Spiritual and Moral Development Archives

Teaching Children the Difference Between Wants and Needs

May 8, 2013 by Jenae — 5 Comments

Although our boys are relatively good about not constantly asking for stuff, I want them to know the difference between “needs” and “wants”. ”Needs” are the things that we rely on to live (comfortably). ”Wants” are not essential to our life, health, or hygiene; they are just things we would like to have.

No matter how much or how little we have, everyone wrestles with this issue (adults included). With all the poverty and suffering around the world, I want our children to have a realistic perspective on what we should feel entitled to (news flash: not much). And am I the only person whose blood boils when this commercial comes on TV???

Here’s what you’ll need: magazines and flyers, scissors, glue, and a large piece of white paper (I used our fingerpaint paper).

1. Make two columns with “Needs” on one side and “Wants” on the other.

2. Look through the magazines and mailers together with your child and talk about things we need and things we want.

Continue cutting…

Needs: Bread, Toothpaste & Toothbrush, Socks, Sunscreen, Vitamins, Cereal, Dish Soap, Coat, Milk, and Blueberries.

Wants: Bat Cave, Cookies, Soccer Foosball Table, Lightning McQueen Toy, Golden Key?, Pizza, Veggie Tales movie, Waterpik Flosser, Blocks.

Because a person “needs” to have Palmolive prominently present in their life. :)

Big Brother is really interested in his oral hygiene…he “wants” a Kids WaterPik Flosser! :)

I decided that I should give this a shot too…it would be good for my perspective as well!

My Needs: Healthy food (fruits, vegetables, nuts), exercise, “A Good Night Sleep”, and my home.

My Wants: Sonic Dr. Pepper, (all. the. time.), Awesome abs, and a white sofa. Because everyone knows that having a white sofa is an excellent idea with two rambunctious boys.

How do you teach your child the difference between wants and needs???

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Filed Under: 3-5 years, Parenting, School Age, Spiritual and Moral Development

“My Mouth Won’t Let Me”

February 10, 2013 by Jenae — 4 Comments

Little Brother is three…and we all know that being three comes with its highs and lows. Highs being that he is becoming more independent, says the cutest things, and we get to see his personality emerge a little more every day. The lows are the tantrums and fits. Little Brother can occasionally (although thankfully not too terribly often) throw a fit with the best of them. His fits typically don’t include kicking and screaming, but rather incessant whining and crying.

When he throws such a fit, I normally ask him (as calmly as I can…although sometimes it comes out not all that calmly) to either stop whining and crying or go to his room. This is when he typically responds, in a still whining and crying voice:

“But Mommy, my mouth won’t let me.”

(But it really sounds like this in his adorable, whiney, little 3-year old voice: But Mooooooooooooommmy, my mouf won’t wet meeeeeeeeeeee.”)

The first time I heard him say this, I wanted to burst out laughing (although I held my composure, thankyouverymuch). The idea sounds kind of ridiculous. He is in control of his mouth, not the other way around, and he can make himself stop.

But when I really started to think about what he was actually trying to say to me, I understood and even empathized.

When he tells me that his mouth won’t let him stop throwing a fit, my son is really saying to me:

“I don’t have enough self-control to stop this thing.”

“I don’t have the right coping mechanisms yet to know how to handle my disappointment in a more mature manner.”

“I just can’t do it on my own, I need someone to help me.”

Hmmmm…these statements sound oddly familiar to things I have said within the last five years of parenting these two precious blessings (either to myself or a trusted confidant).

What is wrong with me? Why can’t I have enough self-control to wake up before my kids or keep myself from yelling at them? Or not set a bad example in my habits (Dr. Pepper, exercising, selfishness…the list goes on).

Why did I just say that? I can’t believe I just said that!

I just don’t feel mature enough as a mom to handle this.

Lord, I can’t do it on my own. I need YOU to help me!

As it turns out, my three-year old and I aren’t all that different. Sure, I don’t typically whine and cry and throw a fit when I don’t get my way (although sometimes I do), but we both have the same feelings of not having the self-control necessary to handle certain situations and needing some help…whether it is from a parent or our Heavenly Father.

I smile a little bit to myself now when he says this phrase, because I want to say, “I understand, baby, I feel that way too. Let’s figure it out together. You ask me for help and I’ll ask God.”

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Filed Under: A Lesson Learned, Inspirational, Spiritual and Moral Development

Scriptures to Pray for Each of My Children in 2013

January 11, 2013 by Jenae — 9 Comments

I pin a LOT of idea on Pinterest but I only try around 10 percent of them (or less). A while ago I had pinned this idea for praying a specific scripture for your child each year from This Lil Light O’ Mine (and then I repinned it to remind myself) and I’m finally getting around to it. I’ve been reading through Praying Circles Around Your Children and finally decided I needed to get on the ball and choose a scripture for each of our boys. There’s no better time than the beginning of the year, right?

First, I tried to think of a scripture that acknowledged each child’s strengths while also encouraging them in areas in which they can grow and improve.

Here are the two scriptures I chose for our boys:

Big Brother:

“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12: 10-12

I chose this verse for two reasons. The first is because of the world “zeal”…if I could describe Big Brother’s perspective on life and on God, it would be with the word “zeal.” He has an enthusiasm that I admire and I hope he never loses. It is contagious. The second reason is because I want him to honor others above himself. Along with his zeal, he has a lot of confidence (which is good, unless it becomes bragging), but I pray that he always places his confidence in God and treats others with humility.

Little Brother:

“And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, His command is that you walk in love.” -2 John 1:6

Little Brother loves and loves well. He is compassionate and tender-hearted, especially toward animals and young children. Like most three-year olds, he wants to be independent and sometimes has difficulty obeying. I pray that this year will be a year of learning to be obedient to us and ultimately to God. I want him to know obedience is an act of love.

Just like This Lil Light O’ Mine, I too traced each boy’s handprint (twice) and wrote the scripture on each one. One to keep in my Bible and the other to put in their journals.

My children don’t have giant hands…I am just keeping them in my small Bible. :)

In addition to placing one in my Bible to remind me to pray these scriptures for them, I also included one in each of their journals. I have written in these journals for each of our boys from the time I found out I was pregnant with them. Instead of giving a birthday card, I write in the journals. At holidays, I write in the journals. For their big milestones, I write in the journals. The entries are fewer and farther between these days, but it is something I hope they will treasure when they are older. And as morbid as it sounds, if something ever happens to me, it is my hope that they would know how much I loved and treasured them throughout their entire lives while reading the letters in their journals.

journal 2

When I glued them in the journals, I also wrote a note explaining each verse and why I chose it for each child. I blurred the note part out…that’s personal between me and my babies. :)

journal 1

I showed Prince Charming the handprints with verses and he asked, “Where’s my verse?” Perhaps we’ll choose a verse together to pray for our relationship as well. :)

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Filed Under: Inspirational, Parenting, Spiritual and Moral Development

Goal Setting for Kids (free printable)

January 2, 2013 by Jenae — 11 Comments

It’s the New Year, which means everyone is making resolutions or goals for the coming year! Why not include our kids as well?

We were talking with our boys the other night about some things we would like for them to work on in the coming year (obedience, tying shoes, etc). My husband and I decided that we would like each member of our family to set a few goals for the coming year–including our 3-year old and almost 5-year old! So I decided we needed to create their own goal-setting printable! I plan to laminate these and hang them on our bulletin board.

I divided the goals into two types: Physical Goals and Character Goals. There is space for two of each on this printable. Underneath each goal, I also have placed an “Action” line, which should briefly detail what steps need to be taken in order for the child to accomplish that specific goal. The character goals are a bit more abstract (at least for our children), so it was a little more difficult to come up with “actions”.

There is also a small area to include a photograph or a self-portrait. We chose the latter. :)

I thought our printer was out of commission, so we started to write them on a separate piece of paper first. The above is Big Brother’s goal that he came up with all on his own.

Little Brother got a bit over zealous with his self-portrait! :)

Print out your own Goal Setting Printable for Kids here.

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Filed Under: 2-3 years, 3-5 years, School Age, Spiritual and Moral Development

The Best Bibles for Babies, Toddlers, & Preschoolers

November 16, 2012 by Jenae — 8 Comments

One of our three Christmas gifts each year to our boys is either a new Bible or a Christian-based Children’s Book. It is always so fun to curl up together and open the unturned pages in a new Bible for the first time. We have accumulated quite the collection of children’s bibles since our first child was born nearly five years ago. I thought it would be helpful to create a list of the best Bibles for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers (in my opinion).

And yes, we own every single one of these Bibles…and these are just the ones that I like and recommend! You might wonder: Why do I need to have more than one children’s Bible? Well, I’m not sure that you “need” multiple Bibles, but I have found that not a single children’s bible includes all of the stories in the Bible (or all the stories I want to teach my children). Obviously, an illustrated Bible certainly could not…but I want my children to hear as much of the Bible as they can, which includes the many stories we find in the Good Book. As our children grow…so does their attention span and understanding of these stories so I think it important to have age-appropriate Bibles in our home. Also, it is important to remember that each of these children’s Bible is someone’s interpretation. I am thankful for these interpretations, however, because they help my little ones yearn to grow closer and know God more from a younger age. They take the Bible and make it accessible and developmentally-appropriate for even the tiniest of children.

Bibles for Babies (Birth-2 years)

Even though babies will not understand or retain the Bible stories you read to them, I believe it is important for Christian families to make reading a Bible story a habit within days of welcoming your baby home. Here are just a few of our favorite bibles for newborns through early toddlers.

My Pajama Bible by Andy Holmes

This bible is divided into 30 individual stories with 2 paragraphs each of rhyming text related telling each story. The rhyme and rhythm to this Bible make it the perfect read-aloud for babies. It isn’t the best in terms of content (explaining the stories, etc.), but it is an easy, rhythmic read-aloud.

Baby’s Hug-a-Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones

This board-book Bible, much like The Pajama Bible, is written in beautiful poetry. There are only 10 stories included and they are relatively short (around 2 paragraphs each–perfect for a baby’s short attention span). The Bible itself is large enough to hug and the entire book is covered with a snuggly, sheep-like fabric (which you can’t see from the picture)! The emphasis of every story is on God’s love for us. This is now my go-to Bible for baby showers and newborn gifts!

The Baby Bible Animals by Robin Currie

This book is different than the other two recommended for babies in that it includes actions! The stories are simple and short and include at least three actions with every story (roar like a lion, pretend you are hammering, etc), making it perfect for babies 6 months and older. This was both of my boys’ favorite bibles well into toddlerhood! There are also gender-specific versions of the Baby Bible for boys and girls (although some of the stories are the same).

Bibles for Toddlers (2 -4 years)

The Beginner’s Bible for Toddlers by Mission City Press Inc.

This Bible is written in more of a narrative form (unlike the poetry and actions that characterized the baby bibles). Your child will be able to recall some details from these stories and will begin to get a sense for the lessons each Bible story teaches us.

Read with Me Bible for Toddlers by Dennis G. Jones

This Bible is perfect for wiggly toddlers who love to look at the pictures. With only 1-2 sentences on each page, toddlers will enjoy learning about the Bible stories through pictures and short narrative. With the exception of the Creation story (which is amazingly illustrated) the illustrations are much more caricature-like than any of the other Bibles (which may or may not appeal to you and your child). I personally prefer the illustrations of the other Bibles, but I know that this will appeal to my boys. There are 24 stories in this Bible (10 Old Testament and 14 New Testament). I ordered this Bible for Little Brother for Christmas. We haven’t read it all together yet, but I did look through all of the stories and was really impressed how simple the content was while still capturing the essence of each story.

Bibles for Preschoolers & Young School-Age Children (Ages 4-7)

Would you think I was crazy if I told you that I didn’t know how to Bible “fit” together until I was in college and began an in-depth Bible study? I didn’t realize that all of the individual stories I learned about in Bible Class (which I went to since I was a baby) all told about the same people, God’s chosen nation of Israel. Nor did I realize just how much the Old Testament pointed to the coming of our Savior in the New Testament. Thankfully, my children will not have this void in their faith walk with the prevalence of children’s bibles that tell the story of Jesus literally from the beginning.

The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones

This is my absolute favorite children’s bible ever written (thus far). Sally Lloyd-Jones does a beautiful job of writing over 40 of the most important stories in narrative form, including our need for a rescuer (Jesus) in every single story (even in the Old Testament). The illustrations are a bit more abstract, but still capture the essence of each story. If you are looking for ONE bible to read together as a family, THIS is the one.

The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm

This is another great Bible that points to our need for a Savior. The illustrations are very lifelike and the bible itself is rather large, making the title even more relevant. This bible is appropriate for slightly older children because it is not really “fluffed” like many other children’s bibles. The Old Testament section of this Bible talks a lot about punishment and God’s anger, but then again…that is a lot of what we read about in the Old Testament. Overall, it paints a very realistic picture of the stories in the Bible.

Jesus Calling Bible Storybook by Sarah Young

This Bible is brand-new to us. I actually bought it for Big Brother for Christmas this year, so he hasn’t gotten to read it yet. I have read several of the stories and I absolutely love the illustrations. At the end of every story, it has a “Jesus Calling” section with a scripture reference that emphasizes Jesus’ presence as well as how we can apply the story to our lives (“I was there when Adam and Eve left the Garden forever”; “Sometimes in this world, you will have to suffer for doing the right thing”). My only complaint is that not all the stories are similar in length, which could be a good thing for using it with younger children and siblings.

The Story for Children by Max Lucado, Randy Frazee & Karen Davis Hill

This Bible is very similar to the Jesus Calling Bible Storybook. The illustrations are beautiful and are a work of art in themselves. The stories are relatively short and keep the attention of both of our boys. At the end of every story, there is a section called “God’s Message” which encapsulates God’s love and what He has taught the character in that particular story.

Other Christian Children’s Books Worth Checking Out:

The Big Red Tractor by Francis Chan

This parable for children, written by the author of Crazy Love, is a wonderful portrayal of how we function best when following the Bible, which God has given us as our “instruction manual for life.” The story tells about a village who plows a field by having all of the villagers push and pull the tractor, not knowing that it could actually run by itself until someone finds the instruction manual in the attic. Just the like the tractor, we can achieve our true potential with God’s help when we look to our instruction manual (the Bible)!

Halfway Herbert by Francis Chan

Some readers have described this book as Crazy Love for Kids. Herbert only does things halfway: his homework, cleaning his room, and eating his dinner. He gets caught telling a half-truth and his dad teaches him that if he’s going to live pleasing to Jesus, he’s going to have to put his whole heart into it.

Ronnie Wilson’s Gift by Francis Chan

This book is a tear-jerker (for adults, anyway). Ronnie learns about Jesus’ great sacrifice in Sunday School and wants to give Jesus a gift. He tries to mail Jesus his coveted baseball glove, but the post office doesn’t mail to Heaven. On his way home, he sees a man who is hungry and uses the money he brought for postage to buy the man a hot dog. Later on, he is jumping on his trampoline, trying to reach Heaven, when he sees his lonely neighbor boy over the fence. He asks his neighbor to jump on the trampoline with him. Finally, he buys a big balloon to use to fly his baseball glove to Jesus only to hear a little girl crying because her balloon floated away. Ronnie gives the little girl his balloon, but then feels badly because he didn’t give a gift to Jesus. That night he has a dream where Jesus tells him that when he gave the food to the hungry man, his time to his neighbor, and the balloon to the sad little girl, Ronnie was giving a gift to him.

What is your family’s favorite children’s Bible?

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