Spot the Difference
I still play with Barbie Dolls. Miss 3 asked me to play with her the other day. After bringing me two dolls, she asked if we could swap dresses. I was shocked! The current Barbie was much thinner than the already thin Barbie stereotype.
There is pressure on young girls to conform to a certain body image. I found this interesting article called What is Beauty? from Focus on the Family. I like this quote “We must be faithful in reminding them (our girls) that beauty is not defined by a number on the scale, a premanufactured clothing size, an hourglass shape, washboard abs, slender thighs, big boobs, a J-Lo butt, pouty Angelina Jolie lips, a pair of designer low-rise jeans, a cleavage-baring top, a new sassy haircut, a clear complexion, an antiwrinkle cream, or a surgical procedure”.
Parents can use opportunities like the Barbie one, to reinforce what true beauty is. This verse from the Bible sums it up: Proverbs 31:30 “Charm can be deceiving, and beauty fades away, but a woman who honors the LORD deserves to be praised.” And Galatians 5:22-23 describes the inner beauty God gives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
These articles are worth reading: What the Bible says About Beauty and Appearance and Talking to Your Daughter. I pulled this quote from Talking to Your Daughter: “Whether she is being influenced primarily by the media or her friends, one thing is for certain: she is hearing a buzz about what constitutes beauty in the world’s eyes. It will be especially important in these years to have open communication with your daughter regarding these messages. Take advantage of teachable moments, whether they are ads you come across or a comment made by a friend”. It is not effective to do a once-a-year talk hoping you can cover everything. Instead, it is the building into your girls life that counts. Take every opportunity to reinforce her real beauty.
I would also like to highlight the importance of the Father-Daughter relationship and self-esteem. Do you know what my three girls do when they get dressed to go out somewhere special? Without fail, they run straight to their Daddy and say “LOOK DAD!”. Responding with a hug their Daddy says “WOW! You look so beautiful”. Dr Meg Meeker, a pediatrician says “The No. 1 influence on a girl’s self-esteem is affection from her Dad”. What powerful words! What a beautiful privilege Fathers have to encourage their daughter’s true beauty. Find out more about what Dr Meeker says by reading her book Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters.
Despite the world’s bombarding view on beauty and the female image, take heart. Moment by moment, affirm and teach your girls about real beauty; the beauty of who they really are.
Recycling Craft
- Sultana Boxes
- Paper Towel Rolls
- Milk Bottle Lids
- Vitamin Containers
- Soft Drink Bottles
Father’s Day Present
Colourful Splash Play
September 2009 School holidays are just around the corner. I will share some great ideas you may like to use.
Colourful Splash Play
All you need is:
• Bowls (different sizes is fun)
• Food Colouring (Basic Colours)
• Water
• Cup
NOTE: For all those Mothers freaking out because of the food colouring…. don’t worry, it is so diluted, it won’t stain their hands or clothes 
I suggest you print out this colour wheel to so you can let them experiment with colour mixing.
Set up some toys and watch your children use their imagination.
Bowls + Food Colouring + Water = Hours of FUN!
VS
I’m a chronic muli-tasker. Seriously, I’m at my happiest when I have 100 different things going on at once. I am goal orientated and I juggle everything (and plough through anything in my way) to get to my goal. On the other hand, I happened to be married to a task oriented, one-task-at-a-time man. This has caused — ah — many — ummm — areas of — what would you call it — discussion in our marriage.
One day, I tried to explain to him what was goes on in my mind at one time. *WARNING* this may be frightening to men out there. So here goes:
I have a brain-check-list in my head. I’m sure if you opened my head up, it would be visible. So, I am walking around getting ready to go out in the morning and I walk over a pencil and make a mental note to pick it up and put it where Miss 8, who I know will ask for it that afternoon, can find it. In the corner of my eye I see a jumper and I know it will be needed in three days time at approximately 3.30 pm so I race down and put it in the car. I’m unstacking the dishwasher, making lunches and ironing uniforms all at the same time. I know there is a dirty nappy next to the cot that I need to take out to the bin so I put it on my brain-check-list to do as I head out to the car. In the meantime, I am checking emails, facebook and twitter; such joys to a multi-tasker. I know I saw a drink bottle under the couch a week ago and, obviously it did not make it on the brain-check-list, but it made it on to the subconscious-I-know-where-everything-is-list. Oh, yes, I have one of those lists as well. Getting back to the drink bottle, Miss 5 says she can’t find her drink bottle and we are in a hurry so I reach for the under-the-couch one, that was left there for this very occasion. In my subconscious-I-know-where-everything-is list I have visions of Master 2′s shoes in the bottom of the pram and Miss 3′s shoes in her room so these items move to the brain-check-list to grab as I go to the car. Of course, all these couple with yelling — I mean communicating with my four children. Did I mention I was having an instant messaging conversation with my friend in England as well?
My husband responded “Far out! That is AMAZING and SCARY!”. I decided not to take offence at the scary bit.
For my husband, being a surgeon means completing many steps carefully and precisely to achieve a goal. If I was a surgeon, and be very glad I am not, I would surely kill my patients for the sake of efficiency. On the other hand, when we are in a hurry, my husband finds it difficult, no, impossible, to co-ordinate many things at once. As a couple, my husband and I have learnt to use each other assets instead of being irritated at each other — well mostly. Husband does homework with the children and is a very patient and good teacher, he assembles toys and furniture and is good at his job. I manage the efficiency of the household, and sometimes, my husband stays out of the way so I can be a whirlwind.
Chronic Multi-tasker Woman vs One-task-at-a-time Man? Sometimes challenging, but always interesting. Use each others assets; it takes work, but is worth it.
Be A Fun Mum related posts:
Making Moments Count
YOU CAN DO IT!
Feeding Toddlers – Think Outside the Box
- Cut up apple, sultanas,crackers and cheese
- Pasta with frozen peas and corn
- Zucchini Slice
- Cold Potato cut into cubes
- Cold pasta (shells or spirals)
- Grapes cut in half
- Cauliflower cut into very small florets and Philadelphia Cream Cheese
- Pikelets cut into quarters
- Peas in the Pod
- Try and feed them something healthy at about 4pm like yogurt, shaved carrot or cheese
- Feed them bits of veges while you are cooking. For some reason they taste better to toddlers when they are not on the plate. And they feel like they are cooking with you.
- Get them to sit at the table for dinner with everyone, but don’t worry if they don’t eat much.
Think outside the box and see what you come up with.
A Gift That Keeps on Giving
My eldest daughter turned 8 the other day. She recieved many beautiful presents, but this one was worth blogging about. It is a garden kit complete with:
* cute knelling board
It is a gift that keeps on giving. The initial opening, the planting and watching it grow. My daughter and I had the opportunity to learn a bit more about how plants grow.
The $2 Jar
