Archive for the ‘Parenting’ Category

I hardly expected to find an article saying the same things as my recent rant about immodest clothes for little girls on CNN.com.

Yep, you read that right.

LZ Granderson wrote a very strongly worded article called, Parents, don’t dress your girls like tramps. YES!!

There was even a piece on this issue that aired on Good Morning America, complete with pop psychology about why little girls shouldn’t dress that way.

And to all those who lament that they buy it because, “that’s what’s out there in the stores”?

You’ve all heard my thoughts on that, but LZ has another very pointed declaration:

Why are the retailers selling that stuff?

Because we’re buying it!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, there is still such a thing as “voting with your wallet”.

Stores keep selling it because consumers keep buying it, so those of us who don’t like it assume that we are in a small minority.

But LZ’s column gives me hope that this is not the case. Perhaps this is another case of the silent majority.

• There are, no doubt, some people who like those things for their little girl, as puzzling as that seems.
• Then there are some people who are totally indifferent, and buy it because it’s there.
• And some who feel peer pressure, and some who give in to their children’s peer pressure, who buy it because it is what some celebrity is wearing.
• Of course then comes the potentially huge group of people who don’t necessarily like these clothes for their child, but allow them to wear it because it is “all that’s out there”, and they haven’t bothered to take the next step and find an alternative. (As I mentioned in my post linked above, this includes an alarming number of Christian families, including those in positions of leadership).
• Combined with the admittedly smaller group of us who are already actively avoiding these items

If people really would just speak up, we could change the world…

Okay, it should really be for Children, but that loses the lovely alliteration…

After some comments on my review of Near Mama’s Heart, I thought I should give you a rundown of some other books about nursing that we’ve read.

I believe in reading to kids of all ages, and I am absolutely convinced that they absorb a lot of things we may never think about… In this case, I hope you will think about normalizing nursing for your littles, even though they may never see it out in society today.

A lot of our books are in storage, but I’m going to try and get as many listed as I can think of. Here’s a few to start the ball rolling:

This is a board book with a mirror at the end so your child can see just how cute breastfed babies are. To my adult eye, it looks a little dated, but the kids adore it.

Very cute board book, including illustrations of a wide range of ages and positions – even tandem nursing. Another favorite in our house.

This is a slightly longer book (ours is softcover). It’s a very cute series of plays on words, as a new big brother struggles with the meaning of the word “nurse.”

Of course, there are any number of other breastfeeding books for children out there – and just because I haven’t read them doesn’t mean I think there’s anything wrong with them! Even a cursory search on Amazon breings us a great list of Children’s Breastfeeding Books.

What are your favorites?

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6

In addition to the usual application of this verse, I believe very strongly that this is something we ought to bear in mind as we dress our little girls.

Too often I hear from parents that they don’t necessarily think that what their daughters wear is ideal, but that they don’t have any choice since those styles are all that’s available at WalMart, at the mall, or wherever they usually shop.

That makes me angry, and sad, and frustrated… Poor Jesus, sitting up there looking down on us.

We should be willing to give our lives for our convictions, but in the end we’re not even willing to shop a little longer, spend a little more, or learn sew a little, if that’s what it takes to guard our daughters’ purity.

There are clothes today being marketed to little girls that not that long ago would only have been considered appropriate for grown women.

And there are clothes today being marketed to little girls that not that long ago would have been considered inappropriate for anyone outside of “the world’s oldest profession.”

(I’m not even going to get into the issue of bathing suits here, as that is another topic in its own right, and a deserves a post all its own.)

What do we think our little girls are learning, when we dress them, or allow them to dress, in clothes that reveal or emphasize parts of their body that are “private”?

What about this top, which I recently received in a box of swapped clothes for Jewel:

Sure, the sleeved sweater top layer covers the shoulders, solving the tank-top immodesty problem… But why does a six year-old need to have something tied across, emphasizing her breasts? Again, remember that although she doesn’t have any mass there yet, we’re training her about how ladies dress.

Would you wear that?

Yes, I realize that this top would not be looked at twice by most folks in our society today, whether worn by a female age 35, age 15, or age 5.

But, like the old Hebrew National hot dog commercial, we’re supposed to be answering to a Higher Authority.

If we don’t train our daughters in modest dress from the beginning, but rather dress them in the same clothes as the rest of the world buys at WalMart, why are surprised when our teenage daughters want to dress in clothes that are designed to be seductive – the same ones the rest of the world buys at WalMart?

Nothing warms my heart like hearing my five year-old daughter lean over and whisper in my ear that the lady who we just passed in the grocery store isn’t dressed modestly!

As a follow-up to the Jumpin’ Bloomers review, I wanted to share my favorite pattern for making bloomers yourself.

It is, in fact, pretty easy to sew up the bloomers. The part that makes me hesitate to wade in is adding casings, gathers, lace trim, etc.

The easiest pattern in the world, if you want to go the sewing route, is the Almost One Size Truly Scrumptious Pants Pattern from Artistry (on Etsy).

The designer, Christine, is a member of a diaper sewing forum that I belong to, and I had the privilege of being one of the testers for this pattern (in 2009, I think?). Yes, even I really did whip up a pair… With only ONE pattern piece, it’s pretty non-intimidating.

Although if memory serves, now that writing this post has reminded me of it, they may still be sitting in the UFO (UnFinished Objects) box without cuffs.

Jewel has two pairs of bloomers from this pattern (that my friend Katie made me in a trade). They are elastic in the back of the waist, drawstrings in the front. Originally there was one pair with ties at the cuffs (didn’t work out well), and one pair with elastic (works great, but not easily adjustable). As she’s grown, I simply removed both varieties of cuff tighteners, and the legs are just loose (but not huge and floppy).

Jewel typically wears them as her “pajama bloomers” now – active little girls who want to wear a nightgown instead of footie pj’s are no more modest in them than they are in their dresses! How amazing is it that she is still wearing anything that fit her two years ago, though? Maybe there’s more to this “one size” angle than I realized…

You could also use the pattern to make lounge pants, if you were into such a thing, pants for a little boy, etc. Christine even shows them on her listing with ruffles on the booty for babies:

Katie made them as part of her beautiful daughter Hazel’s baptismal outfit – that’s her at the top of the page. (Hazel is exactly three months younger than R.T. Weird!)

So, if you’re sewing inclined, give it a try! And please come back and share your results…

I wanted to take a minute to share with you a shop I’ve been blessed to find: Jumpin’ Bloomers. (All photos in this post are from their site).

They offer, as the name might suggest, several adorable options in bloomers for ladies (from infant to adult!).

I have ordered several pairs for Jewel, and we have been delighted.

The fit is comfortable (and they will gladly adjust to your measurements), the style is cute, the construction is sturdy… And of course, they are a necessary item for the modesty of active girls.

Did I mention that the price is right?

I still feel guilty for not sewing everything myself, but in the moments of realism I am able to search out other people who are more gifted in this area, and appreciate the blessing of their ministry.

They’ve just added a third style of cuff – and option for a wide piece of lace edging the bottom of the bloomers. Perfect for my little princess on her LESS crazy days!

Jumpin’ Bloomers also has petticoats, aprons, dresses, nightgowns, and more. How cute are these Prairie Dresses and Pinafores?

So, if you’re also not yet up to making it all yourself, here’s another option for keeping the young ladies dressed as, well, young ladies.

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Wolf decided he wanted to build a treehouse for the kids.

We’ll only be in this house for another 18 months at the most, probably… But he really wanted them to have this.

His theory was that he could build it in a sort of modular platform setup, and then we could take the components with us when we move. It’s all built with treated wood, so it should hold up well.

There are two big trees close together that are the base. For the Littles, there are two (low) platforms and a walkway through between the trees, with a ladder up on one side. Railings are next on the agenda.

The plan is to put a platform about 12′ up, for Nick. He’ll have a rope ladder, or some similar type of access that he can control.

The happy interesection of a chilly night, a child who wants to wear those pajamas (even though they don’t have feet), and two orphan socks whose mates were eaten by the Bermuda-Sock-Triangle.

Yep, we believe in Santa Claus.

That is to say, we have studied and appreciate a cool historical guy, Saint Nicholas.

Over time, I’ve posted a couple of things about our journey in this direction over at the Life on the Road blog:

Who is this St. Nick guy, anyway? *and* Less Presents, More Presence.

We are still unsettled logistically and financially after all we’ve been through in the last couple of years, and our move to Mississippi, so I didn’t get things as “together” as I would like to for this year.

But we still had a blast decorating the tree, eating holiday junk food and a special meal, and opening our gifts on the feast of St. Nicholas. (Although, again, we did not get as far as we wanted on our journey this year, we do strive for more thoughtful gifts, hopefully hand-made, etc.).

We put out stockings, which “St. Nicholas” fills with chocolate coins, an orange (see the traditions in the links above), and small gifts… And the kids enjoy it. But they do know that we are celebrating in this fun way in the spirit of St. Nicholas, a hero of the faith.

On Christmas Eve, we will do another round of fun in St. Nicholas’ name – leaving small gifts on the porches of some of our local friends and neighbors (this year: oranges, tied up in cloth, with a note explaining some of the traditions, and our Christmas-preserving purpose).

Eventually, hopefully next year, I would like to do a more full “Advent” time of study and celebration.

I’ve heard a few other fun suggestions recently:

• Celebrating Three Kings’ Day (Epiphany)
• Exchanging gifts on the Orthodox Christmas (is that on Epiphany?)
• Doing your gift exchange as a “Yule” celebration on the first day of winter

What else can we, as Christians and parents, do to preserve Christmas as a celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior?

My good friends at Franklin Springs Family Media have done it again! Yep, the folks who bring you the wonderful Homestead Blessings series has something new.

This DVD is about hunting. Sort of.

It does have a lot of talk about hunting in it, and a lot of information – but much of it is only sort of “overheard” in the context of the time we spend with the people involved.

The real story of this DVD is, as the title suggests, about families. Hunting is a means to accomplish any number of important parenting tasks that we might be interested in:

• Spending quality time with our children
• (And even more specifically, quality Father/Daughter or Father/Son focused, individual time)
• Working together as a team
• Setting and accomplishing goals
• Appreciating the majesty of God’s creation
• Potentially providing food for our family
• Allowing children to develop competence, and appropriate self-esteem
• Practicing waiting, and patience
• Following rules and established standards of practice

…and others…

We enjoyed watching this DVD together as a family.

Wolf grew up hunting, and we look forward to the time in a couple of years when we can move back to a place where he can share that heritage with our children.

Here’s a preview of the film:

I would heartily recommend this DVD to anyone who hunts, anyone interested in hunting, anyone who enjoys camping and outdoor activities already, and anyone who might even consider it as an avenue for family development.

BUY IT!

Order it directly from Franklin Springs. As of this posting date, they are offering it at a special promotional price!

WIN IT!

One lucky As For My House reader will win their own copy of the Family Heritage of Hunting DVD!

Make sure to leave your email address with each comment. (Used only to contact the winner. If your email is entered in the form it will be saved for me but not displayed).

1. Leave a comment here and share a favorite hunting story of your own, or what sparked your interest about this DVD.

Extra Entries (leave separate comments for each).

Once you have completed #1, you can earn additional entries by doing any or all of the following.

2. Become a Facebook Fan of Franklin Springs Family Media.

3. Subscribe to As For My House in your favorite feed reader, or by email. (Current subscribers count, too!)

4. and 5. Post this giveaway to your Facebook wall (leave your Facebook name), or Tweet about it (and leave the link)! Each may be done daily for extra entries.

6. Enter any of the other giveaways posted here, or over at Life on the Road, and comment back here telling me which one.

7. Leave a (reasonable) comment on any non-giveaway post, and comment back here letting me know which one(s).

In additon to these, there are MANY more ways to earn extra entries. You know, all the usual stuff like sharing on Facebook, Tweeting, and so on? Just click over to our Giveaway Policy page for all the details!

This giveaway ends 1/3/2011 at 11:59pm (Central), or more likely some time the following morning when I log in again.

The winner will be chosen using random.org and announced on the blog, as well as contacted by email. Winner must respond within 48 hours, or a new winner will be selected. Your DVD will ship directly from Franklin Springs.

***

Comments are now closed. Look for the winner to be announced soon in a separate post!

Just as the nations need someone to go and share with them the Gospel… Children need to see the normal nursing relationship to learn that it is, in fact, the normal way to feed a baby.

As you know, I rarely post something here that just says “go read someone else’s post” … But, well, when someone has written a post that so eloquently sums up the things I say about this topic often and vehemently, it only makes sense that I share that with you rather than trying to reinvent the wheel!

With that in mind, I highly reccomend that you check out this post on the Nursing Freedom blog: Why Children Should Witness Breastfeeding in Public.