Everybody’s talking about self esteem these days. I expect we’ve all struggled with it; I know I had a horrible self-image when I was young. A lot of parents are concerned that their children grow up with good self esteem. After all, how can you love your neighbor as yourself if you hate yourself? So…
Category Archives: Parenting
Bad Start, Good Finish
“When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.” Ps. 27:10 It would be easy to envy my buddy, Doug Phillips. Doug has a great ministry to families called Vision Forum. When you hear how Doug was raised, it’s not surprising that he is a great father and has…
More Benefits of Old Books
In my role of Uncle Rick, I’ve just started recording a new old set of books. This series is called the Boys of Liberty series and is by several different authors. It centers around the Revolutionary War although a couple of the books are instead set in the War of 1812. The books were published…
Why Are You Training Your Children?
We tend to obsess over the “how” of child training, but I think we’d do well to think more about the “why.” Are you training your children so they won’t irritate you as much? Are you training them so they will be happy people as adults? Are you training them out of a vague sense…
Do You Have to Be Crazy to Have All Those Kids?
I read an article a while back, suggesting that moms of large families must be loonies. Prolific mamas were taken to task, accused of everything from having babies just to get attention (there must be an easier way) to being insecure and birthing children just to feel needed. Don’t know if any woman has…
Life in the Big Fishbowl
Everybody seems to notice when you’re out and about with several small children. We don’t have several small children any more, but I’ll never forget some of the comments we’ve heard. Most of them are nice and even flattering—those are on the occasions when the kids are all acting civilized. Once in a while you…
An Education in Doorknobs
Please teach your kids practical home maintenance skills. Not only is it expensive to hire somebody to do everything around the house, but they will grow in the very important trait of self-confidence by meeting and conquering everyday challenges. My dad grew up on a farm and so had picked up a good collection of…
Your Arrows
Psalm 127:4 tells us that children are like arrows in the hand of a warrior. Ever think about that? In Bible times, a warrior could pick up a sword and strike a target within reach of his arm. He could take a spear and strike an enemy a number of yards away. But with an…
