Helping propel moms & dads of 3 to 13 year-olds to invest in their power-decade of parenting. Father of 3 teenagers and pastor of 20 years turned digital writer.
Family Friday: The Significance of Slow Growth
A Single Sentence from a Season Ahead
The Question: "What did you guys do to create the lasting connectedness you have with your kids?" My Reply: Whatever we did, we always did it together. Truths From TreesSometimes there are great parenting lessons that are hidden inside other family groups. For instance, animal families have their own special names. Lions: A Pride 🦁 In the world of arboriculture (ok, that's just a fancy word for trees) we call a group either a Grove or Forest 🌲🌲🌲🌲 There are a surprising number of great lessons that power-decade parents can learn from a family of trees. Slow vs Fast GrowthMost young tree saplings spend the early decades of life under the shade of their mother tree's canopy. Limited sunlight means that they grow slowly. Slow growth, of course, leads to hard, dense, and strong wood. Something entirely different happens if you plant a tree by itself out in an open field. Free from the shade of bigger trees, the sapling gorges itself on sunlight and grows too fast. Fast growth leads to soft, airy wood that doesn't have time to become dense. Soft, airy wood is a breeding ground for fungus, disease, and a much shorter life overall. A tree that grows fast also rots quickly and therefore never has a chance to grow old. Another invaluable effect of the grove for a young sapling is the root system. An old, dense, and sturdy tree has years of roots that run deep into the ground. A slow-growing tree in a grove has the benefit of intertwined roots that will benefit it for decades as it grows taller. An isolated tree, planted by itself, not only grows too quickly but lacks any of the supporting underground structures. 7 Parent Take-AwaysSo what can we learn from a family of trees that can affect your parenting for the next decade? Here are a few things we learned in our home...
Do you consider your home to be a "raise them slowly" kind of family? In what ways have you provided shade or kept your kids from growing up too quickly? I'd love to hear if you'd reply back and let me know! FYI: Mom and Dad, you can always read old newsletters right here! |
Power-Decade Parenting
Helping propel moms & dads of 3 to 13 year-olds to invest in their power-decade of parenting. Father of 3 teenagers and pastor of 20 years turned digital writer.
500 Fridays Newsletter - 2 min read Season: The Full Fall (6 of 12) Normal My father was a Pediatrician for 38 years. I did the math and by himself, he had over 350,000 sick and well-child appointments in his clinic over the years. Not to mention his other partners, who combined, have seen everything you could imagine. Growing up as the son of a Pediatrician had its big perks (and some decent downsides too). By far the greatest benefit though is having a dad who could help take care of his...
500 Fridays Newsletter - 3 min read Season: The Full Fall (5 of 12) No More Scale How often do you feel guilt as a parent? Somedays I wonder if parents in the 1950s felt guilt in a similar way as parents today or if it's a more modern feeling. They probably did, but still, I wonder. More than any other stage, when you're in the power-decade of parenting, the impulse to compare is unstoppable. For instance ... Do you look at your screen time and compare it to the amount of time you spend...
500 Fridays Newsletter - 3 min read Season: The Full Fall (4 of 12) A Proven Recipe There is nothing families love more than a proven recipe. A dish that has stood the test of time, fed hundreds if not thousands of people, and passes down because it's that good. Do you have recipes like that? Something I learned early on, during the newborn stage when people kept bringing food to our house, was that I needed to collect these recipes. When I would follow up with a thank you text for the food...