Frustrations In Parenting

I hate when I get frustrated with my kids. Well, not really. I hate how I choose to respond when i get frustrated with my kids. One thing that I'm constantly trying to develop is my level of patience with them. I hate it when I yell at them. I absolutely hate it. From now on, I'm going to try to work on venting that frustration in appropriate outlets. Yes, I'll still express my frustration to them and they will still be punished, but nobody deserves to be yelled at. Ever. I don't know why people feel that is appropriate just because it's your kids. Strange. JM

Acts 5:1-11

My son respects me. At times I would say that he fears me. I think that's healthy. Not like a frightened to death kind of thing, but more like a "I better listen or I'll get a spanking" fear.
The problem is sometimes he forgets that I'm daddy. It's easy for him to remember the fun parts about daddy, that we wrestle, watch movies, go on walks, fix stuff, etc. And it's easy for him to forget the not so fun parts about daddy, mainly the discipline. So when he whines about not wanting to do something, I'll tell him that he needs to do it right now or he'll get a spanking. Then normally he'll start to do it slowly, or refuse to do it, until I get up. Then he becomes immediately compliant. He's remorseful. He's fully in line with what I want because he doesn't want a spanking.
But he forgets about that sometimes and needs to occasionally be reminded that although we can be a lot of fun, he still needs to fear me.
The same applies to our relationship with God. When things are fun and easy, we forget that God is God. Things are going great, so maybe we slip up on our favorite sin. Or maybe we don't honor God with our money. That's when it's good for God to remind us that He is God, and that we should fear Him.

It's Tough To Be A Parent

Being a parent is such a huge responsibility. You think you're giving your child some benadryl to dry up their runny nose and really you're killing them. So now they say we can't give kids cold medicines if they are under 6 and that they don't really work anyway. Instead they suggest

Moisturizing the air with a vaporizer or hydrator
Using saltwater nose drops to dry up a runny nose
Using a rubber nose bulb to clear up congestion
Feeding the child chicken soup
Consulting a pediatrician

I'm not sure if we'll stop giving our kids cold medicine, but that rubber nose bulb is no fun. JM

Bedtime

My kids are bad about bedtime. Well, really just my daughter. Noah's not so bad. I'll ask my daughter if she's ready to go to bed and she'll say "No!" and then run to her mommy. Tonight Noah and Ana fell asleep in our bed. Noah fell asleep about 20 seconds after he finished his sippy cup and Ana fell asleep laying across my wife's leg. Just before she fell asleep she was trying to do "cheers" with Noah and then she was out. They're fun. JM

Supernanny

If you ever have a bad day with your kids, just watch that supernanny show. It really makes my parenting skills look good. Plus most of the advice on their is really good. I just wish the nanny lady would let the parents whoop the living trash out of some of those kids. JM

Steps To Delinquency

I just saw this article over at cnn about two 10-year olds and a 17-year old that beat up a homeless man. Certainly the rise in this type of criminal behavior has to be at least partially attributed to the glorification and proliferation of homemade fight tapes on the internet.
But as I skimmed the article I noticed this paragraph:
"Daytona Police Sgt. Billy Walden said the teen and two boys were walking in their neighborhood around 9 p.m. when they saw 58-year-old John D'Amico. They began throwing rocks at the homeless man."
As a parent, you have to know a little bit about what your children are doing. 10-year old boys should not be walking around their neighborhood at 9:00 pm, especially with a 17-year old. I know when I was around that age, I had an older teen spend time with me, and his intentions were not good either.
Parenting is hard work. It's tough to stay on your kids, and sometimes they hate it. But man, if you care at all about them, you have to be involved in their life. JM