Top Ten Things Not to Let Your Children Watch

The other week my son Ben was watching football with his dad on a Sunday afternoon. During the first commercial break I was horrified at what I saw when I actually paid attention to the commercials that were airing for my 5 year old to see! From movie previews to news reports I was surprised at the extent of the violence that was shown. We ended up changing the channel or turning the tv off during each break. It was a pain, but well worth it.

We are approaching the holidays, which means kids will have some time off from school. In my experience, that usually means more tv time! So here's something I came across from All Pro Dad that could be very helpful to you. Read over this list and commit to limiting what your child watches on tv every day.

Top Ten Things Not to Let Your Children Watch 

1. Programming with Bad Language and Violence
   Children repeat things that they hear.  Shelter their ears.  They also mimic behavior they see.  Studies have shown that after watching violent programming, children behave more aggressively directly following.  TV-14 is there for a reason, be careful.
2. Nudity and Sexual Content
   Protect their innocent little eyes from nudity and sexual content.  They are too young for it and do not have the maturity to handle it.  Also, you do not want to awaken sexual desires prematurely, it will open a whole load of issues to deal with as a parent.
3. Graphic Scenes on Crime Dramas
   Crime dramas are very popular right now and many children enjoy them.  Some of the content is even educational.  However, shield their eyes from scenes that show the victim or other gruesome scenes with the victim if you still think they should watch the program.
4. Television Versions of Higher Rated Films
   Just because a PG-13 or R rated film was edited for a television audience, it does not mean that is appropriate for a younger audience.  If the film was originally rated PG-13 or R, then the content is likely not appropriate for younger audiences.  Watch the opening of the movie to see what areas the higher rating was for such as violence or language.  And nowadays, you even have to be careful with PG ratings.
5. Higher Rated Films Which You Yourself Have Not Seen
   Do not watch a film that you have never seen, with questionable material, with your child that is rated above their age.  Allowing the kids to watch just because it is more convenient for you is of poor taste.  
6. Adult Cartoons
   Animated does not mean child friendly.  There are adult cartoons that are extremely inappropriate for child audiences.  These cartoons often contain bad language and sexual imagery.
7. Glorifying Alcohol/Drug Use
   Alcohol and drugs can be presented to look very cool and fun without any attention given to their dangers.  Avoid positive representations of alcohol and drugs since children are easily influenced.  Also, explain to your children the risks and health dangers associated with the two.
8. Too Many Commercials
   Television is saturated with commercials trying to sell you something.  During children’s programming, most of the commercials are targeted for children and feature toys.  Their purpose is to get the kids to beg their parents to buy the toy for them.  In turn, these commercials spur greediness and the desire for instant gratification.
9. Inappropriate Music Videos
   The most popular songs of today offer at least a lyric or two that is inappropriate for younger audiences.  The music videos display even more, or perhaps you should say less because of the small amount of clothing usually any them.  Some music videos are fine, but again, just be aware of what your kids are watching.
10. Too much News
    It is important that your children be aware of what is going on in the world.  Let them watch the news with you and discuss it with them.  However, monitor the news and its images; your children do not need to know everything and all of the details.  The news often contains violence and graphic images that can really upset them.

Funny Quote Friday

Humans are the only animals that have children on purpose with the exception of guppies, who like to eat theirs.  ~P.J. O'Rourke

Give Thanks

I'm in total shock that Thanksgiving is just one week away. Where has the time gone? I shouldn't be that surprised, expecially since I've been trying to get my Christmas shopping done before December. I am making this great attempt so I can participate in giving the gift of "presence" that our church is doing together. I do have some gifts but need quite a few more-panic is starting to set in. I might just need a Christmas miracle.

But I don't want to look too far ahead and miss out on the opportunity Thanksgiving provides to be reminded of how thankful I am for all that God has done and IS doing in the lives of my family. So I'm making a conscious effort to bring an attitude of thanks to the forefront of our holiday festivities. Here are a few ideas you can use to practice "thankfulness"as a whole family:

• Find Scriptures that highlight thanks to God and read them together. Talk about how God is working in your family and give thanks to Him together! (Ask your elementary aged kids what their kidSPACE Bible verse is this month to get you started.)

• Buy a white or light colored tablecloth for your Thanksgiving table. Put a fabric marker at each person's place and have them write something they are thankful for (write it for the little ones). Sign and date each entry and reuse the tablecloth each year. Over the years you will enjoy looking back at how God has blessed your family.

• Participate in a giving project as a family. Find something your family can do together to help others. Taking a shopping trip or gathering things together for The Loft would be a great idea!

• Put alphabet magnetic letters in a bucket or can. Take turns pulling one out and thanking God for something that begins with the letter picked.  

                                                                  A B C

                                           

Our family is planning on trying the tablecloth idea as well as gathering/buying things for The Loft. Ask me next week how they went and I'll tell ya!

Speaking your child's love language

Have you ever noticed the bookshelf inside the lower lobby? That bookshelf holds a few books that you might find interesting. But it's hard to find time on Sunday mornings to browse through books, so from time to time I'm going to highlight one of them and let you know what it's about! Feel free to take one home and browse through it-there's a sign-out sheet located on the shelf. Use them as one more tool in your parenting toolbelt!

First up is one of my favorites for kids AND adults. When Bryan and I got engaged I read a book by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell that introduced the idea that everyone has a love language-a way in which they understand love the best. Basically they break it down into five languages:

Physical Touch: person feels love primarily through touch
Words of Affirmation:  person feels love primarily through words
Quality Time: person feels love primarily through spending time with them
Gifts: person feels love primarily through receiving gifts
Acts of Service: person feels love primarily through things done for them

I like to analyze things so I immediately got to work analyzing my love language as well as Bryan's (poor guy, he didn't stand a chance). I found the idea to be pretty true in our lives and was interested to recently find a version for children from the same authors titled The five Love Languages of Children.

I was a little skeptical at first, since children are obviously not adults and grow and change constantly. However I took a look and could definitely see my children in the love languages they talk about. Ben is all about quality time, has been since the day he was born. He would be perfectly happy to never have to be alone again-playing with mom and dad is his favorite thing to do. Knowing that this is his love language I try to "schedule" time to do nothing but play with him. Seeing his whole face light up in those moments makes it all worth it, even though it is inconvenient at times. Luke is young yet, but I can definitely see some pull towards physical touch. He loves to snuggle and is constantly hugging his brother and Bryan and I. It will be interesting to see if that changes at all as he gets older.

So where do you think your kids fall? The authors explain each love language in detail in the book,and also share some insightful thoughts connecting love languages to discipline and learning. It might be worth your while to check it out when you get a chance.

Harvest Party 2011

Two weeks ago our Clubs kids took a break from the regular Clubs routine to enjoy a night in the barn! They celebrated the season and had fun together by visiting various stations around the barn. They played games and completed activities, collecting candy and goodies along the way. And the best part? The weather! It was only a few days before the snow storm but the weather was warm and beautiful, which made the hay ride that much more enjoyable. Here are a few pictures from the night...

 Courtney Whirt is holding the foam pumpkin that was used to make shots in the bball hoop. Yep, it split in half.

                                                                         Hay Rides!

Many thanks to all of the Clubs leaders who manned the stations, as well as the Myers family who contributed time and effort into making the night a success!

Gratitude and Helping

November in kidSPACE is all about Gratitude for the older kids, and Helping for the younger kids. It's going to be a GREAT month! Check out the details below...

Preschool-
Your preschoolers will learn that there are many Happy Helpers in the Bible. First, they will hear how Ruth helped Naomi and then Boaz helped Ruth. That was one happy helping family. Then, they will learn of the great friends David and Jonathan and how Jonathan helped David by saving his live. Then, David helped Jonathans' son, Mephibosheth. Through all these stories, your preschoolers will learn that God places people in our lives to help us. He also places us in people's lives in order for them to help us.

Elementary-

God made us so that we are not self-reliant. We need God, and we need other people. We are all sinners in need of a Savior, and God met that need when He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sin. Because of God’s sacrifice, we can have eternal life with Him in heaven. That means that every day we have a very good reason to be grateful to God for saving us and preparing a place for us in eternity.

But there are other things to be grateful for as well. Do you have shelter? Food? Clean water? What about friends or family? We have many things that are easy to take for granted. But God wants us to remember that every good and perfect gift comes from Him, and we should be grateful to Him for what He has given.

The Bible also tells us that it’s not enough just to show gratitude to God. We should also use the same gratitude to show our appreciation to the people who help us every day. Sometimes, it’s as simple as just remembering to say “Thank you.” Sometimes, it means writing a special note or giving someone a hug. The important thing is that we remember what others do for us, and we remember to give them credit for their help.