ParentLife Blog

April Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Kris Buckman, Jennifer C., and Rachel -- the winners of our April giveaway!

Each of these readers won a Leader Kit for the new LifeWay parenting resource The Parent Adventure by Rodney & Selma Wilson. The Leader Kit includes a copy of The Parent Adventure trade book, a member book for the 7-week Bible study based on this resource, and 2 DVDs featuring the authors.

Keep checking our blog for our May giveaway ... coming soon!

How Do You Help Kids Learn the Bible?

It's happening in churches all over the United States this week -- state Bible drill competitions! My wife and I both have fond memories of our days in the Bible drill program in our churches growing up. This year our son Jonathan had his first experience in Bible drill and Saturday was our state drill. Kids memorize 25 verses and references, 10 key biblical passages, and all the books of the Bible as part of the competition. So Bible drill involves both memorization and the skill of finding Bible books and passages quickly. It was great to see so many kids who worked so hard at something so worthwhile! Have your kids participated in Bible drill? Tell us about your experience!

It's About Faith, Baby!

Are you looking for faith-based clothes for your baby or toddler?

Check out Faith Baby (www.faithbaby.com). Faith Baby, a Christian children's clothing Web site, promises one-of-a-kind designs to enlighten the heart and celebrate faith. Faith Baby offers high-quality clothes and gifts for babies and toddlers featuring positive messages to rejoice in God's smallest blessings.
 
The site offers an alternative to the recent trend of "attitude-wear" for babies by featuring positive messages of Christian faith on onesies, tees, pants and accessories with a stylish, modern sensibility.
 
Ideal for baby showers, birthdays, baby dedications, or simply to celebrate one's joy over the birth of a new baby, Faith Baby products are made of super-soft 100% cotton. Onesies come in a variety of colors in sizes from 3 to 6 months to 12 to 18 months. Toddler t-shirts come in four color options in sizes 2T to 4T. The new "frilly" infant pants are one-size fits most from 6 to 12 months, and will soon be available in new color variations.

The ParentLife Advisory Board

What would you like to see in future issues of ParentLife magazine?

We love receiving ideas from our readers through this blog, our Facebook page, Twitter, and by e-mail. But there is another great way that you can help shape future issues of ParentLife -- the ParentLife Advisory Board.

The Advisory Board is a group of ParentLife readers that help us by responding to periodic surveys related to ParentLife and its content. We also request ideas from time to time from Advisory Board members as we plan future issues of ParentLife.
There are no fees or obligations. Simply respond to our surveys and e-mails as you have time.

Interested in becoming an Advisory Board Member? If so, click here or on "Join Our Advisory Board" to the right.

In fact, the ParentLife team will be planning the March and April 2010 issues later this week. What topics would you like to see covered? Leave a comment and let us know.
 

Fun Friday Photo -- April 24th, 2009

Dreaming away on a long trip ... thanks to Vince's mom's imagination and a LOT of socks!!!

Thanks to Stacey P. for this great photo!

Photos wanted! Send us your funny, cute, or just plain fun pictures for our Fun Friday Photos. Each Friday we will post a new "Fun Friday Photo." E-mail your photo and a suggested caption describing the photo to parentlife@lifeway.com. Visit the blog each Friday to see if your photo was chosen!

Take Your Child to Work Day

It's that time of year, again! This year's Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work® Day is today Thursday, April 23, 2009. If your workplace has not chosen to participate this year, make the commitment today to ask about participating next year or setting an alternative date on the company calendar for later in the year.

Why is taking your child to work important? Designed to be more than a career day, the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work program goes beyond the average practice of "shadowing" an adult. Exposing girls and boys to what a parent or mentor in their lives does during the work day is important, but showing them the value of their education, helping them discover the power and possibilities associated with a balanced work and family life, providing them an opportunity to share how they envision the future, and allowing them to begin steps toward their end goals in a hands-on and interactive environment is key to their achieving success.
 
The theme for 2009, "Building Partnerships To Educate and Empower," expresses what the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work program has done all along - empower children to make more informed decisions about careers and the work/family balance by educating them about the world of work and the possibilities available to them. For over 16 years, the development of new, interactive activities and partnerships has helped the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work program in taking girls and boys to the future they dream of.

Visit the program's Web site for more information.

Have you participated in a take your child to work program? Are there other ways you have exposed your kids to different careers?
 

Happy Earth Day!

As Christians, we are called to be good stewards -- good stewards of our money, time, and the many blessings God has given us ... including the earth. One of the things that immediately pops into my mind when I think about being a good steward of the earth is recycling. But there is so much even beyond recycling that we can do. For lots of great ways to take action at home, in your child's classroom, at work, and in your community, visit EarthDay.gov. 

And be sure to check out the April 2009 issue of ParentLife. Many of our April articles have a "green" focus.

• "Growth Spurts: Birth to 12 Months -- Natural Parenting" -- Consider some ways to "go green" as the parent of an infant, such as breastfeeding, cloth diapering, and making your own baby food.
  
• "Growth Spurts: 1 to 2 Years -- Toxic for Toddlers" -- Discover how switching to natural cleaning products can be safer for your family and better for the environment.
• "Growth Spurts: 3 to 5 Years -- Healthy and Nutritious" -- Get the lowdown on organic foods and vitamins.
• "Renewing a Steward Spirit" -- Explore some practical planet-wise parenting strategies for reducing waste.
• "Gardening With Kids" -- Enjoy time together in God's creation by planting a garden with your kids.
• "Today's Life: ParentLife Product Picks" -- Choose from lots of environmentally friendly products from companies who make it easy for your family to go green.

What are some ways your family is celebrating Earth Day today? What does your family to do to be a good steward of God's creation? Share your ideas by leaving us a comment.

Showing Grace to Our Kids

It is so easy to get impatient with our kids! Sometimes I think Dads like myself are short on patience. We want things done right but don't always take the time to explain and teach our kids the skills necessary to succeed. I found myself reacting with impatience while helping my son study for a math test today. We were doing fine until we hit the pie graphs -- yikes! Fractions are one thing, but I found interpreting them through a pie graph was not as easy for my son. I wasn't sure if he wasn't getting it or just was not trying hard enough to understand! So I began to get impatient.

Guard Against Sports Injuries

It's that time of year again when the weather is getting warmer and kids are filling soccer fields and baseball diamonds for spring sports. Do you know how to prevent sports injuries in your kids? Here are some great tips brought to you by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Injury Risks
All sports have a risk of injury. In general, the more contact in a sport, the greater the risk of injury.

Most injuries occur to ligaments (connect bones together), tendons (connect muscles to bones) and muscles. Only about 5 percent of sports injuries involve broken bones. However, the areas where bones grow in children are at more risk of injury during the rapid phases of growth. In a growing child, point tenderness over a bone should be evaluated further by a medical provider even if minimal swelling or limitation in motion is appreciated.

Most frequent sports injuries are sprains (injuries to ligaments) and strains (injuries to muscles), caused when an abnormal stress is placed on tendons, joints, bones and muscle. As always, contact your pediatrician if you have additional questions or concerns.

To reduce injury:
•    Wear the right gear. Players should wear appropriate and properly fit protective equipment such as pads (neck, shoulder, elbow, chest, knee, shin), helmets, mouthpieces, face guards, protective cups, and/or eyewear. Young athletes should not assume that protective gear will protect them from performing more dangerous or risky activities.
•    Strengthen muscles. Conditioning exercises before games and during practice strengthens muscles used in play.
•    Increase flexibility. Stretching exercises before and after games or practice can increase flexibility.
•    Use the proper technique. This should be reinforced during the playing season.
•    Take breaks. Rest periods during practice and games can reduce injuries and prevent heat illness.
•    Play safe. Strict rules against headfirst sliding (baseball and softball), spearing (football), and body checking (ice hockey) should be enforced.
•    Stop the activity if there is pain.
•    Avoid heat injury. Drink plenty of fluids before, during and after exercise or play; decrease or stop practices or competitions during high heat/humidity periods; wear light clothing.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 pediatricians focused on the care of children. Check out their great Parenting Corner for the latest medical information for your child.

Are your kids playing a sport this spring?

Fun Friday Photo -- April 17, 2009

Benjamin (2) and Hannah (3) showing off their cool shades

Thanks to Christy and Daniel D. for this great photo!

Photos wanted! Send us your funny, cute, or just plain fun pictures for our Fun Friday Photos. Each Friday we will post a new "Fun Friday Photo." E-mail your photo and a suggested caption describing the photo to parentlife@lifeway.com. Visit the blog each Friday to see if your photo was chosen!

Be Prepared for Disaster

In the last week, tornadoes have ripped through several areas of the Southeast, leaving a path of destruction. Nearby in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, hundreds of homes were destroyed or damaged. Events like these beg the question: Are you prepared in case of emergency?

The American Red Cross is committed to help families be prepared for emergencies of any kind that strike unexpectedly. The Red Cross urges families to prepare an emergency supply kit filled with three days of supplies to have on hand in case of emergency. Families also should make a plan of where to meet in case of emergency. In general, families should talk through what to do in case of the unexpected.

Please read Andrew Greer's "Ready or Not: Are You Prepared for an Emergency?" in the April 2009 ParentLife for more information about preparing your family for disaster.

What steps have you taken to prepare your family?

April Giveaway Reminder -- The Parent Adventure

Don't forget about our April Giveaway! Click here for all of the details!

Be sure to check out the May 2009 issue of ParentLife for an article about The Parent Adventure by Rodney and Selma Wilson.

The Real Reason

Celebrating Easter has always been exciting to me for many reasons. It signifies the beginning of spring and the return of warm weather, flowers, and green grass. It's also fun to get dressed up in new clothes and spend the day at church and with family.

I was especially excited about this Easter since it would be Jack's first Easter. We had a busy weekend planned. We were celebrating with my side of the family on the day before Easter with an Easter waffle brunch. I had a new outfit all picked out for Jack for Easter morning, and we had big plans for having my husband's side of the family over for Easter lunch.

But sometimes, the best-laid plans fail. Unfortunately, Jack came down with croup the Thursday night before Easter. After getting over the initial scare of dealing with Jack's croup came the disappointment of not being able to celebrate Easter in quite the way we wanted. We did not take Jack to Easter brunch or to church on Easter morning. (We thought it best not to spread his germs!) To be honest, I was flat out depressed.

Then it hit me. After lamenting several times about how it just didn't feel like Easter, I realized that I had lost focus on the true meaning of Easter. I am reminded of the words from Dr. Seuss' classic story How the Grinch Stole Christmas. While the story is dealing with Christmas, I believe the concept could just as easily be applied to Easter.

"It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes, or bags! ... He hadn't stopped Christmas from coming, it came. Somehow or other, it came just the same."

Easter is not about spring, new clothes, or even going to church or spending time with family. It is all about Jesus, His sacrifice on the cross, and most importantly, His resurrection! It is about the opportunity to spend eternity in heaven with Him because of the price He paid for my sins!

Were you able to celebrate the real reason for Easter this year? Tell us about your Easter celebrations.

You and Your Girl

You and Your Girl is a mother/daughter event (for mothers and their daughters ages 10-18 or grades 5-12) that gives spiritual encouragement and practical tools to navigate through this generation. Best-selling author Vicki Courtney encourages moms and equips daughters to steer toward a God-filled life. Soak up Vicki's inspiring messages, music by worship leader Lindsey Kane, age specific breakouts, and more. The drive back home could be some of the best times you've ever shared.

Vicki Courtney is a an author, speaker, and founder of Virtuous Reality Ministries, which reaches more than 150,000 girls and mothers per year through books, speaking engagements, virtuousreality.com (for teen girls) and virtuealert.com, her blog for moms.

In addition to Vicki's messages, moms, daughters, and their friends will also hear from a variety of breakout leaders (Jackie Kendall, Pam Gibbs, Sissy Goff, Melissa Trevathan, Carrie Hopkins, and Becky Loyd) and worship leader Lindsey Kane.

Moms, don't miss this weekend opportunity to connect or reconnect with your daughter, while she can be encouraged to stand up for Christ. The next event is this Saturday, April 18, in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

Check out information about other LifeWay events here.

Have you been to a You and Your Girl event? Let us hear from you about your experience!

How Do You Make a Difference?

Fun Friday Photo -- April 10, 2009

One-year-old Madelyn perfectly illustrates the delight of a child!

Thanks to Christy W. for this great photo!

Photos wanted! Send us your funny, cute, or just plain fun pictures for our Fun Friday Photos. Each Friday we will post a new "Fun Friday Photo." E-mail your photo and a suggested caption describing the photo to parentlife@lifeway.com. Visit the blog each Friday to see if your photo was chosen!

Preparing for Easter

We went shopping this week to buy some Easter clothes for our family. This is one way many families prepare for Easter. But these clothes only last so long or likely are outgrown before next Easter rolls around. Hopefully we are also preparing our hearts for Easter -- a gift that will last much longer -- by remembering Jesus' death and celebrating the resurrection.

There are many ways families can focus on the meaning of Easter, especially going to church together on Easter Day. Take advantage of this time together and talk about what you heard whether it is explaining the meaning of the Lord's Supper, the Bible story of the resurrection, or other special things your church does to celebrate Easter.

In the April 2009 issue of ParentLife, R. Scott Wiley's article "A Strong Foundation at Easter" emphasizes how important it is to teach preschoolers about Easter. This teaching about Easter lays a strong foundation for a later faith decision. Recognizing this, the April issue also has the article "Leading Your Child to Christ" designed to help you lead your children through this important decision. So be sensitive to your child and how the Holy Spirit leads in his life as you teach him about Jesus this Easter.

Tell us special ways your family celebrates Easter and tells the Easter story. We would love to hear any Easter traditions your family has. Share with us!

March for Babies

Today more than 1,400 babies in the U.S. will be born prematurely. Many will be too small and too sick to go home. Instead, they face weeks or even months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

This topic is very close to my heart, because my little boy, Jack, was actually born four weeks early and spent almost a week in the NICU. We are so thankful that Jack was able to make a complete recovery!

The March of Dimes is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. March of Dimes researchers, volunteers, educators, outreach workers, and advocates work together to give all babies a fighting chance against the threats to their health: prematurity, birth defects, low birthweight.

And now ... you can help the March of Dimes by participating in their March for Babies -- America's favorite walking event! When you walk, you give hope to the families of babies born too soon or sick. The money you raise supports programs in your community that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies. And it funds research to find answers to the serious problems that threaten babies. The March for Babies started in 1970 and since then an incredible $1.8 billion have been raised to benefit all babies.

March for Babies takes place in more than 900 communities across the country. If you participate, you'll be joining 1 million people walking with their families or co-workers.

To join a team, start a team, or find an event in your area, visit www.marchforbabies.org.

Have you participated in the March for Babies? Tell us about your experience.

Spring Is Here ... And So Are Allergies!

Allergies oftentimes flare up in the early spring as flowers bloom and spring back to life. However, so many kids struggle with food allergies, asthma, or other conditions that are not seasonal but are a constant concern for families.

A great resource for those who struggle with allergies of any kind is the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. They help answer important questions such as Does my child have a food allergy or an intolerance to certain foods? Or Does my child have a cold, seasonal allergy, or is he developing asthma?

Also check out their drug reference guide and even search for an allergist or immunologist near you.

Do you or your kids struggle with allergies? Did you struggle to reach the correct diagnosis and to daily manage allergies?

Child Abuse Prevention Month

In 1983, and each year since, April has been declared Child Abuse Prevention Month. It is a time to raise awareness on types of abuse, how to get help, and steps to take to prevent abuse and neglect. The Child Welfare Information Gateway is a great information site provided as a service of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

For your church, we endorse MinistrySafe as a resource to help churches in the area of Sexual Abuse Awareness. MinistrySafe offers child sexual abuse awareness training, policies and procedures, applications forms, reference check forms, interview forms, and instructional documents for churches.

We also endorse backgroundchecks.com for background screenings. Churches can receive discounts on screenings when they register here. 

What are ways that you have taken steps to educate your kids about child abuse? Has your church taken steps to guard against abuse?

Fun Friday Photo -- April 3, 2009

Two-and-a-half-year-old Diana thinks newborn Abbie needs to lighten up! Pictures are fun!

Thanks to Beth B. for this great photo!

Photos wanted! Send us your funny, cute, or just plain fun pictures for our Fun Friday Photos. Each Friday we will post a new "Fun Friday Photo." E-mail your photo and a suggested caption describing the photo to parentlife@lifeway.com. Visit the blog each Friday to see if your photo was chosen!

World Autism Awareness Day

April 2 has been recognized as World Autism Awareness Day. One great resource for information about Autism is the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Check out their page for World Autism Awareness Day for answers to your common questions about Autism.


Do you have a child with Autism or one of the Autism Spectrum Disorders? What are the sources of information you use and find helpful?

Is Your Daughter a Diva?

Today's culture puts quite a bit of value on looks. And while there is nothing wrong with wanting to look nice, have we taken it too far?

There is no doubt that our society's vanity is taking a toll on our daughters, but do you have a realistic view of the full impact? I'm not sure I realized the implications until I read the Newsweek article "Generation Diva: How our obsession with beauty is changing our kids."

It is scary to think that our children are growing up thinking that their inner value is based on their outer appearance and that they will do almost anything to be considered beautiful. As Christian parents, we must fight the trend. We must teach our children (girls and boys) that their worth is found in their identity in Christ, not in anything of this world.

Are you shocked by the facts in this article? Is this a struggle in your home? What are some ways parents can fight this trend and instill healthy self-worth in their children?

April ParentLife Giveaway -- The Parent Adventure

Every parent knows that parenting truly is an adventure! Our April giveaway features the new LifeWay parenting resource The Parent Adventure by Rodney & Selma Wilson. Everyone* who posts a comment on our blog in April will automatically be entered to win a copy of the Leader Kit for this resource, featuring a copy of The Parent Adventure trade book, a member book for the 7 week Bible study based on this resource, and 2 DVDs featuring the authors.

In each issue of ParentLife, we are always sharing stories of the adventures of parents just like you. Let us know what adventures in parenting you are experiencing right now.
*LifeWay employees are not eligible for this giveaway. Multiple comments do not increase chances of winning.

Conversation Please!

Couples not getting along, workplace strife, children whining. Have you noticed that the root cause of many problems is lack of communication? We can never spend enough time practicing our listening and speaking skills at work, church, or home. The problem is that we have gotten so busy that we don't have time to sit down and talk when we are rushing from event to event. I will be the first one to admit I am too busy. Unfortunately busyness can cause us to miss out on one of the best parts of parenting -- sitting together and talking with our kids.

Whether we are teaching our children some of his first words, asking about his school day at dinner, or having "The Talk" about the birds and the bees, talking with our kids is so important. I am at the stage in parenting where my children ask lots of questions -- about everything -- to the point where it can be tiring! But I am careful to answer questions because I know that the time will soon come when my children will hit those teenage years and be more reserved.

Yesterday Christopher and I talked for nearly two hours while we watched Jonathan play in a baseball game. We talked about everything from baseball to silly April Fool's Day jokes, but it was precious time together.

In the "Parenting Matters" editorial for the April 2009 issue of ParentLife, I talk about other great times we talk together as a family.

What are some of the great conversations you have had with your kids? Do they surprise you at the insights they have and the questions they ask? Post a comment and let us hear from you!