School Age Kids | Grit and Grace Life

How to Get Your Kids to Depend on You (Less)

The other day my husband, Bill, said to me, “Don’t take this as an insult, but you have a very low tolerance level for dependent people.” This is funny, coming from the only human being on earth upon whom I depend regularly and desperately. But he’s right. Nothing gets on my nerves more than unwarranted neediness. We raised four strong, independent adult sons. I am beginning to see that my intolerance for dependence contributed somewhat to this outcome. Even so, God’s grace is still my final answer to anyone who asks how we did it. We didn’t. God did. Bill reminded me of a phone conversation I had years ago with our friend, Delores. Delores was the less likable, female counterpart of […]

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Here Are 5 Ways to Protect Your Child Online

By Jessica Harris / Motherhood

As a mom, you know it’s your job to keep your little ones safe. From the moment you first held them, whether you birthed them or adopted them, you probably felt a fierce desire to make sure nothing bad ever happened to your children. Then, life happens and, of course, they fall, scrape, bleed, and cry. Shy of wrapping your kids in bubble wrap and grounding them for life, it may not feel like there is much you can do to protect them. In this technological age, it’s no longer just the stranger on the playground you have to be watching out for. There are seedy characters and questionable content all over the internet, tucked away in apps, messaging through social media,

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How to Raise Responsible Kids: Tips for Every Age – 087

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | MoreIsn’t every parent’s goal to raise happy, well-adjusted, and, yes, responsible kids who can find success in life? Even comedienne, Phyllis Diller said, “I want my children to have all the things I couldn’t afford…then I want to move in with them.” We may not want to live with them, but we do want them to be able to build a life for themselves. In this episode, single boy mom Julie Graham asks all these questions and more of Darlene Brock, who literally wrote the book on raising great girls. They discuss some of the practical applications for every age. From the chores a child

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Your Mom Always Said This (And She Was Right)- 079

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | MoreLooking back we all recall the mom phrases: “Don’t roll your eyes, they’ll get stuck like that”, “If your friend jumped off a bridge…” and “Because I said so, that’s why!” These all-too-familiar phrases became ones we mouthed in the backseat of the car as we were growing up. There also may have been phrases like “I love you no matter what” that she never said, but you wished she would have. On this episode, Darlene and Julie revisit several expressions moms are famous for, as well as ones they didn’t say, but you needed. If you’re a mom, you will find yourself repeating these

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This Is How to Face the Homework Battle

By Amber Koehn / Motherhood

If you are a mother, chances are you’ve had to deal with your fair share of homework battles. Some instances have probably been minor, like your child forgetting to bring their homework back to school or not getting the required signatures on a form. But some cases have probably been a little more extreme (think full-blown temper tantrum–and I’m not talking about your child). I remember one such occasion with my oldest. It was four years ago when she was in the third grade. I was going about my afternoon, getting ready to start dinner, when I was interrupted by an extremely upset 9-year-old. Like, epic upset. She had been working on her math homework for all of five minutes and deemed

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An Ode to the Valentines Day Box

By Meaghan Dawson / Motherhood

An ode to the “Valentine’s Day Box”… Oh Valentine’s Day, what a weird, twisted, and torturous holiday you are. I just don’t know how to handle you. On the one hand, you celebrate love, of all things. It’s kind of hard to hate that. I mean, who wouldn’t want to celebrate love? Well, besides Satan and all. He probably hates Valentine’s Day too. Your intention as a holiday, I’m sure, is good and true and kind. But on the flip side, your modern-day execution of Valentine’s Day: It’s the pits. It’s a giant cesspool of commercialism, competition, and insecurity. And I’m just talking about my Valentine’s Day feels here, people. The oddest thing about my jumbled emotions is that they don’t even

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A Little Encouragement When Motherhood Is Disappointing

By Dr. Zoe Shaw / Motherhood

Wait. Is this taboo? Can I talk about when this joyous thing called parenting is disappointing? Whether you have a newborn who is screaming all night or a 40-year-old adult child living downstairs, there comes a point (well, many of them maybe) when a parent thinks, wait—this sucks! Before you get offended, let me acknowledge that talking about the not-so-great parts of parenting does not in any way negate the amazing, heartwarming, life-changing miracle that parenting is. It really is. But sometimes it is truly disappointing, and way too often we parents take on way too much guilt, which of course only further impedes our good parenting moments. We are never off the hook as parents, but that doesn’t mean we are destined to a

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Want to Get Your Child Interested in Books? Try This.

By Laura Hurd / Motherhood

Since the birth of my first son 11 years ago, I have been keenly aware of the benefits of reading to a child. I knew that I wanted to implement reading aloud as part of our everyday routine because the statistics prove that even when newborns are exposed to oral language, it helps them with many different skills later in life. When our youngest son was diagnosed with autism at two years of age, I was already experiencing the reality of having a child that flat out refused to listen to a story of any kind. I would attempt to read to him from many different angles. I would go as far as joining him inside his netted indoor trampoline as he

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These Strategies Will Help You Raise Great Kids – 063

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More It doesn’t take a perfect mom to raise great kids. It takes intentionality, grit, and grace! Author and Co-Host, Darlene Brock, shares her hindsight and offers practical tips from her new book, Raising Great Girls: Help for Moms to Raise Confident, Capable Daughters (perfection not required), that will apply to moms of both genders. As a single boy mom, Julie asks honest questions and explores how Darlene navigated the tricky parenting situations in which most parents find themselves. Darlene explains how being your child’s coach, creative counselor, and professor of gender studies (three of the jobs she unpacks in her book) makes all the

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How to Make Meal Planning Simple for Your Busy Family

By Meaghan Dawson / Motherhood

Fall is my absolute favorite season of the year. It is nearly perfect in every way. I love fall colors. I love fall clothes. I love fall weather. I love fall food. And, if I’m completely honest, I love that with my kids back in school comes at least a few solid minutes a day where I am blissfully alone—a respite from the non-stop togetherness of summer days in our household. The only real drawback to fall stares me right in the face every time I glance at our nearly packed schedule. Because with fall comes the return of all the after-school things: the homework, the practices, the games, youth group, meetups, etc. When I look at our calendar, my eyes immediately

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To the Mom Who Feels Guilty for Sitting on the Job

By Meaghan Dawson / Faith, Motherhood

Last week I found myself in a unique predicament. It was a typical weekday afternoon. Nothing special or noteworthy, and if I’m completely honest I’ll admit that I don’t even remember what day it actually was—could have been Tuesday or Thursday. I have no idea. Regardless, on this afternoon the kids were all home, homework and chores were done, and the messy after-school routine (and the whining that goes along with it) was long over. My daughter was happily jumping away on the trampoline, my son was playing basketball outside, and my oldest had gone to a friend’s house. They didn’t need me. My house was quiet. My pressing daily chores finished long before, and there was still an hour or so before dinner

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Talking About the Book, Raising Great Girls (Video)

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / Motherhood

This Grit and Grace Life podcast co-hosts Darlene Brock and Julie Graham talk about Darlene’s new book, Raising Great Girls, Help for Moms to Raise Confident, Capable Daughters (perfection not required). Interested in the book but want to know more? Click here to download a free chapter. Available now at Amazon.

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To the SAHM Who Struggles Because Her Man Works a Lot

By Rachel Hagstrom / Motherhood

For the SAHM whose man travels frequently or has long hours at the office, the days can feel monotonous or lonely and isolating. She may feel as though she’s lost a part of her identity or be overwhelmed, worn down, and even battle jealousy of his time with adults (okay, maybe that last part is just me). My husband and I have spent almost half of our 10 years of marriage away from one another due to his intense traveling schedule: 10 months after we married, he left for a one-year deployment before shifting out of the military into a private sector job. His new job requires weekly travel; every Monday morning at 5 am, he’ll kiss me goodbye and won’t return until

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How Can You Raise Great Girls? Darlene’s Daughters Tell All – 054

By This Grit & Grace Life Podcast / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | MoreAre you trying to raise confident, capable daughters but feeling unsure about how you’re doing? Every mother feels that way! Darlene Brock, in her new book, Raising Great Girls, takes a look back at the years she raised her two daughters. By breaking down the roles, this mom took on doable jobs, and she shares what she learned. Since today is the official book release date, we wanted to celebrate by inviting her daughters to join us for this fun episode. You will hear firsthand from Darlene and her daughters the successes and failures that led to them becoming the adults they are today! Julie interviews

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Simple Ideas for How to Enjoy Summer Break With Your Kids

By Megan Edwards / Motherhood

As summer break begins and moms brace themselves for the organized (or not so much) chaos it brings, I recall a conversation I had a few years back about the stress it can cause. Even though we’re not packing lunches, the children seem to be eating us out of house and home. They want to start their days at 6 a.m., wanting to know, “Where are we going today and how soon?” Or, “Can I have so-and-so over?” Or the classic whining and whimpering line, “I’m bored!” The questions keep coming… It’s exactly as the old saying goes, “The days are long but the years are short.” When I was in the beginning stages of therapy for my postpartum depression, I remember venting

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This Is Why Family Dinners Don’t Have to Be Perfect

By Meaghan Dawson / Motherhood

You may or may not know this about me, but when I’m not here writing for Grit and Grace Life, I actually run a fun little faith-based food blog, which I know is a strange combo, but it works somehow for me. I’ve been doing this for years now, and I feel blessed that I get to combine my passions for cooking, writing, and sharing Jesus with people all over the world. When I got the wild hair to start this thing, I never imagined that it would grow the way it has, that my words would touch people and help people and maybe (hopefully) even make people laugh at my expense—because truthfully, I’m really quite ridiculous. Since starting my blog I’ve

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2 Reasons Why Tag Team Parenting Is the Way to Go

By Kitti Murray / Motherhood

Parenting, like marriage, starts out all theory. Which is why new parents, like new husbands and wives, can seem teachable. We read books, we seek advice, we ask questions. And then reality hits. I will be the first to admit that, as a new mom, I was not all that teachable in real life. It took me years, four sons, and countless small mothering disasters to realize how much help I really needed. Functional parenting is very different from the figurative version. The good thing about this seeming-humble to actual-humble journey is that I often had to do what I’ve observed healthy parents do: apologize to my kids when I blew it, while somehow managing to retain my role as The Mom.

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