bed or bedroom. It’s really important to do so though. Your kids learn four important godly things when you make and enforce good rules for rest times.

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Teaching Kids How to Help Others In Crisis

Teaching Kids How to Help Others In Crisis - Parenting Like Hannah If you volunteer in your child’s school, Church Bible classes or even their extracurricular activities, you have probably realized there are entirely too many children living in crisis. Often, these children will never turn to an adult for help. Instead, they will share their concerns, fears and problems with a peer.

If your children are loving, kind and supportive in their interactions with other kids, they may be the ones to whom these hurting children turn. Unfortunately, no matter how mature and godly your kids may be, they just don’t have the training and life experience to handle this vital task fully.

You can however, teach your kids some important Christian Life Skills that will help them step in and give their peers some hope and direction while facing life’s problems. So what are the skills most children should be able to handle when trying to help a peer? Here are some of my favorites.

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Christian Kids and Board Games

Christian Kids and Board Games - Parenting Like Hannah When our daughter was younger, we played lots of board games. Over the years, the games changed as we moved from CandyLand (one of the happiest days of my life!) to Monopoly to the challenging family and friend games my husband now invents. I also began to realize these days and nights of game playing helped us teach and reinforce many lessons on godly behavior.

The great thing about board games is that you can often find them at yard sales for a couple of dollars. Many families may be willing to give or loan you some of their old board games. In fact, some older versions of games are an interesting look back at how popular culture has changed over the decades. You can also create your own games with some poster board or your computer.

Once you have your board games, what lessons can your kids learn from them about how God wants them to live their lives?

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Fun Ways to Use Jigsaw Puzzles to Teach Kids About God

Fun Ways to Use Jigsaw Puzzles to Teach Kids About God - Parenting Like Hannah If your young child attends Sunday School, you have probably seen jigsaw puzzles depicting various stories in the Bible. There are a lot of other ways to use almost any jigsaw puzzle to teach your kids about God, His principles and/or His commands.

The best puzzles to use are often those with 50 or less pieces – especially floor puzzles. The pieces are larger in a floor puzzle, but if you can write small and your children can read fairly well, a regular sized puzzle piece will work just as well. (I would avoid those mini-puzzles for most of these activities.) The “picture” side of the puzzle is not extremely important, but I do prefer photographs of beautiful things or “Bible” puzzles. Although it’s not crucial, I just tend to stay away from cartoon and fictional characters if I can because of my goal of instilling the truth (versus fictional) position of the Bible.

Here are some of my favorite ways to use jigsaw puzzles in faith training:

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