What Is A Family For?

 

One day our family was sitting around talking about what really makes a family. Soon our conversation turned to a question. What is a family for? This question led to many other questions like: What do people really want out of their family relationships? What makes a family happy? Who chooses happiness in the family? What destroys families? ETC.

The questions and discussion went on and on. I was so happy to hear my children say things like, “Well, if you just listen to mom and dad and do what they say then you will be happy in your family.” The young ones really understood the purpose of a mom and dad and that they needed to trust their parents to guide them along the path to happiness.

Our family does a lot of teaching about good parenting and strong family relationships around the world so my children are used to analyzing our family relationships and when they are going well, and when they aren’t. It’s so great to be working on a mission as a family.

Well, actually all families are on a mission. The mission is to Continue reading

Family Christmas Traditions

Recently,I found myself engaged in a conversation all about family Christmas traditions. My friend asked the group what traditions they have which bring the true meaning of Christmas to life.

I told her that each year on Christmas Eve our family has a tradition to give Jesus presents. We all decide what we can do, or correct in our lives. Thinking like this gives us the chance to deliberately choose to accept the atonement and the “living waters” of Jesus Christ.

After I shared this Peck family tradition, another friend commented. She said Continue reading

Family TV Watching: Parenting Tip

watching-television1“I came across your ideas on the LDSEHE website, and have been so inspired by all of it.  I’m starting to read your book, hoping to fill in a few holes.  I really like your idea for Friday family movie nights as your one source of TV.  How do you make selections for that night?  Do you have a list of movies you would recommend?” -Grateful Parent

You are right.  We have a family TV watching policy to help our family not get bound by television.  Our policy is that we don’t watch TV unless it is a movie on Friday family movie night.  Olympics and Church General Conference Programs are excluded in this policy.  Continue reading

Calm In A Hurry? ~ Parenting Help

The opposite of calm is hurry.  If you feel like you have to hurry all the time, then you will never be calm.  Also, if you feel like you have to hurry through your teaching interactions with your children then you will also have a harder time staying calm.  Don’t let your desire for being efficient ruin your ability to be calm.   William Jordan, the great philosopher  said:

The first sermon in the world was preached at the Creation. It was a
Continue reading

Advice For Parents: Choosing Your Words Carefully

      A lot of children have selective hearing; have you noticed?  Some of this selective hearing is planned and some isn’t.  They really don’t hear us correctly sometimes.  We can do something to make sure this doesn’t happen as often. 

      Have you ever said don’t run down the hall, and the first thing your child does is run down the hall?  My mom used to say to me, “Don’t talk back to me.”  The first thing I did after this instruction was talk back to her.  Strange. 

      It is never a good idea to start an instruction with the word don’t, because whatever you say after don’t might be the part of the instruction that they think they have to follow.  Here is a classic example. Continue reading