3 ways parents can keep ‘Christ’ the center of Christmas

December 20, 2013 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Charlie Brown Christmas, Children, christ at the center of christmas, christian parents, materialism, savior of the world, what do you want this year for christmas

My wife and I were watching a movie a few nights ago, when a teacher asked a group of elementary school students to give one word describing the “spirit” of Christmas. “Joy” was written on the chalkboard, as was “giving.”

I was begging for someone to shout “Jesus,” but it didn’t happen. The last kid said “Santa,” the teacher smiled and told him “good answer,” and the scene ended.

That kind of summarizes America’s view of religious-themed holidays. We celebrate bunny rabbits at Easter, turkeys at Thanksgiving, and materialism at Christmas.

I’ve never been to a birthday party where the cake, cards and napkins all have the wrong name on them, but I bet it’s something like Christmas.

Sometimes as a Christian parent, it’s tempting to just give up and join in the what-am-I-getting-this-year bash, but we shouldn’t. With a little determination, it really is possible to keep “Christ” at the center of Christmas. Here are three suggestions:

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10 essential tips for every new parent

November 30, 2013 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged child, Children, daddy, healthy eating, laugh, Parent, parenting, teach, too busy

The night before my first child was born, I did a lot of thinking, wondering what it would be like to be a parent.

What would it be like, I wondered, to hold my own child, to hear “Daddy” for the first time, to watch him or her swing on the playground with friends? It was so foreign to me, but now seems so natural.

If I could go back to that night in February 2008, I’d tell myself a few things. Some of the items on this list I learned by experience, while others I practiced nearly from the get-go. Here is what I would tell myself:

1. Parenting is far greater than you can imagine. Nothing on this earth compares to it, and you will regret waiting so long to become a parent. It’s better than all those things you think are fun: football, naps, eating pizza. You’ll soon discover you’d rather be a parent for one year than do all that other stuff for 100 years.

2. Don’t get too busy in life. You’re living in the days you’ll forever treasure, and this time will fly by faster than you can imagine. Limit your hobbies, your take-home work, and even how you are involved at church. Spend lots of time with your kids. Continue reading →

Go play outside: 9 keys to raising nature-loving kids

October 25, 2013 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Children, children would rather play, God's creation, indoors, nature deficit disorder, Parents, playing outdoors, Richard Louv, turn off the television, video game system

My parents likely didn’t set out to raise a kid who wanted to be outdoors – it just came natural for them. My dad had a garden, and my mom “put up” everything that was harvested. I, of course, was expected to help, not only with the garden but with the beehives on our property near the adjacent cotton fields in rural Tennessee. We were outside a lot.

Those are fond memories, of course, even though I didn’t particularly enjoy the humid days in the South. But somewhere along there, I learned to enjoy being outside.

I’m now a father, and I’m trying to instill into my three children an even greater love for nature – God’s creation – than I had at their age.

But these are challenging times. A British survey showed that children today spend 10 times more hours watching TV than they do playing outdoors. Another poll showed that only 40 percent of children would rather play outside than inside.

Video games and electronics are a big culprit. Another is decreased open space in urban areas. I’ve begun reading Richard Louv’s 2005 book “Last Child In The Woods,” which examines how we can save our children from what he calls “Nature Deficit Disorder.” His book has me wondering: What can we as parents do to keep our children from becoming indoor hermits?

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5 ways parenting makes us less selfish – and why I’m thankful for the lesson

September 21, 2013 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Children, God, Jesus, lessons, parenting, Parents, putting others first, selfish, selfish ambition, Selfishness, selflessness

Remember those times in elementary school when you wanted that yummy pie on your friend’s plate?

“You gonna eat that?” you might say, putting your finger smack-dab in the middle of it.

“Well, not anymore,” they’d reply.

Or maybe you were on the receiving end of such silly antics, frustrated at your friend’s selfishness. Of course, very few of us looked at that delicious pie and wanted to give it to someone. No way. That was our pie.

I remember those days very well. I also remember the day, about four years ago, when I was eating dinner and had some food on my plate that was seconds away from being devoured. But my first child, my then-1-year-old son, had been eyeing it, and he wanted it, too. You see, there were no leftovers on the table. If I ate it, he would not get any more food. But if he ate it, I would not get any more.

What do you think I did? I gave it to him, without hesitation.

Throughout Scripture, God commands us to avoid selfishness, and for good reason; we all struggle with it. Paul tells us to do “nothing from selfish ambition” (Philippians 2:3). Peter tells us to humble ourselves (1 Peter 5:6). Jesus Himself tells us to deny ourselves and follow Him (Matthew 16:24). But it’s hard, isn’t it?

Nothing wipes selfishness out of your life like parenting. I didn’t think I was a selfish person as a bachelor, but in hindsight, I probably was. And I still am – we all are, to some degree — but I’m further along in my goal of selflessness than I was.

I’m thankful for what God’s taught me about selfishness. Here are 5 specific lessons I’ve learned:

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Turn it off: 6 reasons not to let children watch television

September 6, 2013 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents & media usage, Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged alternatives to tv, American Academy of Pediatrics, better things to do, Children, families, Parents, PBS, reading a book, Television, too much tv, turn the tv off, tv, tv is addictive

The other day, my wife and I – needing a break — picked two random people off the street and asked if they could babysit our three children for 30 minutes. We thought they’d charge a lot on such a short notice, but, believe it or not, they did it for free. Well, sort of. They wanted to show our kids a few products they were selling, and they also wanted to tell them a bunch of things we disagreed with. It sounded crazy, but, hey, they’d done this before, and, besides, they said, all the parents were doing it.

Of course, I made all of that up.

But don’t we do this very thing every time we let our children watch a television program we know little about? It’s essentially random people with (too often) an unbiblical worldview trying to sell our children something they don’t need. No part of that is good.

My family does have a television in our house, and we do let our oldest (who is 5) watch it, but the TV is not on all the time. In fact, when he’s awake, it’s mostly off. He gets to watch some educational shows, a tad-bit of simply fun shows, and from time to time a show his Mommy and Daddy enjoy. But he’s under the national average for TV viewing – children ages 2-5 spend an average of 32 hours a week in front of the tube, according to Nielsen. His twin sister and brother (who are 1) don’t get to watch TV at all.

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