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: β"What did you guys do to create the lasting connectedness you have with your kids?" β βMy Reply: βWhatever 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 π¦ In the world of arboriculture (ok, that's just a fancy word for trees) we call a group either a Grove or Forest π²π²π²π² 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 - 3 min read Season: The Long Summers (2 of 11) 7 Years Today's story starts 10 years ago when my two daughters were sharing a bedroom. It began as a functional choice for us, two sisters in one room. It wasn't without friction but they managed well. They were still young with normal 9 and 5-year-old challenges. But 5 years into sharing a room together, those words could not be said. It was ROUGH. Drama every single week.Frustrations over each small issue.Teen and...
500 Fridays Newsletter - 1 min read Season: The Long Summers (2 of 11) Stories Shape Futures Kids gravitate towards great stories. So many of them follow βThe Heroes Journey.β Classics like Moana or Toy Story are legendary kids movies because of how well they accomplish this. Stories in the lives of your kids, end up shaping and molding them. Stories capture the mind and heart. They are big and powerful.They create awe and wonder.They generate hopes and dreams. Stories aren't only fantasy....
500 Fridays Newsletter - 2 min read Season: The Long Summers (1 of 11) A Volume of Words Repetition. It's how all people learn new things. Handwriting. Presenting. Cooking. Tying shoes. Throwing a ball. In families, the repetition of words matters ... a lot. They help form the thoughts and emotions that everyone carries in the back recesses of their minds. Repetition leaves life-long grooves. As a parent there will be words that you say without much intention on a frequent basis. They can be...