This Friday is Dr. Seuss's birthday (March 2), and across America kids everywhere are celebrating by eating green eggs and ham and wearing Cat-in-the-Hat hats. My daughter and I are going to see Seussical Jr. at Chattanooga State University this weekend, about which we are both very excited.
If you're interested in doing something at home with your kids, here are some Seussified ideas!
Each month we are partnering with CentriKid to share content and speak to each other's audiences. So click over to CentriKid to see William's article on What Preteens Want. And here, we have CentriKid's Andy Dukes speaking on today's culture.
Today's culture will shape tomorrow's culture for today's kids. The question becomes how are we (as teachers, parents, leaders, ministers, etc) going to respond to the rapid change that is happening?
My response would be to embrace it, learn from it, and figure out how to inject the Gospel into it. I love checking out new websites and finding new material on subjects that I care about. I thought I'd do the same with you guys. Take some time and check out these links. Which of these struck a chord with you? What does this tell you about today's kids? Comment and let us know!
Andy Dukes studied Organizational Communication at Murray State. He served on Crosspoint and CentriKid beginning in 2005 and has been in the office since 2008. He is married to Meghan, who is a 2nd grade teacher.
Explaining Jesus' death and resurrection to a three-year-old is hard.
Because really, what concept do they have of something dying and being brought back to life? Libbie has been to two funerals in her short life, but she doesn't understand "death"—nevertheless the miraculous and beautiful resurrection we celebrate each Easter.
Christmas is easier, in a way. Kids understand babies being born. They may not get that part of the story about the immaculate conception, but they can grasp the key players and events: angels, shepherds, wise men, a donkey, a couple, a special baby.
I want to focus on the Lenten holiday just as much—if not more!—than we followed along with the Christmas story, crafting and reading our Bible every day for a month. Belief in the resurrection is what makes our faith different from anyone else's. Our God is ALIVE! He could not be conquered by death!
Do you have any Easter traditions or easy activities to teach kids about the resurrection?
When Jessie Weaver is not busy being the resident ParentLife Blogger, she writes at Vanderbilt Wife and also for magazines like HomeLife and ParentLife. She lives in Chattanooga with her husband, where they run after two little ones: Libbie (3) and David (1).
Frequent ParentLife writer Andrew Greer released the album Angel Band: The Hymn Sessions on January 31. On the album, he comes together with other vocalists to reinterpret classic hymns. The hymns have a folksy feel.
Greer wanted to represent the communal nature of hymns by joining forces with other artists. I love this video that shows them in the studio!
Do you love hymns, redone or just belted out in the original tune? We are big fans of Alan Jackson's hymn album around here, and listen to and sing hymns all the time at our house.
Famed author Karen Kingsbury wrote the article on choosing adoption for our March 2012 issue. Here, get to know Karen and her family a little better.
Meet Karen’s Family
Karen Kingsbury has been married to Don for 23 years. Don has been a teacher and coached basketball and football for almost 25 years. Karen and Don’s love of art and sports is reflected in their three biological children and three sons adopted from Haiti.
Kelsey (22), the Kingsburys' only daughter, is a marketing major and actress with roles in several Christian films.
Tyler (19) is studying Christian music and hopes to become a professional singer.
Sean (17), one of Karen’s adopted sons, is a high-school junior; he plays football and basketball.
Joshua (17), another adopted son, is also a junior and plays soccer and football. “In the summer of 2010,” his proud mother says, “his Amateur Athletic Union club soccer team finished third in the nation.”
EJ ― Emmanuel Jean (pronounced ‘John’) ― is 15. He’s Karen’s third adopted son. He’s a sophomore and plays football, basketball, and soccer.
Austin (14) likes football, but he’s crazy about basketball. “He’s real tall ― he’s 6’3”; he’s well past his dad’s height.”
Whatever the event, the Kingsbury family is their own fan club. “Whether we’re off to a concert that someone’s singing in or going to a game,” Karen says, “the whole family goes and we all enjoy both.”
Blending Family & Career
Life as a wife, mother, and writer is a matter of organization for Karen. “For me, when it’s a writing day, I try to clear the schedule and write from about 9:00 to 3:00, when the kids are in school. Sometimes, it might spill over into 4:00 or 5:00. I don’t write every day. The marketing and other aspects of my career as a writer happen when the kids are at school.
“I try to have my evenings open for the family. I try to be team mom and have supper,” she laughs. “Not every time is it a fancy meal, by any stretch of the imagination.”
As a teacher, Don’s schedule is similar to the children’s. Karen and Don find time for each other by focusing on daily moments. “We’ve always had a great relationship. We don’t have a lot of dates going out; we make memories and have fun and find our romance at home. Part of being successful in our family and in our marriage is that neither of us feel like we have to get out. Some couples need a weekly date night; we don’t. For us, we might play a board game with the kids or we might take a walk through the neighborhood. We find our moments in the ‘everydayness’ rather than making big trips or date nights.”
“We really have a wonderful marriage and I credit a lot of my ability to have this kind of schedule and work to Don. He prays for us all the time. He’s the kind of guy that we can have fun making dinner together."
You can learn more about Karen Kingsbury and her books at her website or Facebook page.
Each month ParentLife pulls together a one-page document for preschool and children's leaders and teachers that highlights articles that might help families they work with. But this also is a great tool for parents!
The Wicked Stepmother: Many blended families fall for three ridiculous myths about stepparents. Bust the myths and help families establish strong foundations (pp. 30-31).
New Crib Safety Standards: Did you know that the Consumer Product Safety Commission released new safety standards that prohibit the sale of drop-side cribs? Are the cribs in your ministry safe? (p. 11)
Trends & Truth: Do the families in your ministry watch American Idol? Provide them with these great conversation starters to help them evaluate the impact of pop culture (p. 28).
The Use and Misuse of Rewards: Rewards are a popular method of discipline in the church setting. But are the teachers in your ministry using rewards as effectively as they could be? (pp. 38-39)
Parents & the Path of Purity: Sexuality and purity are sometimes difficult for parents to discuss with their children, but it is critical for them to feel equipped to do so. Provide parents with this list of four common hang-ups related to talking about purity and truths to help them overcome those struggles (pp. 20-23).
Childhood Depression: Childhood is supposed to be a time to enjoy the world without grown-up hassles and worries. But sadly, depression steals happiness from too many children. Equip families struggling with depression with the information they need to find help (pp. 34-35).
Hidden Message Hearts: Consider using this creative Valentine's Day craft to help the children in your ministry hide God's Word in their hearts (pp. 36-37).
20,000: The number of underage profiles Facebook removes from their site each day. Are parents in your church prepared to stand their ground before allowing their children to take the Facebook plunge? (p. 24)
You might also be interested in these ParentLife Online articles that relate to the print issue:
From the beginning of our pregnancy, we knew we wanted to find out the gender of our baby. I’m not a big fan of surprises, so we were so excited for our ultrasound that would hopefully reveal the gender of our little one. I admit I was up most of the night before in excitement, praying our baby would cooperate so we could get the perfect picture. There are many old wives' tales about how to predict the gender of your baby. I had to try a few of them just for fun!
Carrying low or high? Well, I’m kind of in the middle, so not much help there.
Heart rate of baby: It has been consistently over 150 beats per minute, so that indicates girl.
Craving sweet, salty or sour? Cravings haven’t been really strong, so not much help there either.
Chinese Birth Chart (which my hairdresser swears by): Boy
The Drano test: Of all the tests, I just couldn’t bring myself to do this one. You’ll have to Google for more information!
If both age and conception year are even or odd, then it’s a girl. If they are different, then it’s a boy: Girl
How do you pick up a key? If by the skinny part it’s a girl; if by the head of the key it’s a boy: Boy
Ring Test: If your wedding ring hung on a string above your belly swings in a circle, it’s a girl. If it swings back and forth, it’s a boy. This one said girl.
While these tests can be fun, I have to admit I don’t place much weight on their results, especially since they weren’t consistent at all!
At our ultrasound, though, our baby cooperated beautifully. And we are so excited to announce … it’s a GIRL!
Becky Suggs and her husband, Robert, live in the mountains of Glorieta, New Mexico, with their pug, Sadie. They are expecting their first child in April. In her spare time, you can find Becky reading, enjoying the great outdoors, filling in squares to the latest crossword puzzle, and spending time with family. She has a passion for both kids and camping ministries.
Carey Casey writes our regular "Dad's Life" column in ParentLife. Today, he shares with us some extra notes on the importance of marriage.
In February, we get to celebrate the importance of marriage to our culture. Some personal experiences have solidified this for me.
My bride, Melanie, came from a broken home. Sometimes in the past I have thought about that and asked her, “Why are we still married after all these years? What has kept you interested and committed to staying married?” Because I can tell you — and she knows — I’m not all that great.
She told me that even though her mom and pop didn’t make it, she always had a vision for a strong marriage. She did say she was angry with her dad, but in the next breath she said she never gave up hoping he would come home.
I have some neighbors whom I’ve come to know pretty well. One day several years back, I heard that the husband was about to leave the wife. I had joined the National Center for Fathering not that long before this, and God was giving me new insights about fatherhood. When daddies aren’t there, something big is missing for kids and families. All those facts were stirring in my mind when I heard about our neighbor. I knew what was at stake not just for his family, but other families on our street.
So that’s why I was bold; I took a chance and approached him to talk about what he was about to do. I told him to think hard about it, and to imagine the long-term consequences that will come because of his decision. His family would be forever changed. Our block wouldn’t be the same. I even told him that my son Chance would be asking, “Where is he?” and that we would have to tell him.
Well, he did leave his wife, but it wasn’t for long. He soon came back, and their relationship has healed. That’s the far-reaching power of marriage in our families, our neighborhoods, and our culture. Maybe my own parents built that into me, because I can remember having talks with my brother when we were teenagers. He would say, “Carey, when we’re married one day, no matter what might happen, we’ll work through it.” And I agreed. We said, “We’ll stick with it because we’re Christians, and we’re men.”
Things don’t always work out in marriages, and maybe I’m idealistic about it, but I’m not going to apologize for that. God made marriage, and with His help we can make our own marriages strong and create a better image of marriage for the world around us. We must do this by all means. We have to help change culture, and marriage is the recipe to get this done.
Through his work across the country, Casey has earned a reputation as a dynamic communicator, especially on the topic of men being good fathers. He’s known as a compassionate ambassador, particularly within the American sports community.
What is your experience with divorce or separation, and how has that formed you?
We are proud to have Dr. Linda Mintle in ParentLife each month answering questions submitted from readers. To submit a question for Dr. Mintle, e-mail it to parentlife@lifeway.com and include "? for Dr. Mintle" on the subject line. This month we have an extra Q&A from Dr. Mintle we wanted to share.
Q: My seven-year-old son was playing house with his same-age cousins. I saw them and noticed they were touching each other and trying to kiss. Should I be concerned about this type of play?
A: Today, parents are very concerned about possible sexual abuse and victimization with kids, so it is important to know what is normal sexual developmental behavior. During the early school age years (6-8), children often play games or role-play as they explore their sexual development.
Your child has a natural interest in body parts and function at age seven. The key here is to notice whether his sexual interest is excessive, that the play involves children the same developmental age, and that no activity was forced or coerced.
Children this age have a normal curiosity about physical bodies that often leads to sexual play, involving touching or role-playing what they see adults do. Most times, it is harmless. So stay calm and use this to teach your son about the privacy of a person’s body and appropriate touch. You can use a book to go over private parts with him in order to satisfy his curiosity.
If you are still concerned, require the children play in open areas of your home. Finally, if your child has been sexually abused, exposed to pornography, or has observed adults having sex, pay more attention to what he is doing in order to spot signs of inappropriate play.
Every wonder how film & TV ratings are determined? Here’s the first in a two-part blog series to help you easily interpret those ratings systems for your family.
PART 1: MOVIE RATINGS First, for any movie, I’d recommend you always look up the “Reason for the Rating” at www.filmratings.com. That’ll give you a clearer idea of a film’s content and whether it’s appropriate for your family.
G—General Audiences According to the Ratings Board of the Motion Picture Association of America (www.mpaa.org), a film with this rating “contains nothing in theme, language, nudity, sex, violence or other matters” that parents accompanied by young children would find offensive. Generally speaking, if you trust the MPAA this rating should be fine for your family.
PG—Parental Guidance Suggested In a PG movie no drug use is allowed, but “there may be some profanity and some depictions of violence or brief nudity.” This most often shows up as mild swear words or mild violence. Parents should be aware, however, that PG-rated films released before 1984 more closely reflect the standards present in today’s PG-13 rating. You’ve been warned.
PG-13—Parents Strongly Cautioned A PG-13 movie has more frequent, or more intense, depictions in regard to “theme, violence, nudity, sensuality, language, adult activities or other elements”—but those depictions not as graphic or pervasive as in an R-rated film.
Drug use is allowed in a PG-13 movie. Brief nudity can appear too (usually a bare behind), as long as the MPAA doesn’t view it as “sexually oriented.” Violence is allowed if the Ratings Board sees it as “generally not both realistic and extreme or persistent.”
Most general profanities are to be expected in a PG-13 film, including a single use of “one of the harsher sexually-derived words.” So practice this mantra with your kids: “Just because you hear it doesn’t mean you have to repeat it.”
R—Restricted This film “may include adult themes, adult activity, hard language, intense or persistent violence, sexually-oriented nudity, drug abuse or other elements.”
The Ratings Board applies the R rating broadly, resulting in wide variance between individual motion pictures. For instance, rare “hard language” will receive the same R rating as torture-porn or graphic sex. The “reason for the rating” is the best indicator of content here.
NC-17—No One Under 17 Admitted The age of admittance for NC-17 seems arbitrary and out of touch with American families. (Why would this content be appropriate for high school kids?) Nevertheless, according to the MPAA: “An NC-17 rating can be based on violence, sex, aberrational behavior, drug abuse or any other element that most parents would consider too strong and therefore off-limits.”
Next Month: Ratings-Ready Part 2: TV Ratings
Have a pop culture question for Trends & Truth? Email it to parentlife@lifeway.com!
Mike Nappa is a bestselling author, a noted commentator on pop culture, and founder of the website for parents, FamilyFans.com.
I (William) just finished working on a great product to use with kids at church — Theo Church Edition: Foundations of the Christian Life. We take the great Theo videos that the folks at Whitestone Media produce and create a teaching plan for use at small groups and churches everywhere who are looking for a great way to teach theology to kids.
Theo offers a rare combination—packaging rich theological content with high entertainment value. Make the biblical content come alive through fun, age-appropriate Bible curriculum that revolves around the Bible stories embedded in each episode of Theo.
Volume 3: Foundations of the Christian Life includes “A Day in Prayer,” “Abiding in Christ,” “Light Unto My Path,” and “What Is the Church?” plus the “Good News” bonus session. Retails for $39.99.
Want to win a copy for your church? Comment on any post in February and get a one entry. Comment every day, and you could have up to 20 entries! You can get a hot-off-the-presses copy when it releases in March!
And we'll give you a few more days to enter to win a copy of the OMC game from CentriKid. If it's not clear, just leave a comment about any camp experience on that post to get a chance to win.
It was just a couple weeks ago when Christopher had a really bad day. He had an argument with Mom, lost his temper, and spent some time in his room calming down. All seemed well by dinnertime until Christopher dropped his plate on the way to serve his food. His plate shattered, and he burst into tears. All he could say was, "I had a terrible day!"
I reflected that I did not learn how to deal with mistakes well growing up. I tended to internalize the mistake, blaming myself and feeling ashamed, usually dwelling on the mistake rather than facing the problem and moving on. That was not a very healthy approach especially when I, like most people, made some of the same mistakes over and over again.
That's why a love a fresh start: second chances, a new week, or even a new year. We are trained to make resolutions, start a fresh semester in school, and to start the year off right in many areas of life. But is it easy to do that as a parent, especially in the face of mistakes? Does one setback throw you completely off track?
I think the answer to successful change is all about the vision for success. The problem is that we are too busy to develop a clear vision and often to listen to God's voice about what He would have us do.
So the challenge is to take time now before the hectic pace of life sweeps you away to seek that vision: vision for your family, what you want your children to be like at age 18, and where you want to be in your relationship with God.
Each month the ParentLife team wants to equip you to be the parent your children need you to be. Please let us know how we can better partner with you in your parenting journey!
Every month we have a long list of products we want to share with you, but only a few can fit in the printed magazine. That's why it's so great we have this online space! Here are a few things we couldn't squeeze into the magazine this month.
Guavamitts (guavakids) These baby mittens have two types of closures for a perfect fit that grows with your baby. They are stylish and functional, engaging baby's senses with high-contrast graphics. To boot, they are made of a planet-friendly bamboo/organic cotton blend. Find them for $12.00 a pair at www.guavakids.com.
The BabbaBurpie (BabbaCo®)
Optimize space in the diaper bag with the BabbaBurpie. If this oversized terry cloth burp cloth gets soiled, just flip it inside out for a fresh, clean surface! Check it out at www.babbaco.com. Stylish designs retail for $22.50 each.
Contigo® Kids Trekker Cup with AUTOSEAL® Technology
Kids who have outgrown sippy cups are ready for this spill-proof mug. Push the button to release the seal, and let go to close. Holds up to 14 fluid ounces. $5.99. Visit www.gocontigo.com. {You can see a more detailed review at the wonderful site I Can Teach My Child.}
I think those mittens would make an awesome baby shower gift! And I've been wanting a Contigo cup for my daughter for awhile, too. Any products out there you love and want to share with us?
Blending Family & Career
22 weeks pregnant
Dad's Life Columnist Carey Casey is Chief Executive Officer of the Kansas City-based 
Theo offers a rare combination—packaging rich theological content with high entertainment value. Make the biblical content come alive through fun, age-appropriate Bible curriculum that revolves around the Bible stories embedded in each episode of Theo. 
Guavamitts (guavakids)
The BabbaBurpie (BabbaCo®)
Contigo® Kids Trekker Cup with AUTOSEAL® Technology
