School Age Kids | Grit and Grace Life

10 Ways to Make Memories With Your Kids When You Work Full-Time

How to Make Memories With Your Kids When You Work Full-Time

What do you remember about your childhood? I don’t cherish the toys I was given or the lavish gifts. I remember and hold on to the late nights when my mom would still be awake when I got home from a date and wanted to hear all about it. I remember looking over and seeing my dad walk up to an afternoon tennis match after he worked all day. When trying to create special moments with your fast-growing children, especially while trying to juggle work, don’t worry about the things you can replace with money. Worry about the things money can’t buy. 10 practical ways to make memories with your kids when you work full-time: 1. Read to your kids each night. […]

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Rest Easy Moms, Here Are the Things That Matter – 102

By Smart Living with Grit and Grace / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | MoreMoms, are you stressed? Do you find yourself worrying about almost everything? The right food, the growth chart percentile, the best school, grades, their behavior, screen time, and that discipline subject—terrifying. What is even more stressful is worrying about what other moms think about our decisions. It’s exhausting. It’s time to go back to the basics and remember what matters! Cross-generational friends and moms, Darlene Brock (mom of two grown daughters and Nonie to two grandkids) and Julie Graham (single, widowed boymom), discuss the things that do matter, what we should spend our energy on, and what we can let go of—now. Rest easy, moms. You do

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How to Protect Your Children From Sexual Abuse

By Author Anonymous / Life & Culture

The second the door to the light-filled room opened, she made a beeline toward the wooden shelves. Housed upon them were plastic figurines, standing upright in tidy rows. Her little hands would pause before choosing the ones that would take part in the sandbox game. Sometimes, she grabbed the impish elf first, or the medieval knight, or the boy and girl dressed in ordinary t-shirts and jeans. Without fail, she’d reach for the jovial princess whose miniature hands held the seams of her cobalt blue gown in a frozen curtsy. Next were the pegasus, triceratops, beastly creatures, and sword-swinging soldiers. For the next half hour, her therapist and I would sit beside her, dig our hands into the sandbox, and enter my

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To Mom Who Feels Like She's in the Ditch

To the Mom Who Feels Like She’s in the Ditch

By Kitti Murray / Faith

One day, as our collective brood of six children (later to become eight, between our two families) played in her yard, my dear comrade-in-arms, toddler-mom friend said something that did me a world of good. One of the boys (of our eight, seven were boys) asked her if he could do something both dangerous and downright wrong (mildly so, but still) and she said, “Whatever. Go ahead.” And then as an aside to me, “Sometimes I just get so tired of being consistent.” This, coming from the most consistent mom I’ve ever known—a real hall-of-famer. No, I did not judge her. Instead, my heart did a little jig. First, I must admit to a bit of schadenfreude… she struggled to keep it

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Ask Dr. Zoe – My Child’s Screen Addiction, How Do I Limit It?

By Dr. Zoe / Ask Dr. Zoe

‘Sammi’ Asked: How do I help my child wean themselves away from screens? It’s only a few hours a day but she feels entitled to it and gets hostile once I ask for it back or tell her to turn it off. Dr. Zoe Answered: The problem isn’t the screen time (although the device struggle is real), it’s really that she’s responding to you in a hostile way. It’s okay for her to be disappointed, frustrated, even irritable. Those are feelings and all feelings are okay. But hostile? That sounds like a behavior issue. Her hostility tells me that she doesn’t respect you or believe you. We teach our children how to treat us through our action or lack of it. Without

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5 Quotes That Will Encourage You, Working (Super) Mom

By Ashley Johnson / Motherhood, Work & Money

Working moms do it all—but it’s hard! The struggle to find work and life balance is real, but in the end, what really matters is that you tried your best. At least, that’s what I’ve been told from the women who’ve seen it through. One thing I know that all of us working moms could use is a little encouragement. Just a quick note that says, “Hey, I see you. I see all of the obstacles you overcome every day. It’s not always flawless, but you put your heart and soul into it. You are a strong woman, and you’re a good mom.” So, working mom, these 5 quotes are for you: “I think every working mom probably feels the same thing: You

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

By Kitti Murray / Faith

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 Smart Living with Grit and Grace / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | 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 can do

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

By Smart Living with Grit and Grace / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | 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 to your

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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 / 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 Smart Living with Grit and Grace / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | 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 difference in

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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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