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Parenting

Tantrum Tactics

I learned early on in my childhood that tantrums never got me what I wanted. Growing up, I remember the time my mom took us kids to the grocery store with her to pick a few things up. Halfway down the first aisle, my 4 year old brother began to pitch a fit over wanting a box of cereal that we didn’t need. Well as soon as my mom said no, he started crying and screaming at the top of his little lungs. To say the least, my 3 other siblings and I were absolutely mortified, and immediately ran off to another aisle to act like we had no idea who that obnoxious child was! What I remember most wasn’t the sound of his screams echoing across the entire grocery store or even the way my cheeks were bright pink. No, what I remember most was the way my mom kept right on shopping—as if she had a pair of invisible earplugs in and didn’t have a care in the world. She taught me the best remedy for dealing with tantrums is to ignore it. With that, here are 3 helpful tips for the next time your child has …

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Parenting

How Far Would You Go to Protect Your Child?

I was really conflicted when I saw this. Could this be real? Yet, last summer I found my seventeen year old playing an online video game on his laptop that had been produced in China. It looked very similar to the game shown in this video. The game had levels that could only be accessed in certain ways, with skill or money–real money. Of course, skill would only take you so far, you needed money to go farther. I did not like it at all and blocked it. Yes, I still block content from my almost adult teenagers. I would go pretty far to protect my children from anything my gut tells me could be dangerous. BUT would I, could I, if I ever needed to, go this far? Would our country ever allow it? Are these desperate measures needed by children in our country, too? It makes me so sad to know that online gaming profiteers are exploiting children like this in China. It also makes me angry that it might be happening here. What if anything is being done here?

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Parenting

Invest in Your Children and Others in 2014

This year, what can we invest in that will never fade? The answer is sitting in your lap, pulling at your shirt, looking up at you with their sweet, puppy eyes: your children. Building relationships with your kids is something that truly matters. Here’s one of several stories that I’ve received as the director of iMOM about lives that have been impacted: “Hi I’m Grace, and I’m an iMOM Morning Leader. iMOM morning has been instrumental in helping ramp up the communication between my daughters and me. It has helped us meet other women and their children, and we so enjoy that camaraderie. I have had a great time facilitating the meetings and having something delicious to eat for breakfast! The girls and I get a chance to sit down, have fun, and talk about whatever we are learning about in the videos that month.” Let Grace’s story encourage you to do what matters this New Year. Be bold and start an iMOM Morning Chapter at your child’s school! These monthly breakfasts easily become cherished memories thanks to meaningful conversations and fun curriculums. Alongside you, the whole community of moms throughout the school will be given this wonderful opportunity …

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Parenting

10 Mom Prayers Printable

Sometimes when I look back on a year like this last one, a startling reality washes over me. I become painfully aware of how little control I have over life, especially the lives of my children. In these moments, the mom in me panics, like a woman at the edge of a precipice fighting the urge to look down, as if not looking means I am not there. But I am there. I can’t be assured that I can save the ones I love. My heart beats faster, my stomach sickens and then my mind remembers what my heart believes and I talk myself down off the cliff–you’re not going to fall, they are not going to fall, you can’t protect them but God can. He has a plan. Being a parent involves heartbreaking risk. Moms desperately want to protect their children from anything and everything bad but know that it is impossible. Bad things will happen, suffering will enter into your family and maybe already has. You can’t stop it and you cannot change it. Many times the only thing you can do is pray. And prayer, my dear mom friend, is a miracle of peace, like a river. …

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Parenting

How You Can Guard the Gate to Electronics

Phones, iPads, laptops, and video games may be a big part of your child’s Christmas joy. But after a week of policing your child’s use of their new technology, you may feel slightly less joyful. Electronics are here to stay and as a mom protecting your child while using electronis is your job. I call this guarding the gate to electronics. An excerpt from The Passionate Mom. Gate 5: The Electronics Gate This gate leads to today’s most popular entertainments: television, computers, music, movies, video games . . . I have covered much of why this is a gateway privilege. Anyone, adult or child, can lose himself in electronics for hours a day. I confess: I love technology and the sleek efficiency of what this gate has to offer. Gates are opportunities, but if misused, any gate can be an enticing distraction. (click to tweet) Electronics are not evil. They are wonderful tools for learning and entertainment, but they do require wisdom and self-control. (click to tweet) There are good choices and bad to be made in what you allow your child to watch, listen to, and play. The stakes in the choices are getting higher. Television and movies are more explicit today than even ten years ago. …

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Parenting

How to Give Your Children Wings

“Good parents give their children roots and wings. Roots to know where home is, wings to fly away and exercise what’s been taught them.” — Jonas Salk Roots are easy. But how do you give your children wings to fly? I still struggle with the wings. It is so counter to everything in me as a mom. Or shall I say a protective mama bird who really doesn’t want hurt chicks? And yet, it is one of the most important things we can do. It is a gift only you can give. Give your child wings and you give them a much deeper learning experience. The moms who fear the sorrow of their child growing up have a tendency to clip their child’s wings. They inadvertently hold their child back from the adventure God is planning for them. As a parent, it is so much better to let them go. Give your child wings and you give them your confidence–your blessing. You say to them in your actions, “I know you can do it. I believe in you.” Whether we realize it or not this process of taking flight doesn’t begin at 18 it begins when they are young. Giving …

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Parenting

How a Mom Mafia Can Help You Protect Your Kids

Sharing information with friends about their children can be a rather tough thing for a mom. Many moms do not want to hear that their children are in trouble. With five teenagers, I have been on both sides of bad news, the giving and the receiving. I say the following with great urgency and concern: moms, swallow your pride and listen. If you don’t listen, you may close a door to future information that you need to know—information that could save your child from a troublesome situation, such as an abusive boyfriend or drugs. I know moms like this; they choose privacy and pride when what their children need is open and honest communication between parents that will deliver to them the protection of accountability. Instead, try to build a group of moms who stand together; at iMOM we jokingly call this the “Mom Mafia.” Here are some tips on starting your own Mom Mafia. 1. Build relationships with key informants. If you don’t have a social relationship or friendship with any of the parents of your kids’ friends, start one. It’s important to know these people well if your child is going to be hanging out in their homes and spending lots …

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Parenting

Home Alone Rules for Kids

Eventually there will come a time when your kids will have to stay home alone. Make sure that they are well-prepared with the right safety tips in mind and the right phone numbers to call if necessary. Use these resources from iMOM to give you more peace of mind when your children are home alone. 10 Simple Rules for When You’re Home Alone Home Alone Rules By State When Mom’s Away Planner Home Safety: Leaving Your Child At Home

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Parenting

Mother Son Bucket List

It’s easy to fall into a mindset of just going through the motions. It’s easy to go through the days without really seeing or caring or experiencing. It’s easy to just get to the next day without focusing on the moments it takes to get there. As parents, how do we get out of this habit? How do we make the most of the time we have with our kids? To help me do this I created a Mother Son Bucket List.

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