Well, gee, doesn't it just seem obvious? Grab a Rubbermaid container, fill it with baby's favorite blankie and a toy, and voila! You have the perfect way to contain and entertain!
November 3rd. This is what my daughters decided to do this afternoon...
Now, while it is California, and it is in the 80's, the pool can't be more than 50 degrees. But I come from a wise mom and dad who, when we asked to swim in November or February, realized that there wasn't real danger involved because one jump in and we'd quickly learn that the presence of the sun does not always allow for a warm swimming environment.
They had a grand time, but it was short lived.
Hi Kendra,
I'm always especially interested in your posts on very young children as I have
a 2 1/2-year-old daughter. I wondered if you have ever run into this issue and
could share any insight?
When I initially began reading the Bible, Bible stories, books with Christian
values, etc. and praying with my daughter, she was very receptive to it.
However, in the last couple of months, she wants nothing to do with discussion
or stories about God or Jesus (although she will still say her mealtime and
bedtime prayers and still talks about God and Jesus herself). She just starts
whining or yelling or says "No, I don't want to!" "Don't read that!" or
something along those lines. I really want to start implementing a circle time
or devotions or short reading from the Bible with her daily (it would just be
her and I). I've really tried to keep it "fun" and interesting and not been pushy at all. Is this just a phase? How do I
handle this? Any ideas as to what could be causing this resistance to anything
God-related? (I should mention she loves being read to with any other type of
books).
Thanks so much and I look forward to an answer. I know you are a very busy
lady!
In Christ,
Kathy
Dear Kathy,
I titled this post the way I did because of course children have minds of their own! But that doesn't mean they know what's best for them, and that's why God set up families with parents to nurture and guide the young. You should continue reading to her about her God, but maybe you need to change your approach for a little while.
My first thought is that maybe you need to just read to her the books about God, the stories from the Bible and the like, but forget any discussion. Maybe if you're asking her questions about the stories, she feels pressured and uncomfortable. Just allow these reading times to be casual and informal, a part of the spiritual ebb and flow of your days.
I would also talk very naturally about God as you go about your day. When the rain softly falls, say something like, "Look, honey! That beautiful rain is a gift from God so that all the flowers and plants will live." Or, "Daddy is coming home soon. Isn't God good to have given us such a wonderful daddy?" Your observations of the goodness of God will foster her own.
Blessings,
Kendra
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Kendra-
Just wondering if you have any good advice on
managing my home with a two-year-old who has almost grown out of naps
and a two-month-old who is a light sleeper. It is just the beginning
for me as far as family is concerned ( we hope!), so understanding
how to manage is very important to me. I just feel like I never get a
clear routine or even down-time at all because of my non-sleeping
children.
I could tell you a typical day, but you can probably
imagine when you think of one who rarely sleeps (and still doesn't
sleep through the night) and one who wakes up at any little thing,
even with music and the white noise machine going. Wow, I'm not
really sure how anything will ever get done, much less future
homeschooling! I'm sure you're overwhelmed with emails, so I'll
understand if your answer is brief, or takes a while to get back to me.
Thank you, and God bless you for your hard work as a mother, wife,
teacher, and disciple of Jesus!
Love, Allison
Dear Allison-
I have long said that the hardest time for me as a mother was when I had a two-year-old and a newborn. Truly, my seven are easier from day-to-day than your two are right now.
That said, can I give you some gentle advice? I wouldn't offer if you hadn't asked 
Those babies (yes, the two-year-old is a baby) need to sleep. I don't give any child under the age of five the option to drop a nap. Even if the almost-five-year-olds are ready to drop it, they still have to be on their beds resting for at least an hour and a half. When the day begins around 7 a.m. and ends around 8 p.m., it is a long time for a little one to go without sleeping. I know, because if ever I venture into a store in the afternoon, I encounter cranky, whiny, tired little ones. Little ones who ought to be home in bed.
I can't really imagine a two-year-old not sleeping through the night, and I am not saying that to be critical. I just so firmly believe in training babies to sleep though the night as soon as possible, and it's all I know. We do snuggle them in bed with us early on, we do comfort and hold them a lot, and love all over them. But I am a firm believer in flexibly scheduling a baby. The deal is, my newborns are always so sleepy that I have to wake them to feed them anyway; why not wake them on a schedule? By the time they are a little more wakeful- voila!- they are already on a schedule and on their way to dropping the middle-of-the-night feedings. By three months, they are sleeping 10-12 hours straight at night, with two daily naps of 90 minutes each, plus a cat nap in the early evening. And you know what? They are happy when they are awake because they are well-rested.
It's not too late to get the baby onto some sort of a schedule. If you need some help, there are good books out there, although I confess to not having read them: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, and Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems are the two I have been told positive things about. Preschoolers and Peace readers are so good about commenting and offering resources, so glean from that all you can. I know the debates inside and out (I've been doing this parenting thing for quite awhile now 
), so be forewarned that if a debate ensues in the comments here, I will delete them. We're trying to give Allison some help, not argue the different philosophies of demand feeding/schedule feeding/attachment parenting.
As for your two-year-old, all of my kids have gone through a stage when they thought they were done with naps. I just smile and say, "Have a good nap!" when I put them down. If they choose to talk/cry/scream/sing, then that's the choice they make. Eventually they tire out and get the picture: naps aren't optional here when you're a preschooler. If your two-year-old won't stay on their bed, read this. I have been there and done that, too!
You are right, Allison. Homeschooling might not be impossible if you don't have sleeping children, but it will certainly steal all the joy right out of your life. And accomplish very little. You need your sleep, too, mama.
Blessings,
Kendra
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Those babies (yes, the two-year-old is a baby) need to sleep. I don't give any child under the age of five the option to drop a nap. Even if the almost-five-year-olds are ready to drop it, they still have to be on their beds resting for at least an hour and a half. When the day begins around 7 a.m. and ends around 8 p.m., it is a long time for a little one to go without sleeping. I know, because if ever I venture into a store in the afternoon, I encounter cranky, whiny, tired little ones. Little ones who ought to be home in bed.
I can't really imagine a two-year-old not sleeping through the night, and I am not saying that to be critical. I just so firmly believe in training babies to sleep though the night as soon as possible, and it's all I know. We do snuggle them in bed with us early on, we do comfort and hold them a lot, and love all over them. But I am a firm believer in flexibly scheduling a baby. The deal is, my newborns are always so sleepy that I have to wake them to feed them anyway; why not wake them on a schedule? By the time they are a little more wakeful- voila!- they are already on a schedule and on their way to dropping the middle-of-the-night feedings. By three months, they are sleeping 10-12 hours straight at night, with two daily naps of 90 minutes each, plus a cat nap in the early evening. And you know what? They are happy when they are awake because they are well-rested.
It's not too late to get the baby onto some sort of a schedule. If you need some help, there are good books out there, although I confess to not having read them: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, and Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems are the two I have been told positive things about. Preschoolers and Peace readers are so good about commenting and offering resources, so glean from that all you can. I know the debates inside and out (I've been doing this parenting thing for quite awhile now ), so be forewarned that if a debate ensues in the comments here, I will delete them. We're trying to give Allison some help, not argue the different philosophies of demand feeding/schedule feeding/attachment parenting.
As for your two-year-old, all of my kids have gone through a stage when they thought they were done with naps. I just smile and say, "Have a good nap!" when I put them down. If they choose to talk/cry/scream/sing, then that's the choice they make. Eventually they tire out and get the picture: naps aren't optional here when you're a preschooler. If your two-year-old won't stay on their bed, read this. I have been there and done that, too!
You are right, Allison. Homeschooling might not be impossible if you don't have sleeping children, but it will certainly steal all the joy right out of your life. And accomplish very little. You need your sleep, too, mama.
Blessings,
KendraWell hello Kendra,
As you can tell, I have not been spending a tremendous amount of time on the computer these past days...all for a very good reason!
But I wanted to write and say thank you for your quick response to my SOS. I really, really appreciated it.
I also wanted to let you know that things are improving around here, and that Tomato Staking really does work... even with "twins." I have had to be a little adaptive in order to keep them both with me all the time, but I'm figuring it out. I think the most eye-opening thing for me as I have practiced keeping them nearby is just how much rebellious behavior is overlooked when you banish your children to "time out" or their cribs/bedrooms. When your solution to bad behavior is "you will now sit right here with me", it's kind of hard to ignore the raging and screaming. And much to my amazement, two-year-olds are capable of turning off the screaming... eventually... if I will outlast them (last week we missed Sunday School completely, as we outlasted Jillian through a huge raging tantrum right before we loaded into the car... it was a great investment). AND, when I have won a few of these battles, the other areas of disobedience are also improving. Jonathan is starting to come when I call him (this is miraculous). Jillian has stopped climbing the stairs in the relentless pursuit of toothpaste and lipstick.
I've also starting having short periods of "mat time"... originally for discipline purposes where I had them sit on their Montessori mats until they stayed without screaming. Then, I allowed them to choose one book and stay on their mat. These last few days, I've been calling for "mat time" and they take out their mats and sit with a toy for about 5 minutes, and then I give them a new toy, and so on, for about 15 minutes. THIS is very hopeful, as I can see some light at the end of the tunnel for our schooling now. I've also moved a rocking chair into our school room and have been practicing reading aloud to everyone, allowing J & J to play quietly, but NOT help themselves to the art supplies, or climb anything, or go outside, or leave the room, or rip the book from my hands, or be violent, or scream and cry... you get the idea. The first day, I had to stop reading our short book no less than 10 times for discipline... but its improving.
I've actually had to totally rethink the way I do my entire day. I took to heart what you said about meals, and we have gone really simple. I am using my crock pot almost every day, and I prep while the kids have breakfast and J &J are strapped in their seats. I tasked Abraham and Amelia to do more kitchen chores, training them to do it well, and that frees me up to take J &J upstairs with me to start laundry, make beds, put away folded clothes, etc., all of which they can participate with. Amelia scrubs the kitchen table and sweeps underneath, and Abraham loads the dishwasher. Its been working great. In the evening, Amelia sets the table, and I put J &J back in the highchairs for about 15-20 minutes of table play time while I open the bag of salad, or whatever other final quick dinners preps need to be done. They hate it, but that is OK... I think eventually they'll learn not to throw all their crayons on the floor. They'd prefer to be climbing the stairs and playing in the toilet... dinner prep has been their favorite time of day!
Anyway, sorry for the long play-by-play. But things are improving, and I just wanted you to know. I CANNOT emphasize enough the value of taking some time to think and make a plan. You are so right. I would tell any mom who is losing her mind that if there is anyway that she could take a day to think, plan, make a schedule, consider doing things in a different way, seek some input, and PRAY, wow, that would be time well spent. I'll keep you posted on how things go from here. I so appreciate you and all you have offered to me and so many others through P&P.
Thanks again,
Shawna
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