by kathilipp | Mar 31, 2014 | 21 Ways to Connect With Your Kids, Relationships, tips and ideas |
Spending time outside does not have to just be camping, as much fun as that is, but there are many ways to get the kids outside in the fresh air while spending quality time connecting with your children. Ones that don’t include going to the bathroom in the forest.
Ten Ways to Get Outside and Connect
1. Go for a treasure hunt in your neighborhood. Here’s a short list of things for your kid to look for: a leaf bigger than their hand, a rock smaller than their little toe, and something they can recycle. You can also have them make up the list to keep them interested.
2. Tape a large piece of butcher paper to your fence or outside wall and paint a mural.
3. Sleep outside.
4. Go fishing.
5. Jump rope on a date with your child.
6. Watch a sunset while having a picnic dinner.
7. Wash the car together.
8. String lights in your backyard.
9. Run through the sprinklers.
10. Play cards outside (but not on windy day).
The biggest thing to remember is to prepare for any event that you do. This means everything from planning on what you are going to eat on your picnic to being dressed warmly enough in case it gets windy. Encourage each child to find something in the activity that they connect with. For the expressive child, it might be the beautiful colors. For the athletic child, it might be games you play while running in the sprinkler. Try to connect with each child no matter what way you choose.
How about you? How do you get your kids outside? What are some fun ways you connect with them while outside? Tell me in the comments and you will have a chance to win my book all about connecting called 21 Ways to Connect with Your kids.
by kathilipp | Mar 24, 2014 | 21 Ways to Connect With Your Kids |
Connecting with your child is important to the atmosphere in a home. There are many ways you can connect with your kids. Serving is not only one way, but a commandment from God.
Here are three ways that you can teach your child to serve:
Model service yourself.
This one should be such a no brainer, but often the things we are trying to teach our children are usually areas that we need a little more work on in order to grow our character. Show your children how you are making a meal for the new mom. Let them know that the extra time on the computer was writing a letter to an aunt who is having a hard time. When you take them to a nursing home to play games with the residents, you will be showing that service is important to you and it should be important to them. You will be showing them how ordinary families can do extraordinary things.
Explain to them that serving is not only one action but it is a demonstration of love.
Every time you fill a cup in the name of Jesus, you are showing His love to another person. Explain this to your children. Tell them how He healed the sick and how our families can be like that as far as healing people’s lonely hearts. Tell them that sometimes you plan on serving like going to a homeless shelter and other times God brings unexpected opportunities to serve someone, like an urgent call to watch a neighbor’s child if the mother had to go somewhere.
Reward Them With Praise When They Serve
When you see your child clearing off the table by himself without being asked or you see a note written to a grandparent just because the child wanted to…go gangbusters and tell them over and over how great that is that God prompted them to serve like that! They will be much more likely to want to do it again!
FREEBIE ALERT!
What is one way that you teach your kids to serve? One person who comments will get my book 21 Ways to Connect to Your Kids!
by kathilipp | Mar 20, 2014 | 21 Ways to Connect With Your Kids |
Burning a candle is a sure fire way (See what I did there?) to create a warm and inviting atmosphere in your home. But that is just one example of the outward atmosphere. We need to think about the heart of a home in order to really make it a haven. Here are five other ways to make your home a haven.
1. By reading together.
The most haven -producing thing I did as a mommy is simply to read to my kids. I even read to my child when he was a teenager!
2. By weeping and rejoicing at the right times.
We are to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. When a child has a difficult day, scoop her up into your arms and cry aongside. When she makes a great choice, jump up and down and celebrate with ice cream.
We’ve lost the importance of outdoor play. Even if it means walking to the park with your kids or swimming alongside them, dare to move beyond the our walls of your home to venture out to see God’s creation.
4. By limiting media.
Steer your children away from mindless interaction with the TV or video games. Set limits and stick to them. Dare to believe your children are creative, innovative kids who can create instead of idly recreate. {click to tweet}
5. By letting kindness reign.
Determine to treat your children and spouse with the same kindness that you would give a stranger that you are trying to impress. Remember it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. What makes us think anything different would evoke our children’s repentance?
What is your favorite way to make your home a haven?
by kathilipp | Mar 17, 2014 | 21 Ways to Connect With Your Kids, Relationships |
Loving your husband will go along way to make a child feel loved and encouraged. And doing things for your child is a great way to connect with them. But with today’s busy schedules, it is not easy to do special things for the kids all of the time.
We think that saying things should be easier, but
using our words to fill the heart is one way that us mamas think we do, but sometimes forget.
{click to tweet}
This list will take you to the end of March with a variety of things that you can say to your child to encourage and connect with them.
15 Things you can say to encourage your kids right now:
1. I am so glad that Jesus trusted me with you.
2. Please forgive me.
3. I’m proud of you.
4. You are fun to be with.
5. You make me laugh.
6. You are an important part of His story.
7. God’s love for you will never change.
8. I love spending time with you.
9. You are the est gift I ever received.
10. You are a perfect fit for our family.
11. You make me happy.
12. I love to watch you play.
13. I don’t care what we do today as long as I can be with you.
14. I will never stop loving you.
15. God created you exactly how he wanted you.
Say one of these every day for the rest of the month and you will be filling the love tanks of your children and sharing the hope and love of Jesus through you.
What is one encouraging thing you would add to the list?
by kathilipp | Jun 28, 2013 | 21 Ways to Connect With Your Kids |
A Guest Post from Kimberly Gonsalves
OK, I’ll say it: yes, it’s great to have kids out of school. And it can be hard!
Many of our support systems take hiatus during summer.
Routines change.
There’s often less external structure.
We have to create more of it ourselves.
At the same time, part of the appeal of summer is that we want to slow down, be less scheduled, relax!
I try to strike a balance between chaos and life in a barracks. Often, things that test my sanity are just a click away.
It’s day three of summer. My son, 14, is reclining on the couch, sporting his “go to” summer look: bath towel and laptop. I remember the pre-teen years, when he had an aversion to bathing. Glad we’re past that stage. I take a deep breath. He’s watching a video lesson on Kahn academy, and cursing the Muslim mathematician who invented algebra. And simultaneously playing video games, instant messaging, and listening to music.
You’re thinking, “Wow. That kid can truly multi-task!” Not so much, actually.
I am losing my religion. He is supposed to be doing math. Only math.
I ask him to turn the computer off since he’s not really studying. He ignores me.
I ask again. No response.
My reptile brain decides that prying it from his hands would be a good move…
Later, after we both calm down, I tell him I’m holding the computer until we can come up with a plan that works for both of us.
I need to make adjustments as my kids grow. Rarely is that a linear process. Technology is just one example of a slippery area. There are lots of learning tools available online, but it’s like running the digital gauntlet for a kid to stay on task. People think that because I teach Positive Discipline parenting classes, I must have this stuff nailed. I’m working through the same challenges as everyone else!
I make plenty of mistakes. Positive Discipline principles and tools act as a compass for getting back on track and focusing on solutions to daily challenges. If you’d like to
· Learn to avoid power struggles
· Make progress on reducing or eliminating some of those annoying, repetitive misbehaviors your kids are engaged in
· Improve your consistency
REGISTER for a FREE tele-class:
“Summer Parenting Solutions”
Wednesday, July 3
10:00am – 11:00am PST
We did come up with a plan together, and agreed to try it out for a week and see how it goes. I was able to recover, reconnect, and hold the limit respectfully. On the second try.
What parenting challenges test your sanity?
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Kimberly Gonsalves is a Certified Positive Discipline Trainer, Professional Coach, and mom to two kids, a ‘tween and a teen. She helps parents who are tired of yelling, nagging, and threats learn practical, positive discipline tools that invite more cooperation, teach life skills for the long run, and create happier families. Kimberly@parenting4thelongrun.com, http://www.parenting4thelongrun.com
by kathilipp | Apr 17, 2013 | 21 Ways to Connect With Your Kids, The Get Organized Project, tips and ideas |
Hi Friends,
I recently received the message below from a reader and I thought as a community we could offer some constructive ideas on how to teach our children help out around the house.
I am greatly struggling with chores and responsibility with my 3 kids.
My 3 year old son is hot and cold with behavior and attitude so one never knows if he will help or fight.
My 6 year old daughter flat out refuses to clean anything “that’s not my mess” yet won’t even cleanup her own room.
My 9 year old son reluctantly helps me out in picking up the slack.
I am a worn out mom in need of new routines and rewards. What kind of charts, rewards and chores can you offer for a challenging group of kids that tend to walk all over an overwhelmed and exhausted mom. Please help.
Need help keeping your kids on task? Download these free chore charts for your kids! In addition, I’ve created a Pinterest board full of ideas on making chores fun for all ages.
Plus, leave a positive idea about how you successfully get your kids to help with chores and you could win a copy of my book, 21 Ways to Connect with Your Kids.
