the methods and madness of one family of 12
Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker
Crystal is having a BIG sale on everything in her entire store. All her products are carefully chosen so if you like what she has to say, you’ll love what she sells!
She has added tons of new items, and most of her e-books are half off. Even better, she’s offering an additional 10% at checkout with the coupon code, savemore.
Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker
Don’t forget. And don’t procrastinate. You’ve only got 5 days left, and who knows when you’ll get another chance to save 10% off Christian Book Distributors.
You know I’m only reminding you because I like you, right? It has nothing to do with affiliate links, commissions, and the fact that I collect books the way I collect children.
CBD coupon code: 251437AB
10% off $35 minimum
expires: 8/10/07
Just think: the more you spend, the more you’ll save. Saving is frugal, and frugal is good, so spend on.
And now I’m off to bed, with 2 minutes to spare before midnight. I’m a good girl, I am.
Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker
I’ve noticed that my Blanket Training from long ago still gets quite a few hits from the search engines. There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about the whole idea of teaching a baby to stay put.
Although I’ve not yet taught The Boy to do this, I am tempted just so that I can tell the doubters and naysayers exactly what is NOT happening to him.
Yes, I’m a troublemaker. Sorry ’bout that.
I am no expert, and every parent will do things a little differently. There is no Official Webster’s Definition for blanket training. In fact, it’s really hard to find any real definition for blanket training.
Do you know what that means? Anyone who wants to claim the term gets to make up the definition.
Blanket Training: a definition
/blanket training/: the act of teaching a baby or toddler to stay within the bounds of a blanket which has been spread upon the floor or ground. The blanket and practice may vary widely among users. Often, but not exclusively, practiced in large families.
Blanket Training: the rules
Since I defined the term, I also get to make up the rules. Here are my rules:
That’s all. Just one rule. As I mentioned many moons ago, the idea is simply to begin teaching babies self-control and obedience from the start.
How a parent begins to teach a baby to obey the fifth commandment is a matter of method rather than principle, so it will and ought to vary widely from one house to the next. Blanket training is simply one tool that some families choose to use in that process.
So now let’s talk about what blanket training is not.
Blanket Training Misconceptions
Blanket training does not mean that the baby never explores freely; it does not mean that the baby lives on the blanket; it does not mean that the baby cries alone on the blanket while the rest of the family turns up the volume on the television.
Like a playpen, blanket training provides a clear boundary for the baby for those times when you don’t want your baby to wander freely. This does not take the place of holding, snuggling, tickling, feeding or any other form of attention. Even when we did blanket one of our babies, she spent very little time on the blanket – just as our babies now spend very little time confined in any way.
Blanket Training Objections
Some will say that it is demeaning to teach a baby to stay where you put her.
Why do they think that a cage playpen is less demeaning? Or maybe obedience in general is demeaning…I wonder how they feel about Ephesians 5:22?
Others will say that a baby’s curiosity is stifled.
How is this more stifling than when I wear my baby in my Ergo or carry him on my hip? I would venture to say that he has better peripheral vision in the middle of the floor than smushed up against my chest. Maybe I really do need to get started on blanket training The Boy. I’m afraid I’ve been stifling his curiosity.
They might say that the parent who practices blanket training smacks around the edge of the blanket with a wooden spoon to demonstrate the boundary.
I’m partial to a cattle prod myself
I don’t, but so what if some parents do?
Some say that the baby is taught to stay by means of fear.
Ah-ha. Now we come to the heart of the matter. I suspect that most people who are horrified at the idea of blanket training are also staunchly opposed to corporal punishment. The question is not really about whether or not the baby gets a smack on the tush and how old she is when it happens, but why would anyone ever spank a child.
And that, my friends, is a post for another day.
Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker
I’ve kicked off a Showcase of Frugal Blogs, starting with Like Merchant Ships, where Meredith patiently and graciously answered all my burning questions. Pop over to see what she had to say and tell us what you think!
And if you often blog on frugality, please consider joining the Frugal Blogroll! When you join, I’ll tell you how to be featured in an upcoming week.
Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker
Is anyone getting tired of being reminded to blog about the Big Giveaway? Somebody please reassure me that I’m not nagging by confessing that they really needed this reminder and they will do it now.
If you don’t have a blog of your own, you can still enter the weekly drawings for single volumes of the Ballantyne Christian Adventure Library. Enter to win Hunted and Harried this week by
leaving a comment on this post.
In the second half of the seventeenth century, the Scottish Kirk was in direct conflict with the King of England. By 1666, the king?s soldiers were given lists of the names of the Scottish Covenanters by the curates, who then hunted them down and persecuted them.
This is the story of Will Wallace who begins in the service of the King, searching for Andrew Black, a defiant Protestant. But Will soon joins Black as a follower of Christ, and becomes one of the ?hunted and harried? himself.
This is an inspiring story, of both the hard truth of those who perished for the cause of Christ and Christian liberty, and the triumph of Christ?s love and strength to the faithful saints who persevere in His name. ?It is a marvelous record of the power of God.?
And here’s the part you were waiting for. You know it’s true. Did you even read the post, or did you just scroll down to see who won?
Since Loni graciously declined last week’s prize, we have 2 prizes and hence 2 winners this week.
The Giant of the North : meNmykids
The Gorilla Hunters : mrskbrook
Congrats, ladies!
Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker
Modesty is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. It is a subject that we have considered and discussed for many years, but also one in which our views have changed dramatically over the last few years. This is due in large part to Hubby’s job at Vision Forum where he rubs elbows daily with other men who self-consciously seek to apply the whole of Scripture to every area of life.
The 6 part series below is the reason I added MInTheGap to my daily reading list.
The second series is by Emily at Unfurling Flower. Emily’s blog is new to me, but I like what I see and plan to return for more. Emily is a single Christian young lady in England who has put a lot of thought into her posts. Take time to explore her other categories – Biblical femininity , Courtship/dating, Marriage, and more on Modesty.
Speaking of modesty, you did see the results of the Rebelution’s Modesty Survey, right?
And here’s another series by Girl Talk that I haven’t read yet
but I expect that it’s well worth the time:
Also take a look at their entire modesty category for more challenging posts on the topic.
The way I see it, modesty is not just about making sure that one’s clothes cover enough skin; that’s more akin to legalism.
Modesty is about loving our neighbor. We need to dress in a way that does not provoke others to lust, and to do so we need to consider what tends to provoke others to lust.
Php 2:3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Php 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Current giveaway: Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker
Shannon has planned a themed edition of Works-For-Me-Wednesday:
What parenting lessons have you learned the hard way? What would you tell a first-time parent?
Oh my. Where to begin? And how much do we want to scare the newbies?
And on a more serious note, here’s what we have learned over the years. We knew it before, but have seen it in action now.
Your children are mirrors, but not just regular mirrors. Children are like those little makeup mirrors that make your pores look enormous. In them, you will see your own strengths and weaknesses reflected and magnified. This is powerful motivation to conquer our own sins and weaknesses sooner rather than later, because even those shortcomings that seem only to hurt ourselves will hurt our children when they learn to imitate us.
Children are one of God’s mechanisms for sanctifying us and for holding us responsible for our actions. If we don’t like the way our children are turning out, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
Children are our report card on life. And they sometimes make it hard to fake a good grade.
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