Thursday, September 16, 2010

Growing Kids God's Way: Right Beginnings

  Last week I shared with you about How to Raise a Moral Child.  This week we learned about Right Beginnings.

What was the very first human relationship in the Bible?  That's right, the husband-wife relationship.  That is the first priority relationship in the family.  When you add children, you extend the family.  So how do you maintain the marriage as you become parents?  One concept is to develop "couch time."  This is about 15 minutes every week night after dad/mom come home from work where the couple sits on the couch or somewhere in the main family area and has some connection time.  The children are allowed to be in the vicinity, but may not participate in the discussion.  This concept is highly crucial for your kids to know the mom and dad love each other and spend time together IN FRONT of the children.

So, practice some "couch time" in your home and tell me how it goes.  Our son was not too happy not to be the center of attention, but I know that as we keep doing this he will learn to respect our boundaries and see that the marriage is most important.

Hope you enjoy this series and it whets your appetite!  Next week: Touchpoints of Love.  Blessings, Shonda

1 comment:

Abi said...

We've been doing "couch time" since the kids were born, and yes, it really does work and help. Our routine is a little different though. My husband likes to wind down from work for a while once he gets home. So he plays with the kids, reads, or whatever until dinner. We sit as a family and discuss the day for a while, then it is Mom and Dad's turn to just talk. Mealtimes have begun to last a little longer because of this, but we all eat better, and we all connect better too.

Thanks for the well thought post! We all need more connection time!