You are here: Home / Archives for children

Fill Your Love Tank

June 17, 2010 By Donna Schuster 5 Comments

Did you know we ALL have a love tank?

Just as we need to fill our gas tanks often we need to fill our love tanks often as well.

I first heard of this analogy in the book The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman.  I absolutely love this analogy, it is simple and makes so much sense!

Let me share with you and example.  Last week my son was giving me a hard time the whole day, I was super exasperated with him and quickly started hating that is was Summer break. Lo and behold the next morning him and I happened to be up before my daughter and husband. I had been laying in bed thinking I should be a good mom and make some eggs or pancakes, something other than cereal for breakfast.  When we went downstairs Ethan asked is I could make waffles, I hate making waffles, that is a daddy job, so I compromised on pancakes. We made raspberry chocolate chip pancakes (My new favorite), blueberry, and sprinkles and chocolate chips (his choice!). Not only did I let him mix the batter, I let him pour the batter on the griddle and flip them as well! He was an angel the rest of the day! That is when I remembered this great analogy! His little love tank had been filled up from our time together in the kitchen.

I know us moms do a TON for our kids. How many days a week are we at the baseball fields? How many bags of silly bands do we buy them? How many trips to McD’s do we take? the park? the ice cream store? the pool? the list goes on! But we have to keep in mind these things may not be our children’s love language.

The 5 Love Languages are:

Quality time, Physical Touch, Acts of Service, Gifts and Words of Affirmation [Read more...]

When Should Our Children Stay Home Alone?

March 1, 2010 By Mom Spark 64 Comments

Can she handle adult decisions?

While chatting with a friend yesterday, I found out that she had left her 9 year-old home alone while the rest of the family went out to eat.  I was very shocked to hear this as this seems very young to me, but she felt peace about it.  She told me that she trusted him and didn’t worry about it at all.  I then started wondering if I were an overprotective mother, because I was baffled.  However, I did grow up home alone at an all-too-young age and will probably always overcompensate for that.  But still, what age is okay to be home alone?

Children obviously develop and mature at different rates, so I suppose an appropriate age would depend on the child.  My oldest, who is 10, is very mature and smart for his age, but I still can’t image leaving him home alone for any length of time.  What adult decisions would he be forced to make on his own, and could he handle those decisions at 10?  Sure, it’s nice to think that everything would run nice and smooth, but what if something went wrong?  Let’s be realistic, having a telephone nearby doesn’t always save the day.  What if someone knocks at the door and says, “Your house is on fire!”  Should they believe it?  What if the house really is on fire?  What if the child gets hurts and can’t get to a phone?  Are the cable tv and internet safety locks on when they’re alone?  What about guns & alcohol?  There are so many scenarios that run through my mind…

I think we have to be careful in assuming that our mature children can handle grown-up situations.  Is it fair to put them in those situations?

I would love to hear your thoughts.