From the Mouths of Babes: How Children Teach Adults

Jerry Ireland wrote a great post over at Patheos explaining how much he’s learned from his children.

• Children do more than show us our faults. They also reignite our creativity and help us discover joy in the ordinary. Recently during a very busy and stressful time at work, I had come home and sat down in the back yard with my daughter when she asked if we could blow bubbles. I said sure, and it proved to be the highlight of my day.

​It’s a tremendous post. Read more.

Dads Aren’t Perfect

Nate Smith is not a dad. But he had some great words for dads this week:

• A lot of fathers try so hard to make sure their children walk in the perfect way.  You are very afraid that they will stray or walk down a dangerous path you once tread.  Your methodology was possibly passed down or just the self-pressure to be the “perfect father”.  Please give yourself some grace. 

Read more.

Why I’m Not Afraid to Have Daughters

Jen Wilkin has a post at Crosswalk that I needed to read.

• Why, I want to ask? Why glad? Are sons so much easier to raise? There are two of those under my roof as well. What is it about daughters that their absence in your home is a relief to you? Is it their emotions? Sons have those, too. But I can see the answer as you look at my girls: how can that sweetness be brought safely to adulthood? Men you understand – the paths of their thinking, the patterns of their acting. If your sons act rashly with women the consequences can be minimized. If my daughters act rashly with men the consequences can be massive.

I’m still a little terrified that I have a daughter. But less. Read more.

Sleep Advice

I didn’t want you to miss this one. Hilarious.

• Naps should only be taken in the bed, never in a swing, car seat, stroller, or when worn. Letting them sleep in the car seat or swing will damage their skulls. If your baby has trouble falling asleep in the bed, put them in a swing, car seat, stroller, or wear them. Use the crib only for sleep and keep it free of distractions. If the baby is having trouble adjusting to the crib, have them play in it first. If the baby wakes up at night and wants to play, put fun toys in the crib to distract them.

​Read more. So good.

Hair!

50 facts about hair. Hair is amazing. Read more.

Around the Warren:

Share Aesop ASAP

Zach started off the week with an illustrated endorsement of Aesop’s Fables and stories like them.

Read more.

Hope for the Rainbow Nation

Guest poster Taryn Hayes presents an image of hope from the history of South Africa and the man Nelson Mandela.

• Living in South Africa, my children are not unaware of poverty, crime and government corruption.  They feel the tensions, the concerns.  Our walls are high, the electric fence buzzing in the wet winter.  Food and charity are given to sunken-eyed adults and grubby-faced children through the steel bars of our gate.  And yet, these children of mine are not jaded.  They are filled with hope. 

​Read more.

The Courage to Keep Going

Julie Silander writes about the hard lessons our kids learn from literature.

• We were mid-chapter, and the story had taken an abrupt turn. The bright little girl, so full of hope and life and love, was minutes from receiving devastating news. She would have to trade in her pink satin birthday frock for a black dress of mourning. In an instant, her day of celebration would become one of unbearable grief. The life she’d known as an adored, lavished-upon daughter was to be no more. Unbeknownst to her, the little girl’s father had died. Fate had left her a penniless orphan. Life would never be the same.

Read more.

Something to Try with Your Kids:

Carpet Sample Checkers

I really like the look of this project — not too hard, but a fun outcome. Check it out.

And Something Fun to Watch

You may have missed this one the first time it went around the ol’ internet. Or maybe you didn’t, but you need to be reminded. This little girl can summarize Star Wars. It’s a literary exercise, really.

Thanks for reading! We’re on your side.