Mothering On Purpose, Part 2
I'm slacking lately. How's that for honest? :) What I mean is, over the last several weeks I've been letting myself get back in the habit of just "surviving the day" rather than being proactive in my parenting.
My natural default is to send Noah off to play by himself for a while so I can have a break. Or to sit silently at lunchtime, eating my lunch and not talking to Noah. Or to ignore opportunities to instruct him and help him learn and instead go check my email or choose my items at the grocery store, with my only comments to Noah being, "I said, 'sit down in that cart!'"
The truth is, I have a very high-energy little boy. The truth is, I get tired of constantly being "on" so to speak. But the truth is, I'm neglecting one of my most important jobs on this earth. And the truth is, I don't turn to Christ enough for my strength. This combination translates into bad parenting, frustration for me, and a disservice to Noah. Not to mention the benefits I'm forfeiting by not relying on my Lord!
I've been challenged over the last couple of weeks through reading a part of Shepherding a Child's Heart (by Tedd Tripp), and through my personal Bible study and Lies Women Believe (by Nancy Leigh DeMoss). I'm starting to see that I've been doing it wrong, that the Lord is going to have to help me through these years of parenting with grace, strength, and WISDOM!!!
I do have objectives that I'm trying to strive toward. I posted them on my refrigerator so I'll see them and remember that I need to be redeeming the time and not wasting it. Here they are:
1. Potty train Noah. At this point he's more ready than I am, I think. Potty training takes so much energy and TIME! May the Lord help me to be willing to sacrifice my own desires to get out of the house and be consistent enough to train Noah.
2. Train Noah to be able to sit still for 15-20 mins at a time. He can play by himself in a playpen for up to 45 minutes, but that's with an array of toys at his disposal, and a Patch the Pirate cd on in the background. I don't think it's too much to ask of him to be able to work up to this length of time sitting quietly. This will help so much in church services and meetings we attend!
3. Maintain a clean house. My house isn't a pit, let me be clear on that. But it's also usually in need of some kind of major cleaning. A neglected bathroom or our closet overflowing with clothes that need to be hung, or things like that.
4. Good meals. I love to try new recipes, and have well-balanced meals. I can always improve in this!
5. Train Noah to obey THE FIRST TIME RIGHT AWAY. This is probably one for a different post, since I could go on and on just about this. Slacking in Mothering On Purpose means I have let our discipline slip. Though I have told myself I would never "count" (you know, the "One.....Two.....Two and a half......Don't make me get to three!"), I still have come to the same result by offering warnings instead of expecting immediate obedience. And Noah, like all children, is smart. He knows exactly how far to push it. An example of this would be: I can say, Come here." and he won't. So I repeat the command a little more forcefully once or twice. But the second I start going to him, he comes running because he knows he's in trouble. This is not good. The consequence needs to come after he doesn't immediately obey the first time.
Anyway, I've jabbered on enough for now.
To be continued!!
My natural default is to send Noah off to play by himself for a while so I can have a break. Or to sit silently at lunchtime, eating my lunch and not talking to Noah. Or to ignore opportunities to instruct him and help him learn and instead go check my email or choose my items at the grocery store, with my only comments to Noah being, "I said, 'sit down in that cart!'"
The truth is, I have a very high-energy little boy. The truth is, I get tired of constantly being "on" so to speak. But the truth is, I'm neglecting one of my most important jobs on this earth. And the truth is, I don't turn to Christ enough for my strength. This combination translates into bad parenting, frustration for me, and a disservice to Noah. Not to mention the benefits I'm forfeiting by not relying on my Lord!
I've been challenged over the last couple of weeks through reading a part of Shepherding a Child's Heart (by Tedd Tripp), and through my personal Bible study and Lies Women Believe (by Nancy Leigh DeMoss). I'm starting to see that I've been doing it wrong, that the Lord is going to have to help me through these years of parenting with grace, strength, and WISDOM!!!
I do have objectives that I'm trying to strive toward. I posted them on my refrigerator so I'll see them and remember that I need to be redeeming the time and not wasting it. Here they are:
1. Potty train Noah. At this point he's more ready than I am, I think. Potty training takes so much energy and TIME! May the Lord help me to be willing to sacrifice my own desires to get out of the house and be consistent enough to train Noah.
2. Train Noah to be able to sit still for 15-20 mins at a time. He can play by himself in a playpen for up to 45 minutes, but that's with an array of toys at his disposal, and a Patch the Pirate cd on in the background. I don't think it's too much to ask of him to be able to work up to this length of time sitting quietly. This will help so much in church services and meetings we attend!
3. Maintain a clean house. My house isn't a pit, let me be clear on that. But it's also usually in need of some kind of major cleaning. A neglected bathroom or our closet overflowing with clothes that need to be hung, or things like that.
4. Good meals. I love to try new recipes, and have well-balanced meals. I can always improve in this!
5. Train Noah to obey THE FIRST TIME RIGHT AWAY. This is probably one for a different post, since I could go on and on just about this. Slacking in Mothering On Purpose means I have let our discipline slip. Though I have told myself I would never "count" (you know, the "One.....Two.....Two and a half......Don't make me get to three!"), I still have come to the same result by offering warnings instead of expecting immediate obedience. And Noah, like all children, is smart. He knows exactly how far to push it. An example of this would be: I can say, Come here." and he won't. So I repeat the command a little more forcefully once or twice. But the second I start going to him, he comes running because he knows he's in trouble. This is not good. The consequence needs to come after he doesn't immediately obey the first time.
Anyway, I've jabbered on enough for now.
To be continued!!
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