Author: Thereasa Winnett

Thereasa Winnett is the founder of Teach One Reach One and blogger at Parenting Like Hannah. She holds a BA in education from the College of William and Mary. She has served in all areas of ministry to children and teens for more than thirty years and regularly leads workshops for ministries and churches. She has conducted numerous workshops, including sessions at Points of Light’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service, the National Urban Ministry Conference, Pepperdine Bible Lectures, and Lipscomb’s Summer Celebration. Thereasa lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband Greg, where she enjoys reading, knitting, traveling and cooking.

Mothering From Scratch

Mothering From Scratch - Parenting Like Hannah Isn’t it interesting one of, if not the most important job in the world comes with little or no training? For all of the jokes of a “Mom manual”, there really isn’t one official training program to help new moms. So, we take the few classes suggested by our ob/gyn and read one of those “What to Expect” books. Really proactive (or possibly neurotic in my case) parents may even read a book on Christian parenting. Then that precious little one appears on the scene.

Funny how our daughter must not have read the parenting book whose authors were convinced she would love napping from the beginning. Google (okay she was slightly pre-Google) couldn’t explain why our precious infant insisted on screaming bloody murder at the same time. Every night. For weeks on end. Even the most prepared parent feels off kilter for a great bit of the parenting journey.

Which was why I was interested when asked to review a brand new book called Mothering From Scratch: Finding the Best Parenting Style for You and Your Family by Melinda Means and Kathy Helgemo. The authors do a wonderful job of covering a lot of topics many parenting books skip entirely. Whether it is acknowledging your personality type as a part of parenting , scheduling your dream fulfillment or examining your priorities and your own mother’s parenting, the authors cover a lot of new ground.

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When Your Kids Think They’re Smarter Than You

When Your Kids Think They're Smarter Than You - Parenting Like Hannah It starts innocently enough. A teacher in school teaches your child something you have long since forgotten. You are too lazy to look up how to do the special shortcut on your phone or the meaning of the newest acronym. Suddenly, your children begin to believe they may just be smarter and wiser than their rapidly aging parents.

The first signs are often deep sighs accompanied by eye rolls. You can hear the exasperation in their tone as they impatiently explain probably for the SECOND time how to accomplish the ever so simple task you obviously are unable to master. Suddenly, everything you say is suspect. If Mom can’t master such a simple task, how can she possibly know what’s best for me in my complex social situation? Or how to add triple digit numbers? Forget about anything cultural or spiritual. Surely, any information she can share is from the dark ages before Apple.

If you have been a parent for very long, you probably have or will see signs of this in your children from time to time. Some of you may see it multiple times on a daily basis. Most parents internally roll their own eyes and think, “Life will knock you down a peg or two and then you’ll come running back to me for advice.” And they are probably right – to a point.

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Teaching Kids Service Begins at Home

Let’s be honest. Every child has the potential for beginning to believe you, Mom, are their personal servant. No matter, how much we make them do chores or serve others outside of the home, even the sweetest, most loving, generous child would often rather be served than to serve.

Christian parents will often turn themselves inside out making sure their children are involved in serving the Church and their communities in hopes of raising a child with a servant heart. Unfortunately, I have seen children and teens who will haul boulders in broiling heat for strangers and then will go home and become the most selfish, demanding task master to their mother and siblings.

You see the trick to true, godly service is that it comes from the heart. Not a heart that feels momentary pity and wants the “high” of helping others. No, godly service comes from a heart full of love for others. A heart willing to put the needs of others before the wants of itself. A heart that loves the pauper as much as the prince. A heart willing to serve mom, dad and siblings as much as total strangers.

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Choosing Christian Books for Kids

Choosing Christian Books for Kids - Parenting Like Hannah A quick glance at the dark content of many books marketed to kids and teens today may drive you to your local Christian bookstore to find a better alternative. Most of us probably assume because a book is sold by a Christian bookstore it is automatically a great book for our kids to read. Unfortunately, bookstores don’t have the staff or time to vet every book they sell. Often they depend upon publishers known to specialize in religious books to do some sort of vetting before agreeing to publish a “Christian” book.

After a couple of years of reviewing Christian books, I will tell you it is important to be very aware of the content of Christian books marketed to children and teens. Most are perfectly fine and as good or better than secular alternatives. A few teach a theology so far removed from mainstream Christianity as to be almost unrecognizable as Christian by most. A larger number are okay, but can be confusing to small children or introduce topics at potentially inappropriate ages.

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Christian Character Traits for Kids

Christian parents often ask, “What are the character traits I should teach my children?” Even if you reduce your research to just the New Testament, the options can seem overwhelming. As with anything you attempt to teach your children, it is important not to try and work on too many things too deeply at one time. If your children are toddlers, it is a great time to start introducing basic ideas in simple statements. If you have been working with older children, but feel there are some gaps, you may want to focus on correcting and changing one or two bad habits or attitudes at a time.

So what areas should be your primary focus? I am sure you can find lots of different lists, but I believe these are some of the foundational character traits your child must possess in order to be the Christian God wants them to be:

Obedience – As politically incorrect as the idea of obedience may be today, it is absolutely essential your child can obey. Being a Christian revolves around our obedience to God. (Yes, I know we can’t earn our way to heaven, but God commands our obedience.) There are actually two types of obedience you need to teach your child. First, whenever possible, teach your child the “why’s” behind God’s commands and yours. Teach them godly commands protect us from negative consequences and often provide some sort of blessing (If nothing else the blessing of a lack of negative consequences in your life.). Perhaps the most important type of obedience your child must learn to embrace is immediate, unquestioning obedience. There are times when your child must obey God and/or you immediately without questioning and perhaps without ever really understanding why the command is given. If your child begins to dart in front of a car, immediate obedience to your command to stop can save his life. If you do not teach your child to obey you and ultimately God as a child, his likelihood of obeying God in adulthood are dramatically reduced.

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