10 Tips to Better Family Time - All Pro Dads

1.     Eat Together & Listen to Each Other - Sharing a meal together allows the opportunity to talk about each other’s lives. This is

a time for parents to listen, as well as to give advice and encouragement. Attentive listening conveys a message that a person is really

interested in another. It also imparts a sense of worth and helps develop trust.

2.     Read Often - The latest research indicates that reading to your children cultivates an interest for knowledge and stimulates language

development. It also increases their attention spans and helps them become more curious. After reading, ask questions about the content.

3.     Do Chores Together - Part of what goes on in the home is the development of teamwork. Functional family life depends on the

contribution of everyone. Assigning chores is the most productive way of teaching responsibility and accountability to your children.

4.     Help With Schoolwork - Helping should begin with an understanding that children are responsible for homework. Parents

are there to help their child get organized and to encourage them when they get stuck. Regular trips to the library for school

projects are an inexpensive and enjoyable way to spend time with children.

5.     Start a Hobby or Project Choose an activity that interests your child. Cooking, crafts, fishing, or biking will make great

hobbies that can open the door to exciting family time. Once a child learns a new recipe or is able to cast a lure accurately, let him

or her take the lead with supervision.

6.     Play Games - Many children spend long hours in front of the TV playing computer programs. Find creative ways to spark an

interest in family-oriented contests such as board games or card games. This will give you additional time to talk and nurture your

relationship.

77.     Plan a Family Outing - Sometimes getting out of the house is important. Hop in the family car and go for a drive. Prepare a

picnic lunch and visit a local park. Take time to play catch or ride a bike. A stroll in the woods will help parents interact with their

children. Also, a visit to the zoo or museum will spark a child’s enthusiasm and lead to lengthy discussions.

8.     Encourage Athletic Activities - Sports not only strengthen the body, but also build character and determination. Whether it’s a

father pitching a baseball to a son or a mother and daughter nature walking, finding time for athletic events is important for a child’s

emotional and physical development.

9.     Create a Family Time Calendar - Since many parents have hectic schedules, time with children often becomes a low

priority whether intended or not. Post a calendar on the refrigerator and have parents and children pencil in special events. Knowing

when you’re going to meet may also help you think of creative activities. Commit to keeping this schedule free from interruptions.

10.   Pray Together & Attend a House of Worship - Nothing is more special than taking a few minutes each day to pray

with a child before bedtime. By explaining the purpose behind prayer, children will learn the importance of faith as the

foundation for the family. Also, when parents go to religious services, they instill in their children a reverence for God. Churches

also offer invaluable support to families.

James Firthfountain Teaches Lesson 12: Bricks & Mortar - Nehemiah Rebuilds Jerusalem

This Sunday we bring the Old Testament to a Chronological ending as we focus on Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after the captivity!  Pastor Kevin will be preaching to the adults this Sunday, so James Firthfountain will be teaching the lesson along with Rebekah and the rest of the Playhouse Players!  They will be having all the same fun as usual (minus a couple of puppet characters) so don't let your kids miss out!  They won't want to miss the ending of the Old Testament Story that we've been working towards for 4 years now!

ALSO: We will still have Christmas Musical Rehearsal for early service!  Aimee Robinson will still have that rehearsal while Pastor Kevin is preaching during that service!

The Gratefulness Principle

Gratitude increases closeness in relationships. As you parent your children, look for opportunities to take advantage of gratefulness to draw closer to your kids. Give your children small gifts of love day after day. Be careful, though, that you don’t confuse the gratefulness principle with the overindulgence trap.

Some parents, wanting their children to like them, recognize giving gifts opens the heart, so they overdo it by giving them too many things. Giving to your kids must be tied into relationship, or the gifts feed selfishness instead of gratefulness.

Overindulgence is giving your children more than their character can handle. When children lack gratitude, then the more you give them, the less they appreciate. Parents must restrain themselves or they’ll exceed their child’s ability to manage the blessings.

Overindulged children rarely become grateful when you give them more things. They grow to be more demanding and selfish. Parents then feel unappreciated and become resentful. The hearts of both parents and children harden toward each other, and closeness becomes a thing of the past.

If your children become overindulged rather than grateful, then pull back on the area where you’re giving too much. Look for creative ways to give differently to your child. Giving gifts of time rather than physical gifts can be one idea. Giving the gift of affirmation rather than advice can be another. Teaching the heart gratefulness can be a challenge. Having a child say thank you is just behavior. Gratefulness comes from the heart.

Monitor your child’s response to gifts of love to determine if you’re growing gratitude or overindulgence. As gratefulness increases, you can slowly give blessings in a way that will produce more gratefulness. You’ll know if you’re moving too quickly by your child’s response.

This tip comes from the book, Parenting is Heart Work by Dr Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN.

The Benefit of Reporting Back

One way to teach children responsibility in the everyday work of family life is to have them report back after completing a task. Many parents give assignments, assuming that their kids are completing the jobs, often resulting in frustration when they later find out that the jobs weren’t done, or were only done part way. Most children don’t naturally feel an internal sense of responsibility. You can help develop responsibility by requiring kids to report back. Children who do a job part way, easily get distracted, or don’t complete tasks need closer supervision, smaller tasks, and more frequent times of checking in.

Even older children sometimes have a problem with irresponsibility. Yelling isn’t necessary—more accountability is. It takes work to require kids to report back, but your investment now will give your children a valuable gift. Reporting back after completing an assignment is an adult skill. Employers appreciate it when employees report back. Whether children are three, eight, twelve, or fifteen, they need to learn this valuable skill.

Responsibility can be defined in different ways for different children. For the child who is easily distracted, responsibility could be defined as “sticking to a task until it’s completed and you report back.” For a child who tends to do a halfhearted job, you might define responsibility as “doing a job thoroughly without being reminded.” For the child who tends to do what you said and not what you meant, you might say, “Responsibility is completing the job up to the expectations of the person giving the instruction.” In each case you’re teaching children what it means to do a job with a sense of obligation to complete it well.

When receiving an instruction, the child should feel a little uncomfortable. That uncomfortable feeling is what responsible people feel when they have an unfinished assignment. Just imagine your own to-do list. If the time is ticking away and your to-do list isn’t getting smaller, you feel a bit uncomfortable and put in more effort. The uncomfortable feeling is lifted once kids report back and their work is checked.

Many parents start instructions well but don’t end them effectively. Instead of a feeling of satisfaction of a job well done, the child feels guilty, wondering when Mom is going to find out that he pushed the clothes under the bed or didn’t sweep the walk. Parents give their children a gift by requiring that the child report back.


This parenting tip is from Chapter 44 in our NEW RELEASE book, The Christian Parenting Handbook by Dr Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN. Find 50 practical strategies to equip yourself as a parent.

Awana Clubs Theme Night: Crazy Sox Night!

Clubbers wearing any kind of sox other than plain,

Single-color sox, will get extra points for their team!

Extra credit for more than one pair worn on hands, feet, pinned to clothes, draped over heads clothes-pinned to noses or ears etc. Dump the “lost sox” basket over them!