Parenting Tip: Discipline vs Punishment

courtesy of Emily Wicker, Staff Counselor

There is a big difference between disciplining your children and punishing them. Disciplining children refers to teaching them to learn from their mistakes (focusing on positive, future-oriented behaviors) whereas punishing children refers to making them suffer from their mistakes (focusing on past, negative behaviors).

Ephesians 6:4 says "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

God says that we are to train and teach our children. We can do this in a positive way by telling children what we WANT them to do instead of what we DON'T WANT them to do. Instead of saying in your loud voice, "Sarah, stop yelling at your sister!!!", you could say in your calm voice, "Sarah, you should talk to your sister in a nice voice and treat her with respect".

ONE WORD

Family Fun Kite Day

Bring your kite and bring your friends! 

Saturday, March 10 from 11 am to 2 pm at

Broadmoor Middle School

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

Preschool Pajama Party

All Preschoolers are invited to a "Night in Bethlehem" at the Broadmoor Baptist Preschool.

December 9, 2011

6:00pm - 9:00pm 

 Wear your pajamas & bring a food item for the Hub Ministry.  

Items needed include: 

• canned meat, fruit, soups & veggies
• individually wrapped snacks
• individually wrapped breakfast pastries
• peanut butter
• crackers

Please register online at www.broadmoor.tv

(There is no cost for this event.)

Call the Preschool Office at (318) 868-6552 for more information.

Parenting Tip: Quality Time

courtesy of Emily Wicker, Staff Counselor

Spending quality time with your child is vital to helping build a stronger relationship with him/her.  Spending at least 30 minutes per week doing an activity together can improve your relationship significantly.  There are limitless possibilities of activities you can do together including:  watch a movie, bake cookies, go on a walk, go to the park, make crafts, or volunteer somewhere together.  When you spend quality time with your child, you should be free of all distractions.  Yes, that means cell phones too!  You may be thinking “I am with my child all the time so that’s quality time,” but I challenge you to purposely set aside 30 minutes of each week to do a special activity together.

Suggested Activity:

·         Make a sign with your child of your favorite Bible verse and hang it on a doorframe in your house.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Fall Family Fun Fest

Monday, October 31

5:30 - 7:30 PM

Broadmoor Baptist Forest*

Free Admission

Free Popcorn, Cotton Candy, Sno Cones, Face Painting, Balloon Artist, Hayride

Please, no scary costumes.

*Weather Permitting (in case of rain, event will not be rescheduled)

Parenting Tip: Choice Giving

 courtesy of Emily Wicker, Staff Counselor

Do you find yourself having power struggles with your children, even over the smallest things?  Maybe these take place in the morning before school or at night before bed.  Regardless of when they occur, allowing children to make their own choices can reduce these struggles tremendously.

“Providing children with age-appropriate choices empowers children by allowing them a measure of control over their circumstances.  Children who feel more empowered and “in control” are more capable of regulating their own behavior, a prerequisite for self-control.  Choices require that children tap into their inner resources, rather than relying on parents (external resource) to stop their behavior or solve the problem for them.  If parents always intervene, children learn that “Mom or Dad will figure out a solution if I get in a jam”” (Bratton, Landreth, 2006, p.274-275).

By allowing children to make choices, they are given the opportunity to develop problem solving and decision making skills.  Children will learn that choices they make come with certain consequences.  This allows children to learn to take responsibility for their decisions and actions.

So you might be wondering…how do I give age-appropriate choices to my kids about everything?  Here are a few examples.  Let’s say you have a power struggle with getting Matt dressed for school in the morning.  A choice you could give would be,” Matt, would you like to wear the yellow shirt or blue shirt today?”  Let’s say you have a power struggle with Sarah because she doesn’t want to brush her teeth before bed.  A choice you could give would be,” Sarah, would you like to brush your teeth before I read you a bedtime story or after?”

You can also use choices to give consequences to children.  For example, “Sally, if you choose to not clean up your room, you choose to not eat dessert after dinner.” Or, “Mark, if you choose to hit your sister, you choose to sit in time-out for 10 minutes.”  By doing this, children are able to connect their choices to their consequences, again promoting decision making and responsibility.

*This parenting tip was taken from Child Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) A 10 Session Filial Therapy Model by Garry L. Landreth and Sue C. Bratton (2006).