Saturday, January 13, 2018

No TVs or Computers in Kids Room



DOES YOUR CHILD REALLY NEED A TV?
IN THEIR BEDROOM

No.

WHY WE DON'T ALLOW TVs in KIDs ROOMs

When our oldest child was around five years old, my friend asked me if he had a TV and Video game in his room.

We'd thought about it and decided to make an upstairs playroom for all of our kids to go to when they wanted to play and watch TV or videogames.

As they got older, my oldest requested a TV for Christmas when he was 12 years old.

That's when we noticed that his routine was to come home, say hello, go to his room ~ for hours, without really conversing with us.

Then he would close the door and sometimes lock it. This indicated that he was doing something in his room that he wasn't supposed to be doing.

1) It alienated him from us
2) Made it hard to detect when something was wrong, or he was sad, angry, depressed or seeking things on the TV or computer that he wasn't supposed to be seeking.
3) It didn't help him grow, it divided us, made him rather territorial with his room.

Lastly, a co-worker of mine's daughter committed suicide, and one thing she said was an issue was the amount of time her kid stayed in her room alone.

WHEN IS THE RIGHT AGE FOR A TV IN THE ROOM

When they are grown, and no longer in need of oversight. My son got his TV in his room when he turned 18 yrs old. Truth is, he enjoys, even now watching TV with all of us. We 'reconditioned' his way of thinking. He and my other kids enjoy watching shows together, watching each other play video games and interacting with each other. My oldest daughter, now, 20 yrs old states that she rarely watches TV and prefers to watch with everyone else.

If they go in their room for anything other than sleeping, drawing, or reading, I know something isn't right.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTs? For or Against?


Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Sometimes I don't Like Homeschooling My Kids



PULLING MY HAIR OUT 
Never Worked

SOME DAYS I DON'T LIKE HOMESCHOOLING

It's true. It's honest. I am tired getting home from work, and dealing with attitude, not one thing done, a messy living room and ungrateful kids. I have little patience. My kids are being disrespectful, lazy and mouthing off.

At those times, I really have to dig deep to 'like' them, even though, I love them more than anything. They know how to push all my buttons, and some days, I just don't do well with creating a counter measure of calm and restraint to deal with them.

WHAT DO I DO?

Sometimes, I respond well. I cut off the studies, re-direct to fun, relax. But other times, I lose it, fuss, yell, respond that why I told them never to do.

Is that bad?

Is that horrible that I slip in control?

NO...

They need to realize that I am human, a person, who deserves to be treated they way they want to be treated. That parents can be imperfect. That parents can make mistakes. That parents have limits too.


THEN WHAT?

Parents should apologize. We should. It's the right thing to do, and meaning it is important. However, we still need to address their behavior.

EVALUATE YOUR TRIGGERS?

So, then, stepping back and thinking about what made you respond the way you did. For me, most times, it's usually lack of rest. For my kids, it's lack of outward interaction.

TRY and TRY AGAIN

The only thing we've done, is tried to be better at this parenting. With each child an area improves, but another is discovered.

I believe having children isn't just about raising them to be the people God wants them to be, but helping the parent be more sensitive to areas that we need to change ourselves.