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Raising Children in an E-Mail World
Read our review of "Busy But Balanced"!
Kids long for connection, and technology is fulfilling that
desire by allowing them access to worlds beyond their own
neighborhoods. But with this vast expansion of opportunity
comes a need for balance and consciousness. If our child is
exploring nature through vividly graphic internet sites
without running barefoot in the backyard or spying on birds
building their nests, there is no balance. When our
teenagers connect with cyber pals thousands of miles away
but don't take the time to toss a few balls with the kids
next door, they don't have the experiential opportunity to
know people in all their complexity.
Children are huge spirits housed in little bodies. Nourish
these precious spirits and your own soul will be filled.
Try at least one of the following tips sometime in the next
week. You will begin to see a shift in everyone's attitude.
- Take time to connect as a family. Dazzling technology can
diminish the worth of humans. Make your family time count.
- Put the TV in a place that takes some effort to reach
instead of allowing it to take center stage in your home.
Your computer, on the other hand, goes in a central place so
that technology is part of the family's group experience
rather than a solo activity.
- Designate this week as We Care Week. Each family member
does one caring thing a day for his or her secret recipient.
- Frequently remind your kids how grateful you are they
were born.
- Pick one day a month as FAMILY DAY. Mark them on your
calendar and begin planning now for all twelve magical days.
- Don't forget the wonderful habit of note writing. Leave
some unexpected words of encouragement in a lunch box, under
a pillow. If you travel, begin a postcard tradition. Send
your child a postcard from each trip you take.
- Learn something new with your kids. Approach ideas from
their perspective.
- Come up with a secret sign that means, "I love you." It
comes in handy at the bus stop or in a crowded room.
- Ask your kids to write a letter a week -- longhand. They
can write to whomever they choose: family, friends, heroes,
someone they read about in the paper.
- Wish upon a star with your child. Listen to his/her
wish.
Sign up for Mimi Doe's free bi-weekly newsletter "Spiritual
Parenting Thought for the Week"
Copyright © 2001 Mimi Doe. Reprinted with permission.
Mimi Doe, M.Ed., is the author of "BUSY BUT BALANCED: Practical and Inspirational Ways to Create a Calmer, Closer
Family" (St. Martins Press, Oct. 2001). "Ladies Home Journal" called Mimi "a parenting guru" and her work has
been covered in publications such as "Child," "Parenting," "McCalls," "Family Circle," "Publisher's Weekly" and "USA
Today." She has appeared on talk radio and television programs including Oprah.
Mimi's workshops and seminars have changed the way thousands of parents interact with the children in their lives. Her
popular on-line newsletter, Spiritual Parenting Thought for the Week has over 30,000 subscribers from around the world
and she is a parenting contributor to Beliefnet.com.
Mimi is also the author of "10 Principles for Spiritual Parenting: Nurturing Your Child's Soul" (which won the 1998
Parents' Choice Seal of Approval and was a finalist in the Books for a Better Life Award) and the co-author of "Drawing
Angels Near: Children Tell of Angels in Words and Pictures." She holds a master's degree in education from Harvard.
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