Parents as Teachers takes a simple approach to parenting: in our view, parents are the experts on their own children. They know what makes their children “tick”: what frustrates them, what encourages them, and what makes them smile. As their parenting resource partner, our role is to offer child development information that helps parents understand their child’s behavior and progress. In turn, this helps parents make good decisions.
Sometimes those decisions are not easy. Consider this: preschool children are the single largest television audience in America, spending more time watching TV than any other single activity except sleeping! And while the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than 1 to 2 hours of television viewing per day, the average U.S. household’s TV is on between 4 to 6 hours every day. Could your household make it through TV Turnoff Week?
Little children do not watch television like adults.
Different learning style
Toddler and preschoolers experience TV differently because they don’t learn like adults. Small children are active learners; they need to move, maneuver, smell, touch and repeat as they learn. Television, primarily a visual experience, offers little opportunity for interaction.
Different viewing patterns
Preschoolers have different viewing patterns due to their cognitive and linguistic growth. They pay more attention to what is showing on the screen, and the constantly changing stream of pictures, words and movements is difficult for their young brains to assimilate.
Different filtering skills
Little children don’t have the skills or experience yet to distinguish reality from fantasy; that comes from interacting with other people and playing with toys they can touch, feel and manipulate. But even the gruesome violence of TV isn’t the most damaging, say researchers. That kind of drama may desensitize young viewers, but it is the glorified violent acts by superheroes that are more of a concern for children.
Think watching TV is a passive activity? Think again. Both a child’s body and mind are
actively at work as he watches TV. Muscles are tensed, the cardiovascular system is at its peak, and the young brain is working to digest the flurry of motion, sounds and images flashing before it. This combination of inactivity and tension is physiologically demanding.
It’s not all bad news!
Developmental researchers have also found that viewing positive, pro-social television can increase the pro-social attitudes and behaviors of children…especially when parents watch with them. Educational and quality TV programs can promote children’s intellectual development and imaginative play; the key is parental involvement.
TV Turnoff
The average child in the U.S. watches 4,000 hours of television before he starts kindergarten. Could your child go a week without TV? Could you? TV Turnoff Week can be an opportunity to test your resolve!
Smart TV viewing
· Be timely: Set time limits for how much TV will be allowed, and keep it turned off when no one’s watching.
· Be choosy: Be selective not only about what children watch but what adults in the home watch, too.
· Be vocal: If something looks unrealistic, say so. Or ask, “Do you think that could really happen?”
· Be innovative: Use TV to expand a child’s world. Watch shows about new places, people or things.
Pat Simpson is the Marketing Communications Director at The National Center for Parents as Teachers. Based in St. Louis, Parents as Teachers National Center is the resource and backbone of Parents as Teachers, parent education and early childhood development program serving parents throughout pregnancy until their child enters kindergarten, usually age 5. The nonprofit National Center oversees more than 3,000 programs offering Parents as Teachers services nationwide as well as in several other countries. For more information about Parents as Teachers, visit www.Parentsasteachers.org.
I almost bought an iPhone…..seriously….I did. My husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year and without hesitation, I answered. We visited the Mac store…read internet reviews and talked to all of my trusty mom friends who bubbled and gushed about the functionality of the phone that does ‘everything.’ I read Twitter tweets from mompreneurs who had turned the ‘trapped in the car with sleeping children’ scenario into a prime work opportunity. Now when the kids fell asleep, they simply pulled out their handy dandy phones–answered emails, wrote blog posts and caught up on social networks.
As a naptime activist (….and Chief Mom Officer here at MOMbo) I routinely find myself working at odd hours. Late nights….early mornings. Like most children, my two munchkins often fall asleep in the car. The thought of parking it…rolling down the window, pulling out my iPhone for two hours of uninterrupted work was enough for me take off running to the Mac store….or at least it should have been.
For some reason, though, there was a hesitation that I couldn’t shake. Was it the ‘cutting and pasting thing’….the lure of the Blackberry Storm..or was it something else entirely. My husband loves talking on the phone….I hate it….hmmm…maybe that was it. Whatever it was, was enough to make me hold off on purchasing an iPhone.
A couple of weeks went by……
Then……
The kids took another long nap in the car. There was work to be done…emails to answer…and there I was. Laptop—at home….no wireless internet connection.
That was it! I was SO getting an iPhone.
The next day, we drove to the store. My husband circled and circled, trying to find a parking space. We couldn’t find one. Ha! Everyone wanted an iPhone.
Now the next bit is somewhat fuzzy….I can’t even tell you how it happened. My husband somehow ended up talking to a friend of ours—a friend who just happens to be an amazing technophile. He mentioned something about taking me to get a phone so that I could get more work done without having to carry around kids and a laptop. He said something about an iPhone..twitter….emails….and then there was silence…..
‘Uh huh….Uh huh….yeah…Well no, not really….’
More silence….
‘Well, watching video clips….reading articles….’
Yup, more silence.
‘A netbook, eh? So, how big are they?’
And it all just sort of went from there.
We drove away from the phone store without getting out of the car and set out to find a netbook.
Netbooks are fully functioning laptop computers that allow you to connect to the internet anytime…anywhere. What is so incredibly ‘cool’ about them is that they are small enough to fit inside of a purse. With a 10 inch screen and normal keyboard you can literally bring your office with you….anywhere. The netbook that I ended up purchasing came with microsoft office, a media player, a built in webcam and the ability to connect to 3G or wireless. Needless to say…It had everything that I needed. I did not have to get a new phone or change my existing mobile number. No applications that I wouldn’t use.
So far, I am loving the ease of my new netbook. It weighs almost nothing, but performs just like our larger (and heavier) laptop. Now when the kids fall asleep in the car, I can roll down the window, pull my office out of my purse and do something productive.
Kemi Ingram is the Creator of MOMbo TV. She lives in California with her husband Chris and two daughters Abigail and Anna.
They are deeply traumatized people; they’ve seen horrific violence, murder; many of the children have survived abduction and either forced soldierhood or sexual slavery. The moral ambiguity of a conflict in which children are brutalized into committing atrocities has challenged the fabric of the society. Now these people are supposed to leave the camps, to go home. But no one is sure
where that is, or how to start over. Where there were once communities, there is nothing.
I traveled to Uganda at the request of a group of nurses who had established a small clinic in partnership with a Ugandan non-profit. Their clinic provided first aid and some medical services to the IDPs. Mostly they treated malaria. Malaria is such a huge part of living in Africa; there is nothing like it in the U.S. They wanted to add maternity services at the clinic, but they were out of their depth and budget. I traveled to visit their clinic and my board decided to fund a salary for one midwife. She would provide prenatal care to the patients at their clinic. That was in the beginning. Now we have this miraculous clinic with 15 indigenous staff members who serve hundreds of people each month providing medical care to women and children. It’s a very different project than the one in Afghanistan, but it’s a great program.
October 2008 was a very exciting month for TSMP’s Ugandan staff. After much preparation, we began mobile outreach clinics in an area called Kamuda. Kamuda is a sub-county that includes 50 villages. The village closest to Soroti is only nine kilometers from town, but it is less developed than the IDP camps. A finger of huge Lake Kyoga reaches into Kamuda, and the people subsist on fish from the lake. As the pressure is turned up on IDPs to leave Soroti, many of them are trying to re-settle in Kamuda. Although the fish are abundant, adequate drinking water is a problem because there are insufficient wells. Most drinking water comes from the lake, so there is plenty of water-borne illness. The local leaders are working to organize the people to dig new pit latrines, as there is also no sewage system. Electricity is something that is only dreamt of. Going barefoot in and around the lake exposes the folks to a disease called bilharzia (its more proper name is schistosomiasis). There are two health centers for the 50 villages, but they are without staff or supplies. So every Thursday, the majority of our clinic staff packs up and rides out to Kamuda.
A large number of needy people are getting help—people who otherwise have little or no access to medical care. An unanticipated bonus of this project has been the remarkable team building exercise it’s become for the staff. They love this project. Having the ability to reach out to the neediest Ugandans is something they take very seriously.
Why is it that human beings living on the same planet that we live on have to live in a reality that includes no safe water, so much rape and physical violence, raiding militias, hunger, and always malaria, sickness, misery. I often stumble trying to illuminate something about the apparently obvious statement that these are people, human beings. What would you expect from the world if you and your community lost everything? We came into a world with such disparity already in play that we might not notice our responsibility to correct it. In the U.S., even the homeless can find safe water to drink.
Human beings live in grass-thatched huts on the dirt, without running water, without access to work or good healthcare. Human beings. Innocent women and children. There are places in Africa that are in bad trouble,….and I believe we all have to stand up and help.
Jennifer Braun is Program Director at International Midwife Assistance. To learn more about IMA, please visit www.midwifeassist.org.
No one can make someone understand what it truly feels like to become a mother. Each woman does, as MOMbo says, her own personal and unique “dance” into this new way of life. By the time I was ready to have a child, I had many mommy friends who were eager to provide me with loads of details and advice. Though I listened, none of what they said made any real impression on me.
I had a vision of my motherhood experience that had nothing to do with sleep deprivation or endlessly dirty diapers. In my mind, everything was going to be blissful, serene, organized, and fit neatly into my existing life. I would get up at 5AM to practice yoga, start writing my book while the baby napped, and hold conference calls while my darling played silently at my feet with age-appropriate handmade toys. I fooled myself into thinking that the journey into motherhood was an experience I could control. These “friends” of mine who told gleeful war stories about weeks without sleep and months without adult conversation obviously didn’t have my skill for managing things.
Unfortunately, my expectations didn’t turn out to have any bearing on reality. Right from the start, my best intentions were tossed aside like an unsolicited movie script. I remember the social worker who visited my hospital room a day after I’d given birth. “My, my,” she said, “things didn’t go quite the way you’d planned, did they?”
Motherhood turned out to be chaotic, unpredictable, overwhelming, and – at times – downright frightening. Though I had read a good many books and bought all manner of supplies and gadgets, I initially felt utterly unprepared. I tried to create an illusion of having things in-hand by documenting every feeding, bowel movement, and nap. I tried desperately to shoehorn myself and my newborn into a schedule that fit my preconceived ideas about how things were “supposed” to be. Looking back now, I can see why my mom laughed at me.
The thing is, motherhood changes everything. It consumes you in a way you couldn’t have imagined. Even now, as the mom of a precocious and independent five year-old, I am still constantly adapting to new challenges.
If I’d been asked early on about my parenting “philosophy” I would have cocked my head in the manner of a relatively intelligent golden retriever. I realize that many moms – even first-time, sleep-deprived ones – are capable of answering such a question with a well thought out and deeply grounded “mom-ologue,” but not me. Early on, my parenting philosophy was, “please let me survive.”
Five years into this gig, I’m just beginning to get a sense of what my philosophy might be. It’s pretty simple: love, play, trust. Love your child and yourself unconditionally. Play whenever you can. Trust that you’re not going to screw this up. Breathe, listen, appreciate, and have fun. Though it may feel like it sometimes, motherhood isn’t a race, a test, or a millstone. It’s a chance to share the world with another, and by doing so, see it in a new light yourself. Enjoy the ride.
Jamie Wallace is a single mom who makes her living as a virtual Web development project manager and versatile writer/blogger/editor. Her writings can be found on popular parenting sites, including a weekly featured column at BabyCenter. She is an enthusiastic participant in all kinds of communication and community building – from local, “real world” projects to completely virtual networks of people and stories.
The most recent worldwide cost of living survey listed Geneva, Switzerland, as the eighth most expensive city in the world in which to live in 2008. No arguments here.
Although our family moved to Geneva from Barcelona (ranked 31st) weeks before the survey results were launched, we became painfully aware of Geneva prices well before arriving.
Anyone moving to Geneva chooses between living in the city, in a neighbouring canton (equivalent of a US state or Canadian province), or across the border in France. We decided to live in Geneva for family and professional reasons, and got our first surprise when the relocation agent told us not to bother house-hunting in Geneva more than six weeks before our move date.
I’ve lived in London, England (ranked second most expensive city in the world when I arrived), but even there I had more time to find a place to live. Geneva is different: the market isn’t just hot, it’s scalding. We were lucky to find a place but had to move within six weeks and are paying more than triple what we paid in Barcelona for less indoor space, which impacts all other spending decisions.
Last autumn the radio was full of stories about Geneva’s housing availability rate dropping to 0.02%, which meant that anyone looking had to apply for the first acceptable place, hope to be selected as the tenant and accept sky-high pricing.
It doesn’t stop there. We had stocked up on the essentials for a new home before we left Spain, knowing prices were more reasonable. Our boxes were full of sponges and cleaning products and clothes for our daughter’s next year of growth. But somehow the usual first-shop-in-a-new-home visits to the grocery and hardware stores still whipped more than 1,500 CHF (or about $1,350US) out of our wallets in the first few weeks. We were floored.
Other prices followed suit. We went to the local fruit and vegetable market one sunny Saturday morning and spent more than four times what we would have in our local market in Barcelona. We never went back. We looked at garden furniture and left the shops with heads spinning, opting to keep our small, weathered table and chairs despite having 1,000m2 of garden space to enjoy.
In a country where a litre of milk costs more than a six-pack of beer and McDonald’s charges nearly 5 CHF (about $4.50US) for a medium fries plus 20 cents per packet of ketchup, we’ve had to make tough choices.
I cancelled a much-anticipated trip to visit family in Canada for the first time in two years; we passed on a fantastic baby music class; I haven’t taken swimming classes or joined a gym, and we almost never go out for a meal or a movie because prices are extortionate. I won’t go into the cost of childcare… And we’re among the lucky ones.
How people with low income survive here is a mystery. I recently heard a report about a mid-level manager who lost his job with an advertising agency. He’d moved from Italy with his wife and baby, and after losing his job was sleeping in his car while his wife and child stayed with friends. He wanted to work and seemed skilled, but couldn’t find another job.
This man’s story is being replicated everywhere, and it seems the bubble has finally burst over Switzerland; this country of luxury and banking is suffering along with everyone else.
Frequent news reports suggest the time is right for women to establish themselves as the flexible solution to corporate woes. But in this unequal nation where women get nowhere near equal pay for equal work I’m not sure it’s the answer, either for us or for companies. Time will show us the best solutions for providing for our growing families, but in the meantime we are all fundamentally re-evaluating the way we live.
The most recent worldwide cost of living survey listed Geneva, Switzerland, as the eighth most expensive city in the world in which to live in 2008. No arguments here.
Although our family moved to Geneva from Barcelona (ranked 31st) weeks before the survey results were launched, we became painfully aware of Geneva prices well before arriving.
Anyone moving to Geneva chooses between living in the city, in a neighbouring canton (equivalent of a US state or Canadian province), or across the border in France. We decided to live in Geneva for family and professional reasons, and got our first surprise when the relocation agent told us not to bother house-hunting in Geneva more than six weeks before our move date.
I’ve lived in London, England (ranked second most expensive city in the world when I arrived), but even there I had more time to find a place to live. Geneva is different: the market isn’t just hot, it’s scalding. We were lucky to find a place but had to move within six weeks and are paying more than triple what we paid in Barcelona for less indoor space, which impacts all other spending decisions.
Last autumn the radio was full of stories about Geneva’s housing availability rate dropping to 0.02%, which meant that anyone looking had to apply for the first acceptable place, hope to be selected as the tenant and accept sky-high pricing.
It doesn’t stop there. We had stocked up on the essentials for a new home before we left Spain, knowing prices were more reasonable. Our boxes were full of sponges and cleaning products and clothes for our daughter’s next year of growth. But somehow the usual first-shop-in-a-new-home visits to the grocery and hardware stores still whipped more than 1,500 CHF (or about $1,350US) out of our wallets in the first few weeks. We were floored.
Other prices followed suit. We went to the local fruit and vegetable market one sunny Saturday morning and spent more than four times what we would have in our local market in Barcelona. We never went back. We looked at garden furniture and left the shops with heads spinning, opting to keep our small, weathered table and chairs despite having 1,000m2 of garden space to enjoy.
In a country where a litre of milk costs more than a six-pack of beer and McDonald’s charges nearly 5 CHF (about $4.50US) for a medium fries plus 20 cents per packet of ketchup, we’ve had to make tough choices.
I cancelled a much-anticipated trip to visit family in Canada for the first time in two years; we passed on a fantastic baby music class; I haven’t taken swimming classes or joined a gym, and we almost never go out for a meal or a movie because prices are extortionate. I won’t go into the cost of childcare… And we’re among the lucky ones.
How people with low income survive here is a mystery. I recently heard a report about a mid-level manager who lost his job with an advertising agency. He’d moved from Italy with his wife and baby, and after losing his job was sleeping in his car while his wife and child stayed with friends. He wanted to work and seemed skilled, but couldn’t find another job.
This man’s story is being replicated everywhere, and it seems the bubble has finally burst over Switzerland; this country of luxury and banking is suffering along with everyone else.
Frequent news reports suggest the time is right for women to establish themselves as the flexible solution to corporate woes. But in this unequal nation where women get nowhere near equal pay for equal work I’m not sure it’s the answer, either for us or for companies. Time will show us the best solutions for providing for our growing families, but in the meantime we are all fundamentally re-evaluating the way we live.
Change challenges us to adapt and grow. When I was considering the implications of my impending divorce, I knew there would be certain logistical implications to deal with. I considered how I would supplement my daughter’s child care so that I would have enough time to earn a living. I read a couple of books on the challenges of co-parenting. I tried to mentally prepare for having to shoulder 100% of the day-to-day parenting responsibilities.
The prospect of having less time with my daughter was a source of much anxiety. Until my divorce, I was a stay-at-home mom who spent most of her time caring for and bonding with her child. I worried about introducing other caretakers. Would my daughter feel abandoned? Would the intimacy of our relationship suffer? In time, I learned to lean on my support system with confidence. Family and friends stepped up, I increased my daughter’s preschool schedule and enrolled her in a couple extracurricular activities. It was difficult to emerge from our mother-daughter cocoon, but we’ve both become more independent and appreciate our time together more deeply.
A subtle change that I didn’t consciously anticipate was a greater need for planning ahead. Any parent will tell you that children introduce a certain level of chaos to life. As a single parent, you have to plan for the unpredictable. Without a partner to offer on-demand support, you must have contingency plans ready for any circumstance. As a freelancer, I have learned the hard way how important it is to set early deadlines so that an unexpected sick day (or sick night) doesn’t create a crisis. Speaking of crises, it’s also important to know how to handle a crisis on your own. Single parents need to be ready to deal with any emergency.
On some days, the very act of parenting feels like an emergency. Children of separated parents are notorious for manipulating both sides of the parental fence. Unless you are lucky enough to have a respectful relationship with your ex, you may be frustrated with what I like to call the myth of co-parenting. Though a difficult situation, it has helped me realize which issues are worth fighting over, and which are not. It has also taught me to be a stronger disciplinarian. When you’re parenting without backup, you have to learn to stick to your guns.
Finally, single parenting can easily lead to a way of life that puts the needs of the parent at the bottom of a very long list of obligations. There is so much to do, and only you to do it. Without an on-site partner to pick up the slack while you have an impromptu soak in the tub or enjoy a spontaneous walk, it’s easy to slip into an existence devoid of downtime. This is dangerous. So, amidst coordinating support, planning ahead, and navigating a new style of parenting; be sure to make time for yourself. That might turn out to be the biggest change you have to make, but it will be worth it.
Jamie Wallace is a single mom who makes her living as a virtual Web development project manager and versatile writer/blogger/editor. Her writings can be found on popular parenting sites, including a weekly featured column at BabyCenter. She is an enthusiastic participant in all kinds of communication and community building – from local, “real world” projects to completely virtual networks of people and stories.
When I vacuum, I don‘t wear pearls like June Cleaver did. In fact, I don’t vacuum all that often, and when I do, I‘m usually in my pajamas, not high heels! I don’t always cook my family’s meals from scratch. Unlike a certain commercial from a few years ago, I most certainly do not invite you to stick your head in my toilet bowl to smell its fragrant cleanliness. The kids’ rooms are often in disarray, and I frequently hear, “Moooooommmmm, I can’t find any underwear!” about an hour before we need to leave the house for something time sensitive.
With all these significant “failures” to my name, pray tell, what kind of mother can I possibly be, and what do I do all day?
Here is what I have found to be the most important lesson I have learned as a mother: I spend my time “in the moment” with my children. I grew up in a clean house, but it was sterile in more ways than one.
I knit with my kids. We read. We explore. We homeschool. We go to classes like Lego ™ Robotics, chess, music, dance, tumbling, and Spanish.
In the summer we swim everyday, and participate in the library’s Summer Reading Program. In the winter, we go a local warehouse that has wall-to-wall trampolines. This spring, we hope to achieve a goal we’ve had for awhile, and get Red Wigglers to try our hands at vermi-composting. In autumn, we trace our hands and make paper turkeys, and trace leaves so we can write down all the things we are thankful for to read aloud on Thanksgiving Day.
When my children are grown, with children of their own, and I am long gone, will they remember the dishes left in the sink, or that we ditched them there in a mad dash out of the house for another exciting adventure? Will they remember that I chose to heed their pleading to play Mad Libs ™ with them, when I should have been doing housework? Will my boys tell their boys how their mom convinced their dad to let them have mohawks with a tail when she cut their hair, and bought them the hair coloring that comes out in the shower? Will my daughter regale her girl with tales about the time she wanted a snake and her mom was cool enough to be okay with that? Will my children remember the birthday party at the cake factory where we had so much cake left over that, just once, I let them have nothing but cake for dinner?
I honestly don’t know what they will remember about what our home looked like. But, I am fairly confident that they will know that they were loved, and had a mother that chose spending time with them above all other things.
With all these parenting “sins” to my charge, I freely confess to you that I am a “terrible mother,” and wouldn’t have it any other way!
Marie Stroughter is a freelance writer with a background in Early Childhood Education. She is the biological mother of one and adoptive mother of two. She actively homeschools all three of her children.
Dear Esther,
Parents in the United States have many options for educating their children. Public schools, private schools, and homechooling are all recognized options. A college or university education is possible for graduates of all three types of schooling provided students have completed programs within the standards for education established by the government.
In the early days of the American colonies, many families schooled their children at home, but public schools soon formed with the idea of teaching religious ideals to children. In the mid-1700s, private schools began to become more popular as immigrants did not want to be told to teach their children in English, nor did they want their children subject to a particular religious view. By the mid-1800s, private schools were primarily for the very wealthy, and the public school system was born. In the 1900s, public schools again became more popular, and more children graduated than ever before.
During the late 1900s, homeschooling once again became a more popular option for American families. According to National Household Education Surveys conducted in 1996 and 1999, the majority of homeschooling parents were white, non-Hispanic, and were of the middle class economically with one parent not working outside of the home. Their arguments against public schooling include religious views, moral views, the lack of specialized or advanced learning, and lack of gifted programming in the public schools. While private schools are able to meet religious and academic objections, their cost is arguably prohibitive.
Public schools in the United States have come under fire by homeschooling parents and others who protest the conformity expected of children and the “average” student mentality of public education academics. Public schools that are able to provide academic challenges to gifted students and who offer substantial arts, music, and technology are able to counter the homeschooling argument that public schools do not accommodate students who are high-achieving. In recent years, public schools have come under attack for teaching test-taking skills with the goal of students scoring high on prescribed achievement tests rather than teaching students the basic skills they will need for advanced learning and critical thinking. Public schools have received criticism for teaching students to be more mindful of their future careers than of pursuing a liberal arts education for the pure joy of learning.
Americans value their freedom, and having a wide variety of elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schooling options is part of the American desire for choice. Students who are homeschooled in the United States have more choices than ever before as parents work together to form homeschool sports teams, art classes, orchestras, bands, and choirs to enrich the students’ academic life. Colleges and universities regularly accept homeschooled students who meet the criteria established for admittance at their respective institutions.
Like other children around the world, the most educated American children have the most options available to them as adults. American parents who can afford private school or homeschooling are privileged to have many choices with regards to how their children become educated.
Sincerely,
Sharina Smith for MOMbo TV
Sharina Smith currently serves as the senior director of marketing and communications for Southwest Baptist University. She and her husband Chuck have a combined family of four children (11, 12, 14, and 17). She is passionate about reading and good grammar and is a media junkie– reading several newspapers, blogs, and magazines each day. Learn more about Sharina at sharinasmith.com
For the first time as a parent last week I was speechless. My daughter has been working on a report on Anne Frank, a girl her own age who hid from the Nazis during World War 2 in a tiny apartment with 7 other people. Maddie, in her wise beyond years mind, put two and two together and realized that she had a German lineage. She asked me in a random moment, “Mom, did we kill the Jews?”
I sucked air. My heart fell into my stomach and I was speechless. I kindly responded to her that no, Daddy’s grandparents and great grandparents were here in the USA years and years before the Holocaust. Our family on both sides was appalled at the Holocaust, and has done everything in our power in our time to make racial reconciliation a reality.
Moments like that as a parent heighten my awareness for the need to constantly remind my children that in no way are we better or worse than any other race on the planet.
The way we talk to our children about skin color is sort of like this:
Imagine the most rainbow you have ever seen with its full spectrum of color. Just like the rainbow, we look across the spectrum of humanity and see every color represented. Imagine that beautiful rainbow we were talking about were smashed into a million pieces and fell to the ground. Just like that rainbow, because of pain, poverty, and injustice, the races of humanity have been broken and separated. It is our job to do our best to put those pieces back together. When we love and accept someone from a different race, we are putting one more piece back in its place.
Living in an almost all white neighborhood, with an almost all white school, in our almost all white little town makes teaching them about putting the rainbow back together again a bit of a challenge. So, how do we do it?
· When we see someone of a different race or ethnicity, we talk about it. Ever since they were babies, they have heard nothing but positive remarks come out of our mouths when it comes to speaking about different races.
· We serve others with different skin color than our own. We put our family in places and spaces where we are the givers and the helpers for those of different races.
· We read books from and about other cultures. Expanding their worldview by reading about people groups and children from other cultures is a huge priority in our family.
· We sponsor a child through Compassion International. The girls write her, and she writes to them. We even had the opportunity once to travel to India to visit our Compassion Daughter Sangeetha with our oldest daughter. Maddie’s worldview will be forever changed because of that trip.
· We point out the cultural differences between us and “them” as positive, beautiful, and things we can learn from.
· We pray as a family for different people groups besides our own.
Putting the broken rainbow back together again is a big job. If we break it down into pieces, it is much easier to manage. What are the pieces in your world, your community, your neighborhood, can you and your family put back together?
Michelle Wegner is a married stay at home mom to three spirited little girls. She enjoys blogging, travel and ‘all things outdoors.’ Her husband Rob is a pastor at Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana. Learn more about Michelle at www.michellewegner.typepad.com
We are pleased to announce that MOMbo TV Creator, Kemi Ingram has accepted a position on the Board of Directors of the Boulder-based advocacy organization, Mothers Acting Up (MAU). ‘I am truly honored to join the board of such an amazing organization,’ says Ingram. Mothers Acting Up educates, inspires and engages mothers in global advocacy inititatives aimed at improving the lives of vulnerable children. Click here to learn more.
This week’s video takes a look at how young students and families in Armenia are learning to provide sustainable sources of income—with the help of livesock from Heifer International. The gift of a cow or goat can move a family from financial dependence to self-sufficiency. Hope you enjoy the clip…
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This week’s video comes to us from Save the Children. It takes a look at how drawing, painting, scribbling and sculpting can help little children’s hearts to heal. We hope that you enjoy the video
Join us this Tuesday night, August 3rd from 9:30-10:30pm ET for a ‘back to school’ twitter chat! We’ll be talking about the steps that parents can take this year…to send their kids to school with a healthy lunchbox. We will be joined by the following panel of experts in the fields of child health, nutrition, [...]
This week, we’re shining a spotlight on the World Vision Micro program. Learn how you can help to empower poor families… and encourage them along the road to self-sufficiency.
This week’s video comes to us from Save the Children. Each and every day, community health workers travel to the most remote parts of the world in an effort to provide live-saving health services to women and children in need. “Of the children under the age of 5 who die each year, almost 2/3 could be saved with the [...]