What is It?
This resource is a helpful guide for parents in assisting their children in creating goals for the New Year (or whenever)!
How do I use it?
This is in pdf format so you can:
- print and distribute it to your parents
- email to your parents
Author Archives: Jeremy Lee
Technology
Controlling Technology
Email 1
Copy/Paste the following email:
Subject Line: Controlling Technology, Part One
Christmas Greetings Parents:
We are at the time of year again where your kids are bringing you their Christmas wish list for you to look over…and maybe even for Santa? am sure, like almost every child their age in America, somewhere on that list is technology of some sort or form.
While we might want to buy them the newest and latest device, we are not always sure how to find the right balance of time, use, and control. Once they get that device, how do we set the right number of limits while also seeking to give them some freedom?
This month’s Online Parenting Class is here to help with this very thing.
It is all about teaching healthy habits in our home…emotionally, socially and spiritually. Your child needs some guardrails to start off with, to guide them toward a good balance. While they might bump up against those rules and limits, it will keep them on the right path.
Remember, it starts with you setting the example as parents. Your children will do what they see, often more than what they are told. During this special time of year, with time off from school and work, make sure to put down your phone, turn off the TV, and put away the device. As much as you are excited about your new toy, make sure to show your family healthy habits of control too.
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/280520380/632043582b
In Him,
Children’s Pastor
Email 2
Copy/Paste the following email:
Subject Line: Controlling Technology, Part 2
Dear Parents:
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”- Proverbs 4:23.
This is my prayer for you as parents and as a family. I pray that God would guard your child’s heart. It is part of our vision for our ministry to your child and your family. We want to do our best to protect children’s hearts from the things that can so easily hurt or even break them.
One of the paths to your child’s heart is through technology. Their world, schools, and even your home is saturated with technology. Technology is not a bad thing, but we must be wise in how we allow it to be used in the life of our child.
We are afraid of being controlling or having our child miss out on something their peers are talking about. The reality is if we are discerning, we can set up healthy habits for our child that will allow them to use and experience technology while still protecting their heart.
This month’s Online Parenting Class gives us some wonderful hints to take steps to better control and develop healthier heart habits when it comes to technology. Look over these few quick things to consider below:
– How is your example of technology use at home? What are the lessons your child is learning by watching you?
– What limits do you need to consider or improve on in your home when it comes to technology use?
– What are your tech-free moments and spaces for your child? Do you have any?
– Have you kept updated on the more recent apps and parental controls on all of your child’s devices?
– Have you come up with a plan or rules on when your child can get social media yet?
As you process this month’s online parenting class and the above questions, let me know how I can help you. I would love to provide some helpful resources and advice about technology expectations in your home!
Blessings –
Children’s Pastor
Video Script
Controlling Technology
We all love and hate technology. We depend on it for so many things but we are all beginning to see that it seems to be changing our lives in unexpected ways. As parents, we have an even bigger burden in that we have to help our kids navigate their access to technology. How much should a child be playing video games? How much TV should they watch a day? Should we allow them to have a cell phone? How do we keep them from stumbling on adult content online?
Let’s be honest. It’s overwhelming and a little frightening because there is no rule book for this topic. Everyone has a hot take on the what they believe technology is doing to our children. Everyone seems to have a different set of rules for their kids. Everyone has an opinion they want to give you as a mom or dad. This month we want to step away from all the fear and process how we can gain control of technology in our homes.
You can’t escape the reach of technology but you can help your children develop a healthy relationship with it. Controlling technology really is about forming healthy habits with tech from an early age. It’s never too late to establish healthy tech habits but the earlier you begin this process the better it is for the family. The time to start working to control tech in your home is today and not tomorrow. The encouraging news for all of us as parents is that when you look at controlling technology as healthy habits you embrace the blessing of time. Establishing healthy tech habits is going to take time. This is a process and here are a few steps you can take to get the ball rolling…
• Set a good example for your kids with tech. // Your kids are learning lessons about technology from how you use technology. Think about the message you are sending your children with how you consume technology. You set the tone with tech in your home with your tech habits.
• Limits are good for everyone. // Think about how much time you want your kids using technology and set limits. Limits are like bed times; they move as kids get older. There are great online tools like Circle that you can connect to your Wi-Fi to monitor your kid’s devices and give them time with certain apps!
• Create tech free moments. // Find times where you intentionally get your children away from tech so they can do other times. Reading time, art time, outside play time are great places where life can be tech free. You may even want to limit kids watching movies in the car when you are driving around town just to give them tech free time.
• Limit access with confidence. // Every tablet and streaming platform has controls to filter content. Leverage these immediately. Never give your child unfiltered access to television or the internet.
• Say no to social media with kids. // Your 4th grader does not need social media. Please, please, please wait to give your kids a social media avenue until they are 12 years old. Kids do not need social media in their lives.
If you take these simple steps as a parent you will be doing so much more than the average parent. Habits with technology created today will give you more leverage when they are teens.
Texts/Tweets
TIP: Choose a hashtag for your tweets and use it consistently. That will tell Twitter to store a list of your tweets on one place for later reference.
Tweet One: You can’t escape the reach of technology, but you can help your children develop a healthy relationship with it. #parenting #family #techparenting #healthykids #godlyparenting
Tweet Two: It’s never too late to establish healthy tech habits, but the earlier you begin this process the better it is for the family. #mom #dad #techhabits #familylife #familymin #parentmin #healthytech
Tweet Three: Your kids learn habits about technology, good and bad, from how they see parents use technology. #parentinglife #modernparent #momlife #dadlife #godlydad #healthymom
Tweet Four: Creating tech free moments in your home will create moments for you to focus on the people in the room, not online. #techfree #parenting #familymoments #mom #dad #kidtech
Tweet Five: Every device your child owns has filters and controls. Your kids should never have unfiltered access to the Web and TV, so turn them on and turn off the negative influences. #filteredfamily #webcontrol #tvfilters #parenting #smartmom #smartdad
Goals
The Power of the Family Goal
Email 1
Copy/Paste the following email:
Subject Line: The Power of the Family Goal, Part One
Hello Parents!
I am so excited to send you this month’s Online Parenting Class! It is all about the pressures of schedules and making a choice to get a grip on that crazy pace of the modern family life.
I hope this video inspires and encourages you. I know it did me. Especially in the shifting seasons of life and activities, it is great to get that list of helpful tips.
I would love to hear your additional ideas and tips to add on to the list in the video. I would love to provide some additional tips that are working for you to other families in our ministry. Email me and let me know what is working for you!
Ephesians 5:15-16, “See then that you walk wisely, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/280518344/ae9b52c4b9
In Him,
Children’s Pastor
Email 2
Copy/Paste the following email:
Subject Line: The Power of the Family Goal, Part 2
Dear Parents:
How is the pace of your family life? Do you feel overwhelmed by the constant push to do more and be more places? It might be time to sit down and decide on what this month’s Online Parenting Class calls “Family Goals.”
You have goals at work for the things your boss needs you to do, and your kids have goals that they must accomplish to get their grades. Why not have some goals for your family, not to put more pressure on everyone, but to balance everything better? It might even mean getting rid of a few things that just don’t fit your new goals!
Give this month’s Online Parenting Class a watch and then sit down as a family and ask yourselves some questions!
1. What are the goals we need to have as a family?
a. Schedule Wise?
b. Financially?
c. Spiritually?
d. Emotionally/Relationally?
2. How long should each of the above goals take? Set a goal and a time for each.
3. What is a celebration or “reward” we could attach to each of our goals?
4. What is it that we would really be missing out on, if we accomplish each of these goals?
If you need a hand with setting your family goals, let me know. I would love to help, pray, and plan with you! My office door, phone, and email are always open to you and your family!
Blessings –
Children’s Pastor
Video Script
The Power of the Family Goal
In our fast-paced culture, it’s easy to feel like our families are coming apart at the seams. The more our schedules pack full of activity the less we see each other at home. Mom is racing one kid to basketball practice and dad is running another to ballet. Dinner might happen together once a week with all the things going on. Then there is the pressure mom and dad feel from work or the master’s degree that is a few years from being finished. Many families can relate to this pace and most of us feel overwhelmed. Where has our “family life” gone?
This month we want to help you get a grip on that “out of control” pace and find a way to unite your family in a common direction. We want to talk about the power of family goals!
When you think about goals you probably think about the gym or work. We leverage goals all the time in other areas of our lives but rarely do we leverage goals with our family. Maybe our family feels out of control because we are not headed in any specific direction. We are just moving from crisis to crisis. We don’t know what to say yes or no to. We are just moving day to day on autopilot. Having a goal brings direction. When we have a family goal or several family goals then we solve so much of the chaos we are experiencing.
Embracing goals in your family life is more simple than you think. A family goal is a priority that the entire family rallies around. Family goals are also not eternal; they change from season to season. A family goal could be mom tackling her master’s degree. Another could be helping your youngest bring her math grade up. A fun goal could be save enough money for new pool in the back yard. A spiritual goal could be to not miss Sunday service at church for 6 months. The important thing about a family goal is that it’s clear to everyone in the family and it shapes all the other choices the family is making. The goal brings clarity!
So, let me give you some family goal tips to think about…
• Choose family goals with your spouse and include your kids. // Family goals have to have buy in with your spouse first and then your kids. Make sure everyone understands the goal and talk about it often.
• Place time boundaries on your family goals. // Goals need time limits. Goals have to be measurable and limited in scope. Make sure you put a time frame on your family goals.
• Celebrate when family goals are met! // This is so big. Family goals that end in celebration teach the entire family to process what’s next because they want to celebrate again. Everyone loves winning and accomplishing goals.
• Use your family goal as a way to stay balanced as a family. // You can’t do everything. Your family can’t do everything either! Use your family goals to choose what your family does or doesn’t do. Leave the fear of missing out behind and focus on your goals!
This month let’s try and leverage goals so we can calm the chaos in our homes. Use your next family goal to get your family life back!
Texts/Tweets
TIP: Choose a hashtag for your tweets and use it consistently. That will tell Twitter to store a list of your tweets on one place for later reference.
Tweet One: We leverage goals all the time in other areas of our lives, but rarely do we leverage goals with our family. #familygoals #familylife #smartparent #parenting #momlife
Tweet Two: A family goal is a priority that the entire family rallies around. Family goals are also not eternal, but they are important for this life on earth. #familygoals #familylife #smartparent #parenting #smartdad #goals
Tweet Three: Family goals are a way to refocus on the real targets of your life and family; get goals and get your life back! #familygoals #familylife #smartparent #parenting #dadlife
Tweet Four: Family goals need to have a time limit so you know how to measure success and celebrate the win. #familygoals #familylife #smartparent #parenting #familywins
Tweet Five: Use your family goal as a way to stay balanced as a family. No goals, No balance. Stop watching the tightrope of your schedule with your eyes closed! #familygoals #familylife #smartparent #parenting #dad #mom #homelife
Christmas Blessings
What is It?
This resource is a helpful guide to go along with the reading of one of the traditional Christmas passages found in Luke. Each family member can take part in reading a section of the passage and then have a chance to share something related to the passage about their specific family, history, and experiences.
It is a great opportunity to reflect in a new way on the Christmas story, while also connecting it personally to your students’ families.
How do I use it?
This is in pdf format so you can:
- print and distribute it to your parents
- email to your parents
Download
Confidence
Helping Your Child Be More Confident
Email 1
Copy/Paste the following email:
Subject Line: Helping Your Child Be More Confident, Part One
Hello Ministry Families and Friends:
I hope you are enjoying the fall season and changes of the weather. What a wonderful time of year. It is amazing to see how each season brings with it traditions, holidays, and memories.
Much like our kids, it is fun to watch the changing season of their lives as well. It is exciting to see the maturing moments and new things that come out during each season. It is why I am eager to share this month’s Online Parenting Class.
This month’s short video is all about building confidence in our children, especially in times of change and shift. Whether it is a new school, new house, or even new classroom, these moments can be moments of insecurity or withdrawal. These seasons can also be amazing times of teaching and building confidence in our children, too.
Embrace these moments in the life of your child. Use these moments to grow your children into confidence and independent as Christ-followers.
Give this month’s video a watch, and let me know what you think.
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/280519309/064bec8aa2
In Him,
Children’s Pastor
Email 2
Copy/Paste the following email:
Subject Line: Helping Your Child Be More Confident, Part 2
Dear Parents,
I am so excited to be able to once again share with you some quick inspiration for your month, through our monthly Online Parenting Class.
If you have not heard about these yet, each month we send along a short 4-5-minute video inspiration to help in a few key ways with your parenting. They are the best of a long parenting class condensed into a quick snippet packed with a whole lot to consider.
Each of these videos we will be sharing with you this school year are a quick, simple, but powerful way to build up your faith and confidence as parents. It is just another way we want to continue to partner with you.
This month’s video is about “Helping Your Child Be More Confident”. I think you will find this practical and so helpful! I hope you enjoy it.
As always, if you have any questions or comments about these videos, I would love to talk to you more!
Blessings –
Children’s Pastor
Video Script
Helping Your Child Be More Confident
It’s so incredible to watch our kids mature and grow through the years. There are
parenting moments when you see your kids mature right in front of your eyes and it
always surprises us in a good way! In those moments, we are reminded that our time
with them is short. I know that’s a hard thought to think about but this month we want to
help you capture the time you have and be more strategic than ever. This month we
want to talk about how to help your kids become more confident.
Confidence is one of those things that most kids need help with. Now your child may be
outgoing and courageous but there will come a time when you see them lack
confidence. Any moment your child faces where they must step into the unknown can
bring out debilitating fear in them. We know the feeling even as adults. We have to start
a new job. We move to a new church. We have a meeting with a large group of people
we don’t know. We often feel insecure and we are adults. Now imagine how your child
feels when they start a school year, sport, or face a family move to a new city. What can
we do to help them be more confident when facing the unknown?
Confidence is something we see God reveal in the Bible often. We read stories about
people in days past that confidently trusted God to deliver them. That kind of confidence
is available to us and our kids even today. In Psalm 57:7 we read about confidence…
“My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your
praises!”
When we embrace confidence in God we can sing His praise through any challenge.
This is the kind of confidence we want to breathe into our children. We don’t want them
to trust their own ability but rather the strength of God. God can be trusted, therefore our
kids have a reason to be confident.
Here are a few simple ways we can inspire more confidence in our kids…
- Don’t dismiss fear, confront it. When your child is insecure never dismiss it as
silly. Allow your kid to open up and learn how to share how they feel. When you
listen, you get the chance to help them really identify what is driving the fear! - Teach kids to pray for confidence. It’s up to us to help our kids understand that
when they are insecure they can turn to God. This is when faith becomes real.
God actually cares about our lives and kids need to know they can turn to God. - Allow kids to experience risk. We all want to protect our kids but there are times
we have to allow them to face risk so they can develop more confidence. Allow
them to go into a new class and make new friends. Allow them to deal with the
unknown. The right amounts of risk lead to conversations and lessons learned. - Celebrate courage. Point out when your kid has done something courageous
and celebrate that step. It’s so important that we as parents speak confidence into their tiny hearts. They need to know how proud we are of them even if it was just a small step of confidence.
We hope this helps give you a place to start when it comes to your child and
confidence. Thanks for allowing us to invest in your family.
Texts/Tweets
TIP: Choose a hashtag for your tweets and use it consistently. That will tell Twitter to store a list of your tweets on one place for later reference.
Tweet One: Capture moments of change in the life of your child as times to be intentional and strategic. #confidentkids #parenting #changes #familyfaith
Tweet Two: Confidence is something we see God reveal in the Bible often. We need to read those stories to our children to teach them to confidently trust God too. #readthestory #livethestory #confidence #parenting #familylife #mom
Tweet Three: When we embrace confidence in God we can sing His praise through any challenge. This is the kind of confidence we want to breathe into our children. #parentpraise #familiyworship #teachconfidence #momfaith #dadfaith
Tweet Four: When you listen to your child’s fears, you get the chance to help them really identify what is driving them. #nofear #listen #parenting #faithandfamily
Tweet Five: Faith becomes real to a child when they see us pray with confidence. #confidentmom #confidentdad #familyprayer #mom #dad #parenting
Tweet Six: Allowing our children to take risks allows them to develop their confidence and their faith. #parent #parenting #familyfaith #confidence #riskyfaith
Car Time Crazy
What is It?
The car is a great place for parents to connect with their kids. This resource was created to provide parents and kids with games to play while they’re in the car, encouraging intentional engagement and fun!
How do I use it?
This is in pdf format so you can:
- print and distribute it to your parents
- email to your parents
Download
The Family Actively on Mission (F.A.M.)
What is It?
This 3-part study is for parents to study and consider what it means to be a F.A.M…a Family Actively on Mission. Each stand-alone but connected study will be based around Joshua 24:15.
How do I use it?
This is a pdf so you can:
- print and distribute it to your parents in a multi-event seminar/workshop
- print and distribute it to your parents as a stand alone study
Download Now
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying
Email 1
Copy/Paste the following email:
Subject Line: Cyberbullying, Part One
Hello Ministry Family and Friends:
One of the ways I have been praying specifically for your child is over the issue of relationship. I pray that they find great friends and make good positive connections with others. The other prayer of my heart is on the other end of things, with the issue of bullying. As you know as parents, it is continuing to be an issue, even in the younger years.
Now in the modern age, bullying has gone digital. You have probably heard the term in books, on the news, and even online. Cyberbullying is on the rise even in the younger years. It my prayer that God would protect the mind, heart, and spirit of your child from cyberbullies as well.
This month’s Online Parenting Class is perfect for this time of year because it over that very topic- “Cyberbullying”. I am excited to be able send it along for you to watch. Please take time with me to pray and consider the 5 extremely helpful hints.
Let me know if you have any questions. Please let me know if this is an issue that you are dealing with in your home. I would love to partner with you!
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/280518297/30d53c194a
In Him,
Children’s Pastor
Email 2
Copy/Paste the following email:
Subject Line: Cyberbullying, Part 2
Hello Parents and Families:
This month’s Online Parenting Class is all about “Cyberbullying.”
What great hints to consider! Here are couple questions & discussion starters to help you have some discussions at home with your children:
1. Talk about the Issue: “Do you know what cyberbullying is…?”
2. Help kids have healthily tech habits: “Do you think I spend too much time on my phone around the house…?”
3. Maintain access to social media accounts: “Let’s talk about social media and when we are going to allow you to have an account…”
4. Check in with your kids: “Have you ever experienced someone bullying you or saying something mean online…”?
5. If your child comes to you, take it seriously: “You know that you can always talk to me about anything, and I will listen…”
This is becoming a big issue is the lives of children and teens. Please let me know if this becomes an issue in the life of your child. I would love to help you. My door, phone, and email is always open.
Grace and Peace-
Children’s Pastor
Video Script
Cyberbullying
There’s nothing worse than finding out that your child is being bullied. You may see it happen with your kid’s sports team, hear about it from a teacher, or have your child tell you about it. It’s so difficult to process as a parent. Everything in you wants to immediately make things right. You want to hunt down the bully and teach them a lesson. After you calm down, you evaluate the situation, coach your kid up, and get the right people involved. We know it’s important to help our children know how to deal with bullying.
Now there’s another kind of bullying that we are all starting to hear called cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is no different than the work of a normal bully but the harm happens behind the safety and distance of a screen. The more our children are connected to their phones and integrated into social media the greater the chance they will encounter a cyberbully. This is why it’s so important that we prepare our kids to confront the issue.
Cyberbullying is one of the biggest issues we hear these days from school counselors. Children and teens get trapped in really destructive cycles of bullying online from people they don’t even know very well. As adults, we may go ahead and block that bully or confront them but often kids and teens don’t. They listen to the attacks and internalize it. Often they hide the bullying from others because it’s by text or on social media. They think it’s not an issue and are afraid to ask for help but they need our help. Cyberbullying is as or more dangerous than bullying in a school setting because it’s done in secret.
When it comes to cyberbullying here are a few things you can do as a parent…
• Talk about the issue with your kids and teens openly. // When we talk about an issue with our kids it becomes a real issue to them. Our kids don’t know how to frame cyberbullying because it’s a rarely new problem. It’s so important we help our kids understand what it is and how to respond.
• Help kids and teens have healthy habits with technology. // It’s our job as parents to model healthy tech habits and then lead our children to have healthy habits. Teens and kids that understand how to use tech and not be used by it have a better shot of avoiding cyberbullying.
• Maintain access to social media accounts. // Until your kids graduate it’s important that you have access to social media accounts so you can see what’s going on. Take time to check in on how your child is using social media and if you notice anything odd coming from other people toward them.
• Check in with your kids about cyberbullying. // Occasionally ask your teen about the issue. Open up the door for your child to talk about other teens facing cyberbullying and ask if they experience it. You never know what you might learn when you just ask!
• If your child comes to you with an issue take it seriously. // If your child feels bullied online then take it seriously. Check it out. Listen to them. Help them form a plan on how to handle this problem.
Cyberbullying is an issue we can help our kids and teen navigate if we identify it and guide them through it.
Texts/Tweets
TIP: Choose a hashtag for your tweets and use it consistently. That will tell Twitter to store a list of your tweets on one place for later reference.
Tweet One: Three steps to dealing with cyberbullying in your child’s life: Evaluate the situation, Coach your kid up, & Get the right people involved. #cyberbullying #onlineparentingclass #parentministry #familymin #parenting #Iamawitness
Tweet Two: The more our children are connected to their phones and integrated into social media, the greater the chance they will encounter a cyberbully. #bullying #cyberbullying #parenting #familymin #family #nobully
Tweet Three: When we talk about an issue of cyberbullying with our kids it becomes a real issue to them. #bullyingisreal #cyberbully #parenttalk #parents #parenting #nobullying
Tweet Four: It’s our job as parents to model healthy tech habits and then lead our children to have healthy habits. #parenting #parent #healthykids #techhabits #familymin #momlife #dadlife
Tweet Five: Cyberbullying: You never know what you might learn until you just ask! #parenting #justask #mom #dad #nobullying #cyberbullying #stopbullies
Tweet Six: If your child is being bullied online: Take it seriously, Check it out. Listen. Help form a plan. #onlinebully #cyberbully #nobullying #parenting #family #stopbullying #iamawitness
Family Fun Night: Dodgeball Nights
What is It?
This resource is all you’ll need to pull of a fun-filled Family Night at your church. We’ve included several different Dodgeball games for parents and kids! This encourages kids and parents to interact and cultivate that parent-child connection and relationship by having fun together!
How do I use it?
This is in pdf format so you can:
- print and use to plan your family event
- print and distribute to your ministry team
Download
Schedule
Embracing The Power of Schedule
Email 1
Copy/Paste the following email:
Subject Line: Embracing The Power of Schedule, Part One
Hello Ministry Family and Friends:
Can you believe summer is almost to an end? Where did the time go? I feel like we just got out of school!
I hope you and your family could get some time together this summer. If you could afford it this year, I look forward to hearing about your vacation adventures from your kids!
Summertime, like every other time around the year, seems like it ends up being scheduled and over-scheduled. I know you will love this month’s Online Parenting Class because it is all about the “power of schedules.”
As you watch, I hope it got you thinking because it got me thinking for sure as we end summer and head into the fall.
Make sure you, as parents, do set healthy schedules for the rest of this summer and into the school year. Really sit down and think about there being a “a time for everything….”
I know from personal experience when we set healthy schedules in our personal, professional, and family lives it sets everyone up for success.
I hope your schedule is full of God’s grace and love as you pray over what works best your family’s schedules.
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/257630089/eb48904a6a
In Him,
Children’s Pastor
Email 2
Copy/Paste the following email:
Subject Line: Embracing The Power of Schedule, Part 2
A Late Summer Greeting!
What a summer we have had around our ministry!? I am so glad to see so many of you this summer between family events and vacations. I hope God has blessed your family, and we praise God for his safety as you traveled.
We are looking forward to another great fall around our ministry and hope you pull out your calendar now and put us on your schedule. Speaking of schedules, this month’s Online Parenting Class is about just that…Schedules!
I would like to offer up some helpful reflection questions for your family:
1. Scheduling Homework: What is my child’s most difficult subject? What is the best time in our family schedule for us to take some time to work on that subject?
2. Scheduling Sleep: What is the best time for my child to start winding down for the night in order to have them in bed on time? What are some distractions that keep my child from getting the best night’s sleep?
3. Scheduling Tech/Media: What are some good rules that we can decide on as a family that will give us time together?
4. Scheduling Play, Reading and Creating: What are subjects or topics that my child is into, that we could find books about that would engage them in reading? What is something that would be fun to do with my child to give us some creative play time together?
5. Scheduling Mom & Dad Time: What are the things in my schedule that could be rescheduled so I could have more time with my family?
Praying for your family and your schedule this coming month!
Grace and Peace,
Children’s Pastor
Video Script
Embracing The Power of Schedule
Being a kid is such a wild experience, and it’s an experience we all get one time on our life. Think back for a minute to your favorite parts of being a kid. It could be time with friends in a neighborhood. It could be memories with your grandparents. It could be adventures with your parents on yearly vacations. The common link is that the times we remember often come from unexpected places on holidays or weekends. They surprise us and stick with us.
The rest of childhood is a maze of figuring out how day-to-day life works. What our kids don’t know is that the parents are trying to figure things out also. As our kids move from grade to grade many parents forget the power of a simple idea that helps kids thrive. That tool parents forget about is the simple schedule. In this online parenting class we are going talk about how we can embrace the power of schedule.
We tend to think of schedules as helpful tools for preschoolers and focus on them less and less as kids move into grade school, but they are still desperately needed. Schedules take anxiety and uncertainty out of our children’s lives. We are giving our children clear expectations and a plan when we give them a set schedule. There are times in every week when no schedule is needed and everyone can choose what they want to do, but during the week schedules help everyone stay sane and healthy!
I know there may be some pushback, but this month let me suggest 5 areas you can set on your schedules that will help your kids succeed!
Homework
I have never met a child or parent that loved homework, but, trust me, it’s going to show up. When you set a schedule for when homework will be tackled you have a better shot of not allowing it to cause arguments. Set a normal routine so you and your kids know this is the time to accomplish it and ask you for help.
Sleep
Your 4th grader needs sleep! Studies have shown that sleep is one of the key indicators of children having success in school. Many parents allow their kids to decide when they head to bed, but that will always go poorly for everyone. Hold to a tight schedule for bed so each night has a better flow.
Tech and Media
Tech and media are fun and dangerous resources for our children. If you don’t set a schedule for when your children can be on devices they will always default to excess. Work with your kids, and make a firm schedule for tech use during the week and a plan for the weekend.
Play, Reading, Creating
Kids need space to have fun not involving technical devices. They need time to read books and the Bible. They need time to make and break things. They need to play and explore. Make a schedule for your kids to have this kind of time each week.
Mom and Dad Time
This is the best schedule we will talk about. Your kids need schedules so you and your spouse have time each day to actually connect, relax, and recharge. Leverage the schedule for kids so you as a couple can have a chance to actually sit down each night.
Schedules can be a good thing! Give it a shot this month.
Texts/Tweets
TIP: Choose a hashtag for your tweets and use it consistently. That will tell Twitter to store a list of your tweets on one place for later reference.
Tweet One: Parents forget the power of a simple idea that helps kids thrive; parents forget about the tool of a simple schedule. #parentinghack #schedule #parent #momlife #dadlife #parenttools
Tweet Two: We are giving our children clear expectations and a plan when we give them a set schedule. #parent #parenting #mom #dad #clearplan #parenttools
Tweet Three: Set a schedule for when homework will be tackled. You have a better shot of not allowing it to cause arguments. #parentadvice #momhack #homework #dadlife
Tweet Four: Sleep equals success in the life of your child. Set a regular bed time and you set your child up for a better tomorrow. #parenting #mommy #daddy #bedtime #successfulkid
Tweet Five: Kids need time to play and explore. Make a schedule to turn off the devices and go have real-life fun! #momfun #dadfun #nodevices #goexplore #goplay