It happened again today. The morning shows on television were trumpeting the results of some new study “proving” the quality of the time spent with children is more important than the quantity of time. These sorts of reports and studies circulate periodically, reassuring over scheduled, working parents their children will be “just fine” with the few minutes of time a day most spend with them.
It’s not that I disagree with the study in theory. Even before smart phones and computers, there were many parents who were in the same house or even the same room with their children for many hours a day without meaningful interaction with them. On the other hand, I always wonder what the standard for “just fine” really is, not just in these studies, but in God’s eyes.
One of my favorite parenting verses is Deuteronomy 11:19 “Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (NIV) It sounds like God sets up a parenting expectation of quality and quantity time. God is calling parents to raise children equipped not just to obey God, but to glorify Him, serve others and share their faith. In today’s world, that is not as easy to do as one would hope.
Continue reading Christian Parents and the Quality Versus Quantity Time Debate
If you have watched your child write his first research paper or study for an important exam, you have probably noticed some time management issues. There are so many more interesting and fun things to do than to spend several hours studying or writing weeks before something is due. You may have resorted to constant nagging or cringed as your teen flipped into panic mode at the last minute.
Recently I read about a very disturbing study. A group of people were asked what they would do if they witnessed someone making a racist joke, taunting someone or displaying overt racism in some way. Almost to a person, everyone said they would speak up for what was right.
It happens to us all. We think we are doing something routine like grocery shopping. On a good day I can get in and out of the grocery store in a few minutes. It never fails though. If my day is packed with so much I have little wiggle room, I will run into everyone I haven’t seen for years in the store. And they want to talk. A lot. About everything that has happened in the five years since I last saw them.
Everyone has a story. Most stories are richer and more fascinating than we can ever imagine. I will never forget talking to a 90 something year old lady at church one day and discovering she had been in the Palace of the Shah of Iran and had tea with him and his family. This sweet little old lady in Georgia had taken tea with a historical figure in another country? If I remember correctly, she even gave him some godly advice while she was there!