Tag Archives: growing up

Learning To Let Go

It’s always hard to let go of your children. I think as a single parent of an only child, it’s even harder. Since the divorce Hailey has been the focus of my life. Everything I do or don’t do, I always consider her first. There have been many time I haven’t done things I wanted to do because I didn’t want to leave her home alone. My days have been planned around her schedule and her needs. One benefit of this is that I always know where she is and who she is with. Not so much anymore. Now that … Continue reading →

Know Your Expectations as a Parent

I found myself having a discussion with my 16-year-old son this past weekend that I didn’t expect to be having. Apparently he is thinking ahead and wants to know what to anticipate when he turns 18. His main question was concerning what happens when he turns 18 years old. He wanted to know if he would have to ask permission before doing things, such as hanging out with friends. I hadn’t given it any thought; this was not a parenting issue anywhere near my radar screen so he really caught me off guard. I gave him the best answer I … Continue reading →

A New Club

I recently found out that two of my co-workers have children. Since these two individuals hold positions in academia that I aspire to it was nice to know that I wouldn’t be alone in parenthood. I’m certainly feeling the gentle tug of doubt this semester as I am still in preparation for my final exams. Since I’m also teaching, doing graphic design, working on my dissertation, and staying home with our son my time feels shorter than ever. With a book constantly by my side and a computer never far away I am constantly aware of the amount of work … Continue reading →

His Own Plate

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This week my wife and I bought a “high chair” for our son. Yes, maybe we should have gotten one sooner. No, we’re not bad parents. Actually, a lot of thinking went into the rationale for the purchase. One of the things we really didn’t want to do was separate him from us. Only recently has he received his own glass for water. Before he’d share with his Mom and Dad. Our son has been slowly learning that he has a certain amount of control over things. He can now readily grab small crackers between his fingers. Before this week … Continue reading →

Two Lazy Boys

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My son is addicted to his mother. He rarely leaves her side and refuses to go to sleep without her. Nursing is his favorite past time and that ensures that his favorite past time doesn’t involve me. I’m okay with this. It’s simply a fact of life. It’s okay. I’m actually quite proud that he loves his mother so much. I’m hoping it continues throughout his life (as I’m writing this he’s happily crawling to Mom with a big grin on his little face). Soon he’ll be walking to her with a big grin. Just because I love that my … Continue reading →

Crackers

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Our son has been trying to eat solids for a number of months now. His initial interest in food only extended to his fingertips. Once he figured out the whole “hand to mouth” thing he really became interested in food. What started out with a protruding lower lip and a confused look (avocado) has since turned into a monster who rapidly crawls towards any plate or utensil he sees. He carelessly abandons toys to one side or the other and monstrously crushes all others in his path. He moves as the monster truck: directly on top of his barriers. His … Continue reading →

The New Car Seat

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It was inevitable. Sooner or later our son was going to gain enough weight to outgrow his baby car seat. That time seems to have come sooner rather than later. My wife did all of the web-based research on car seats and finally found the one that seemed best for us (in, of course, a desirable color and pattern). It was delivered to our door. We signed the slip, my son clapped his little hands, we ripped off the tape and began the laborious process of figuring out our new travel friend. I’ve got to be honest: I’ve never seen … Continue reading →

Letting Children Grow Up Too Fast

“Can I have a cell phone for my birthday?” “How old do I have to be before I can date?” “Can I hang out at the park with my friend?” “Can I get a Facebook page?” These are all questions that a child of mine has asked in the past week. The scary thing is he will be turning 11 years old this upcoming weekend. He is barely a tween. I am sure it is hard being the youngest. To have to sit back and watch your older brother and sister get more privileges can’t be easy. I am trying … Continue reading →

At School Too Long?

Author, Hilary Mantel, created a furor recently when she suggested girls were ready to have babies at 14. While I am in no way agreeing with her on that, it did occur to me to wonder whether we are keeping young people at school too long and not allowing them to grow up. Years ago some of us will know from our own experience, others will know from parents and grandparents that young people left school much earlier. By 14-16 they had finished with school and were out in the workforce. In some case it was even earlier than that. … Continue reading →

7 Marks of the Mature Christian

What do you want to be when you grow up? As a child do you remember being asked that question? I do. What about your children? What are you hopes and dream for them? What do you want them to be when they grow up? Sometimes you will hear parents say, ‘I don’t care what they do; I just want my kids to be happy.’ And if we’re honest. We’d probably say we want that for ourselves too – to be happy. Growing up is hard, harder for some of us than others, it sometimes seems. Growing up as a … Continue reading →