Foundation Father
This is a true story. One father stood at the checkout counter with his wife and daughter. He had his card out, ready to pay, but the daughter kept whining for a stuffed animal that was close to the register. Exasperated after saying “no” several times, the wife grabbed the stuffed animal and had the […]
At a theme park, my son refused to ride a certain ride. A ride that I know he would love. While we waited in line, tears kept coming to his eyes as his anxiety grew. But he was not going to get out of it. I knew he would like it. I knew it wouldn’t […]
Being a man means doing the right thing even when you don’t feel like it. Even when you know you will suffer. And not complaining about it. This becomes an issue when problems are unexpected. If you have reserved your time for something, you treat it as your time, and any imposition upon that time […]
Children learn to speak to themselves based on how their parents speak to them. They are mimickers. Actually, we are all mimickers in some fashion, but children even more so. They will repeat what they hear. They will believe what you say. And what is “thinking,”, if not talking to yourself or having an argument […]
If you are getting angry at your children, it’s your fault. Every time. All of the time. If they are doing something you find annoying, or that causes you to lose your patience, who do you have to blame? Who has let them get away with it over and over in the past? You. This […]
A dispute arose between two prostitutes over a child. Each claimed the child was hers and it was one woman’s word against the other. The case traveled all the way up to Solomon, the wise king. In his wisdom, Solomon said “Bring me a sword. We will divide the child and give each one half.” […]
This is from the excellent book by Anthony Esolen. 1. Keep your children indoors as much as possible. A child weighed down by busywork (homework), endlessly distracted by flashing screens, will find the outdoors boring. And so they will find life boring. As a consequence, they will *be* boring. If they spend too much time outside, they […]
My kids were playing hide and seek at the park with another boy. A few rounds had gone by, and it was my youngest son’s turn to be “it.” He counted and found the other boy fast. But he had some trouble finding his older sister. After a few minutes, the boy tempted him. “I […]
As your children grow and you begin to give them jobs, you will quickly find yourself in several predicaments. They won’t want to do the job. This is handled by discipline and standing your ground. They get punished if they don’t do it or if they constantly whine about doing it. Period. But the other […]
When dealing with disputes between your children, you must listen to both sides. And never, never reward the first one to come yelling to you for help without having a firm understanding of the situation. The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him. Proverbs 18:17 You will […]