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Hello Fans,
I am currently reading a book about how to raise responsible, capable adults in a culture where our children are not exposed to the experiences that allow them to succeed. Rite of Passage Parenting: Four Essential Experiences to Equip Your Kids for Life by Walker Moore, explains the traditions that are lacking in our society today and suggests ways for parents to give their children what they need. The book focuses on two basic themes, and in this newsletter I will be touching on one: Grandparents.
Years ago, extended family members were closer in distance and grandparents played a much larger role in the lives of their grandkids. As the book explains, mom and dad tended to be The Law and the grandparents tended to be The Grace Givers. While mom and dad also offered grace, the grandparents were able to impart wisdom through a loving voice of experience to their children and grandchildren without having to be The Law. They brought balance to conflict and helped both sides find solutions without taking the authority away from the parents. Then, after World War II, families began to move to the cities away from their families, and grandparents had less opportunity be a day-to-day positive influence.
This month I also want to share with you the concept of Grace Deposits, which is discussed in Mr. Moore's book. I have two passions in my life: professional organizing as a career, and more importantly, building a strong family that seeks Godly direction in everything we do. This newsletter is about family, and the offering of ideas that will make it function better and grow stronger.
Before you read the article below, answer this question. Do you know what grace is? Define what you think it means, then read below about the meaning and benefit of Grace Deposits.
Enjoy!
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Organizing for the Pool
It's a good idea to put together a bag full of things you might need for a day with the family at the pool. When it's time to go swimming, you just grab the bag and hit the road.
If you go to public pools where snacks are sold in vending machines, keep a few bills and coins in your bag. Add some first aid items like band-aids and something for insect bites, along with plenty of sunscreen. Why take your best pair of sunglasses to the pool when greasy sunscreen can get all over them? Keep a spare pair in your pool bag along with protective hats for you and the kids.
A great tip to take care of those important swim goggles. Instead of throwing them in the bottom of your pool bag where they may get bent and scratched, have the kids hold them until you get home and create a space to hang them. The picture below shows adhesive hooks that have been mounted to the side of a garage refrigerator. As the family passes the fridge to get in the car, they can each take their goggles with them. The goggles stay clean, dry, and scratch free.
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Grace Deposits
Grace is getting what you do not deserve.
The book I referenced in my letter above by Walker Moore, speaks to the idea of how grace influences the character of our children.
Grace is an unearned gift, and while it is given freely in positive relationships, it is often hard to balance grace with the reality of consequences in the parent-child relationship.
Given too much grace, a child tends to ignore the possibility of consequences of poor decisions or bad behavior. These children grow into teens and young adults who do not make choices based on the end result or impact on others. They assume their behavior will be overlooked or even worse, that they will be rescued from their bad choices. Parents giving too much grace might say, "It's not your fault that the store clerk forgot to charge you for your soda. I'm sure they have overcharged you before".
On the other hand, grace not given enough can harden a child's heart as they grow into a young adult. Failure was not coupled with unconditional love and breaking the rules was not balanced with teachable moments.
Grandparents can play an important role in helping their grandchildren understand why there are rules and what might happen if rules are not followed. Often by using childhood stories and examples of past consequences followed by positive feedback, grandparents can work alongside parents to raise responsible children.
Not all grandparents have sound wisdom, but if they do, they can leave grace deposits in the lives of their grandchildren that will encourage them to stay on the right track. Grace deposits come from the "I love you's", the "Dust yourself off's", and the "There is not a mistake that we can't learn from".
Build these deposits in your child or grandchild's life so that their Grace Bank is never overdrawn. |
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CW33
Checkout Lorraine's segment on CW33 sharing organizing tips for taking care of returns, using coupons, and mailing packages. |
Many families find that as the individuals in it become more active, the paperwork involved in everyday life becomes easily confused and disorganized. One way to resolve this issue is to create a customized, adaptable, organized, home command center.
This command center is made up
of a filing box with a folder for every member of your family. The folders can be used for homework due the next day, coupons for an item that the file owner needs, or sport/school schedules. Next, a calendar is clipped to the front of the box for easy access to all of the important events happening in that month to year. Lastly, it can be used as a reference binder. The binder can contain sections for school information, coupons, emergency information, and much more! This command center is small, mobile, and extremely practical. |
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Summer Projects
Is it ok to pay your kids to do work around your home? This is a question that many parents ask. There are pros and cons to both answers, so there must be a compromise.
A very important pro is that in order for kids to learn how to manage money, they must have money to manage. If a teen does not start earning money until 16 years old, you have missed out on some valuable teaching years concerning finances. On the other hand, do you really want to pay your child to handle responsibilities that they should be doing as part of the family unit (cleaning their bathroom, vacuuming, etc)?
There is no perfect answer, but I will tell you what we have done as parents that has been very successful in our home. Come up with a list of chores that are daily, weekly, and even monthly that your young child or even teen will do without being paid. Then find larger projects for them to do that have value to the family and are connected to a price. (Seasonal artwork, gardening, mowing, filing household papers, cleaning out the garage, etc.). As you can see from the picture above, one of our sons and his friend are taking on a summer fence staining project that we will be paying them for.
Allowances are good, but I would suggest not attaching them to chores. Allow the child to manage the allowance or spend it, but do not connect it to household chores.
Kids need to learn that hard work brings rewards, but rewards should never be expected. Sometimes we just need to do things without expecting anything in return. Balance it out, and you will create a well-rounded, hard working, son or daughter.
Tune in next month for the rest of the story.
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Savvy Ways
to Save
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Banana Boat Coupon
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We Unpack
If you are moving, you will want to hire one of our organizers to help you unpack and set up a few rooms, or your entire home. After getting you unpacked, we can organize and accessorize. Contact Get Organized! today. |
Summer is here...
CLEAN YOUR
CARPETS!
Get Organized! only recommends for the services listed below, and we proudly recommend them to our clients.
Carpets, oriental and area rugs, tile and grout cleaning and sealing, carpet repairs, stretching, leather cleaning and repairs, upholstery cleaning, 24 hour water damage restoration, and pet urine removal and treatment.
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Need a Realtor?
Buying or Selling
4 Free Organizing Hours or 2 Free Hours of Staging with Service
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Need a House Cleaning Service for your Home?
Get Organized! uses Shine Cleaning Company.
Maid Services
Fridge cleaned
Blinds and baseboards
Bathrooms
Kitchen
Dusting
Dusting Woodwork
Windows
Change Bedding
Laundry and more...
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Are you staging your home and need a place to store all your unneeded items until the move?
We recommend
Assured Self Storage
They have 20 locations in the DFW area.
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We are a full-service moving concierge company, skilled and experienced in all relocation services. Located in
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PlumLife is a calendar system different and better than other scheduling programs because it was designed under the belief that everything in life is related.
Their fundamental belief:
The calendar is the center
for life at home.
Their goal:
To create a calendar system that has a place for everything in one place.
With PlumLife, the calendar is central. Contacts, maps, and global search engines are then all linked together.
The workspace is key to seeing your entire world "live" AND all in one place. |
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