Giggles for Breakfast
January 25th, 2008
I have been praying for deep friendship between our children. That they would truly love each other, and be “for” each other instead of the typical bickering and fighting, although we do have some of that at times. I think that siblings need to be together a ton, in order to learn how to love each other. They need to play together and have adventures. Just like any friendship, it needs to be nurtured and developed. These first interactions will shape how they deal with relationships their entire life.
I keep scheduled play-dates to a minimum. Honestly, we would like our children to interact first with each other and our family and secondly our church family, after that we limit other play-dates. I have been around too many other families that let their children at 5 and 6 watch HORRIBLE things on television that our children have no concept of. The stories and conversations that we have had, after the few play-dates we have had, are so shocking to me that I am left speechless. I was unaware that most 5/6 year olds have seen Hanna Montana and High school Musical and know about kissing boys, or have watched Transformers, Spider Man and Star Wars (the PG-13 ones)? I didn’t know this, I was shocked. Jackson came up to me the other day at the park. He said “Mom, that boy right there is only 5 and he has seen Transformers the movie. What are his parents thinking?” I chuckled and was half embarrassed because the boys mother, who I didn’t know, was sitting next to me on the bench.
This morning, we are listening to Yo-Yo Ma and enjoying warm porridge. Our children are giggling and laughing with each other. They are talking about doggies and veterinarians and we are getting ready to go to the post office for a field trip. Life is good, the children are happy and the air is crisp.
Sounds like a Hallmark card doesn’t it?…..well except for dirty dishes in the sink and the children who have colored marker all over their hands, other then that it is pure Hallmark. Thank goodness for washable markers.
Peace to all Friends in the house today~
Entry Filed under: Family
6 Comments
Add your own1. Kiva, Southern Girl Musings | January 25th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Okay, so I am not the only one that thinks Hannah Montana/High School Musical/PG-13 movies are not age appropriate viewing for 4-6 year olds….I watched Hannah Montana one night and she was trying to avoid telling her boyfriend about who she was and that some forms of lying are okay….hmmm, not exactly topics for youngsters.
Sounds like a great morning was had by all in your home and yes siblings can get along.
Blessings!
2. admin | January 25th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
OK - I have since learned the HSM1 is squeaky clean according to pluggedin.com. I only saw HSM2 and it wasn’t appropriate for my kids for sure.
I was referring to the mindset of sitting your kids in front of the tube and checking out to whatever culture says is cool and hot.
My last play date, with another homeschool family at a local park, Jackson came back after playing on the play set with their 6 year old boy, asking what a ZOOMBIE was. He went on to share what this other child “taught ” him about death, dying and ghosts. Chloe had a neighbor girl over for a half hour and came downstairs crying saying the 5 year old wouldn’t play “Kittie” with her, that she wanted to play boyfriend/girlfriend and pretend that boys where kissing them. This is from a 5 and 6 year old. I can talk them through those messes, and if they are few and far between, it isn’t too big of a deal, but I refuse to let my children miss out on being kids because our culture exposes them to adult ideas before it is the right time.
It isn’t OK - and people wonder why we are raising kids who don’t stay kids for more than a minute.
Turn of the tube - and let those kids go outside and play for Pete sake!
OK - I am getting off my soap box now!
3. truevyne | January 25th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Dear Amber,
Church is the place my children learn all about High School Musical and Hannah Montana. I’m not kidding. Summer Worship Camp at a Baptist Church down the road asked the children to rent High School Musical to learn the words and music to “All in this Together”. We’d never heard of it, and my kids felt a little embarrassed saying they didn’t know what it was. It was a GREAT camp where they learned tons of good worship songs and signs and even a little instrument playing. I think the church likes to be “hip” and “relevant”, so they added High School Musical. Last year, the camp submitted a video to Toby Mac that was very FUN!
4. admin | January 25th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
True,
That sounds like fun for your kids. I think once mine are a bit older, I may not be as adamant about it, but they are too little now to even need the mental clutter.
I am thinking through the battles I want to fight and ones that are not necessary. Besides these first “older” types of shows I want to watch together as a family. So we can talk through it all together.
Maybe I am a bit “Pollyanna” about it but it wouldn’t be the first time:-)
5. truevyne | January 26th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Dear Amber,
I hope I didn’t sound critical. Yes, the reins get looser as children grow older. I’m proud of your vigilance- it takes guts to stand against culture. Frankly, I wish my children didn’t learn about culture from church. I like Pollyannas.
6. Tina Wells | January 29th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
We have had to endure things over the years from a couple of families in our church that allow their children to watch things we wouldn’t dream of allowing in our home. It’s really been hard keeping our children from the filth that is out there.
I agree that siblings should learn to love one another even more than friends. I’ve tried to teach my children that they need to be good to each other because a friend may not always be a friend but a sibling will always be a sibling! I hope it gets thru someday!
My sister and I absolutely hated each other as kids. We fought all of the time and she didn’t want anything to do with me. I wanted to spend time with her occasionally but she wouldn’t have it. I am happy to say that the Lord has worked in our lives now and we are closer than ever.
Great blog Amber!
Tina
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