Parenting Like Hannah

Just the Stats Ma’am!

Statistics and I have a love/hate relationship. It was probably my least favorite course in college, but I have to grudgingly admit statistics can provide some helpful information. Statistics can be skewed, but if the methodology is sound, the results can teach you some important things.

The Barna Group is well known in religious circles for their research on Christian issues. They specialize in trying to analyze what makes a person live (or not live) a truly Christian lifestyle. Their books are often bestsellers, perhaps because they try to sort out the difference between Christians “in name only” and those who are really close to “practicing what they preach”.

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Flat Stanley Goes On A Mission Trip

Flat Stanley Goes On a Mission Trip - Parenting Like Hannah If you haven’t had a second grader yet, you may not be familiar with Flat Stanley. Based on a children’s book by the same name, Flat Stanley is normally a project to introduce young children to new places in a fun way. This time though, we are going to send Flat Stanley on an extended mission trip.

As you can see, I am not an artist and Flat Stanley doesn’t have to be beautiful. The official website even has templates you can borrow (no Bibles that I saw though!). Draw your Flat Stanley on card stock. He should be large enough to be seen in a photograph clearly, but not so large that he takes up too much room in a suitcase.

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Following Your Child’s Passion and Gifts

You know the parenting verse in Proverbs everyone always quotes about training your child “in the way he should go”? (Proverbs 22:6) Most preachers will point out this means we should discipline our children really well or make sure they know the Bible. Once though, I heard a preacher say he thought it meant God had hard-wired each child for what God wanted them to do in His kingdom. Our job as parents was to help them find the path God had set for them and encourage them to follow it.

Now, I am not about to take sides in the debate, partially because I don’t speak Hebrew, but mainly because I think all of them have valid points when you add additional scriptures to the mix. I love the idea though that God has gifted your child with certain gifts God wants him to use to serve others and to spread the Gospel.

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How To Give Your Children The Respect They Deserve

My grandmother was a child-whisperer. Children loved her. Granted, it may have been partially because she could make the most awesome cinnamon buns and chocolate chip cookies ever. Mostly, it was because she was a child-whisperer. She could meet any child and within thirty seconds she would have them cooking with her and chatting away about everything.

I was blessed to have inherited the trait and you have heard my stories about children I don’t know pouring their hearts out to me within seconds of our introduction. I always wondered if there were some sort of weird scent or high pitched sound we gave off that sent children running to tell us everything.

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It’s Okay To Be a Little Kid (Again)

Years ago, I overheard one of the saddest parenting conversations. A mother was telling her friend how she had instructed her daughter to stop hanging on to her, as the daughter was in middle school now and “too big” for such public displays of affection. Yes, you read that correctly. The mother told her daughter to stop hanging on to her because the daughter was too “grown-up” for such childish behavior.

Did you know that when your children take a big leap in growth, it is natural for them to crave a little regression to a previous stage? You will sometimes hear adults describe teens as, “One minute he’s making adult decisions and the next he is acting like a two year old.”

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