After writing my post about God or Moral Ethics last week, I watched a fascinating video hosted by a group of moms talking about why they are or why they are not raising their children with religion. Check out this post to see if you can relate to the choices these families have made.

Have you felt this way? Are you struggling in your response to your 3 year old’s behavior? Be sure to check-out the up-coming training, The Virtues Project: Bringing Out the Best in Our Children and Ourselves! in 2009!

As a parent you can be a strong moral example, you can create a respectful relationship with your child, share your moral beliefs, and expect moral behaviors - these are wonderful ways to bring up morally intelligent children.
Today more families are choosing to be non-religious or to leave God out of the moral, ethical picture of family life.
It’s hard for me to imagine not providing the kind of security and beauty that I associate with God, with my children.  Without the knowledge or belief in a Great Spirit, Yehweh, …

There is a way to discipline that supports your desire to be firm, loving and effective without shaming, isolating, or hurting your child.

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Tantrums and misbehavior increase during this time because there is so much added glee to the family calendar that it can be challenging for little ones to keep up with us and all the merriment we want to squeeze in before it all comes to an end on January 2nd.
Sometimes our to-do list becomes a greater priority than the well-being of our family without us even noticing.  It is especially more challenging to notice our children’s behavior and have the energy to correct it during a busy time of year …

One of the ways to help our preschooler learn right from wrong and to reflect on the choices they made that day, is to reflect back with them how they handled situations that came up.  For example, my 3 year old is still learning how to take turns and to communicate his wants and needs without screeching and crying.
Today at his preschool Fall Festival he desperately wanted to ride in the wagon that two other children were riding.  I watched from across the yard as he clung to the side …

Yesterday, I took my 6 year old and 3 year old to a toy store to pick out a birthday present for my daughter’s friend.  I’m always a bit challenged by this task.
The toys are so unappealing to me - the cheap plastic, ugly colors, and obnoxious noises.  I wasn’t surprised that even my kids weren’t that impressed with the glam and glitz of the latest fads.

We all have to pick our issues as parents. We are bombarded by the media and the next big fad on the market that will make Disney or Mattel billions of dollars. I know it will be a challenge for me, especially now that my firstborn is going off to the big world of kindergarten, but I’m sticking to my convictions of no bikinis, no boyfriends, no Bratz dolls. So far, none of this has been an issue.
My dd is surprisingly compliant when it comes to …

“Your soul is the real part of who you are. It’s the part that God put in there and hopes you will take care of it.”
“How do I take care of my soul?”
“Well, just like a mommy takes care of a baby in her tummy by eating good foods and exercising and keeping herself happy and taking vitamins - the baby grows strong and healthy - you can take care of your soul by saying your prayers every morning and every night and using beautiful virtues like helpfulness, courtesy, …

One of the most powerful ways you can shape your child’s behavior and bring out her best is to notice her character qualities and verbally acknowledge her positive actions.  More than likely you’ve been noticing your child’s good works for awhile now.  These are common ways we acknowledge our children when they comply with requests:
“Thanks, Emma, for helping mommy.”
“I like it when you put your toys away.”