We don't celebrate any of those so I voted 'something else'. We have a family winter festival. This year we're having it on first weekend of February when snow is most likely. We will have special food, games, decorations etc. Just celebrating being our family in winter.:001_smile:

We all have them. The littlest ones only use them occasionally. Mostly we use them while doing chores or gardening, but not all the time. I don't find that we talk less, in fact we talk a lot more about music now.:)

We live in a world full of unnatural dangers that did not exist in biblical times. Busy roads, electrical outlets, etc. Of course there were other dangers back then and some of those dangers are still with us. A child may not understand these dangers. Death or injury may be an unreal concept for a child. Some children can be utterly without a sense of danger or self-preservation. A parent's instinct to protect by any means necessary is natural. Some parents of such children may conclude that spanking is the only means of ensuring their child is safe. Other parents of such children may have made a decision not to spank, under any circumstance, and these parents may find that they are able to keep their child safe using other methods.

We don't have many homeschoolers here but the comments I've heard from time to time lead me to believe these are stereotypical views held by some: The parents are too lazy to get their kids up and ready for school. The kids are being kept at home to work on the farm. The parents are hiding abuse by keeping the kids out of sight of teachers. The kids are weird and unable to function socially. Home education can't possibly come up to the standards of school education since parents can't afford expensive equipment available in schools. A parent can't homeschool adequately AND keep house, care for meals etc. adequately.

If you believe it is necessary to spank your children to keep them safe then your motivation to do so is understandable. However, I believe it is just as possible (and not unscriptural) to keep children safe without resorting to punishing them.

I think it's OK to keep discussing as long as we keep it friendly and respectful, which I do try very hard to do and hope I come across that way.:) I do believe the Bible to be true and am fairly certain that it does not contain inaccuracies. That is, I don't think God would have allowed any inaccuracies to persist. Certainly not about anything really important. As I said a few posts back, I honestly don't know how we are meant to take that scripture. In the light of everything else the Bible says about God and about our relationships with one another, I cannot believe that God wants us to beat our children with sticks. Or otherwise inflict unnecessary pain upon them.

:grouphug: I don't want to tear you to pieces.:001_smile: I understand and sympathize with your rationalization. I disagree with it, but respect your opinion. I think it is not only possible but also desirable to protect children from every kind of danger, physical, spiritual, etc., without spanking, or indeed any other form of punishment. I don't think I'm being unscriptural in my viewpoint, although I do see how others can come to a different opinion based on certain scriptures. Hoping we can keep this friendly and not hurt anyone's feelings.:)

To be honest, I don't know what it means. There are parts of the Bible hard to understand. I have pondered this scripture many times over the years on my journey from a spanking parent to a non-spanking one. I am not generally a 'pick and choose your favourite scripture' kind of person, in other words, I take the Bible very, very seriously. I believe it is the inspired Word of God and that every scripture is there for a good reason. You may find the scriptures in my first post on this thread helpful in understanding how I have come to the conclusion that whatever it means, it can't (in my opinion) mean that God wants us to beat our children with sticks.

"If you strike him with the rod you will save his soul from Sheol." It we are meant to take the first part of the verse literally, then surely we are meant to take that part literally also. Yet it is clearly untrue. You don't have to look far to find that beating children with sticks does not guarantee their eternal salvation.

I think all the scriptures that can be used to support spanking have already been listed above. I am a Bible-believing Christian who believes it is unscriptural to spank a child. Here are a quick few reasons why. (Quick because I don't have much time, so I'll be citing scripture references but not typing out the whole scripture.) 1 Thessalonians 2:7 2 Timothy 2:23-26 2 Timothy 3:14-17 Ephesians 4:31,32 Ephesians 4:1,2 Ephesians 6:4 Galatians 6:1 Colossians 3:12-15,21 Titus 1:6-9 Titus 2:6 Philemon 9-20 Hebrews 5:14 1 Peter 3:8,9,15 Deuteronomy 6:7 Proverbs 17:10 Malachi 3:17 I believe the rod in most cases refers to discipline which carries a primary meaning of teaching, not punishment.

Congratulations!

I think it is mostly dependent upon how your children hear you speak, to them and to others in front of them. Also, if you have convincing reasons why certain words are inappropriate I think it's OK to give those reasons to your children. I didn't make a conscious decision to do this, but I always talk in proper English to my dh and children and my children don't even know how to speak in Scots. My Mum thinks this is a tragedy!

My ds16 has one with a row of Gameboy game pictures, under which is the word 'Homeschooled'.

How long have you been using this method? When I first started with my 14 yo boy and 9 yo girl, they often couldn't answer the questions but after a few weeks I noticed a big improvement. It was a new skill it took them a while to get it but slowly and surely they did and continue to improve.

You can do it Pamela!:001_smile: Maybe you just need to spend some time planning to get yourself back into the swing of it.

:grouphug: The tone of the post on your blog sounds nothing like anything I've ever read on here. It comes across as being from someone very immature. I doubt it's from anyone you are used to conversing with on this message board. Keep your chin up!

I have read loads over the years but my absolute number one tip-top favourite is: "Unconditional Parenting" by Alfie Kohn I liked it so much I bought four copies so I'd always have some to lend out. Three are on loan right now. It's one of the very few books I felt compelled to write a recommendation for on Amazon.co.uk.

What difference does it make? If they were to include all the words in the language it wouldn't be a child-size dictionary any more. If a child is motivated enough to look up 'monk' for example and doesn't find the listing, is the child in danger of going through life (or even the next two minutes) not knowing what a monk is? The child will just ask the teacher, or another child, or their parent. Or find a bigger dictionary. Or am I missing something obvious? (Wouldn't be the first time, I know. :tongue_smilie:)

Do you have carpets? If not I'd just leave her and maybe in a couple of days she'll have got it. It you do, I can understand not wanting pee all over them and you might have to be more vigilant about popping the potty under her. Give her lots of water/juice to drink and time how long it takes to come out then start using the potty five or ten minutes before it's due.

He wouldn't need to do school because he'd already know everything. Everyone in the family would be happily occupied for the day leaving him free to play guitar and playstation without interruption all day. And, (this is the part I like best) the butter would be spreadable.

Stop using dryer for laundry. Hang clothes out or inside on clothes horse. Stop using laundry detergent. (When the clothes start to look grubby use the kind that can go in cold water, just for one or two washes - it stays in the laundry even after rinsing and will work again a couple of times) Stop showering every day - wash in a little water at the sink with a cloth or sponge. Only use soap for hands - rest of body can be washed in water only. Stop using shampoo, conditioner or other hair care products. Just water will be fine after a while. Stop using deodorant. (Honestly, I've been doing all the above and I don't smell.) Stay at home as much as possible. (I only go out twice a week now.) Drive slowly. Do housework at a brisk pace as soon as possible in the day, every day, to get the heat up then wear extra layers of clothes to keep warm rather than having heating on. Switch the lights off. Keep the doors shut. Grow as much of your own food as you can. Cook from scratch. Cook simple meals regularly - save the fancy stuff for special occasions. Drink water instead of juice, tea, coffee, or alcohol. Don't buy magazines. Don't watch commercials. Be friends with people poorer than you. (half-joking, but you won't find yourself needing so much stuff if you don't see your peers with it.) Spend quality recreation time with your kids - playing games or musical instruments can be riotous fun and keep you warmer and keep electrical items switched off. Active games turn about with board games or other sedentary pursuits. Try to keep a good sense of humour and fun. Seeing the lighter side of things can save money. You won't need to buy treats to make yourself feel better.

Never sit down to watch 'live' TV. We record everything we plan to watch, watch when most convenient, and skip past the commercials.

Why? I mean, I know about the original trial, but what has he been put in prison for after all this time? Did he commit a crime recently?

We'd stay at home.