Monthly Archives: March 2020

A Healthy Fear

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book. Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, www.patlambchristianauthorcom)

Train up a Child…

A Healthy Fear

Many parents seem to try to shield their children from all fear.  “Don’t worry,” they say.  “Everything will be alright”.  Do we really know that everything will be alright?  Are we being honest with our children when we say this?  Truth is always best.

Even though parents may have good intentions, when they try to shield their children from all fear, it leaves children worried. The children probably sense that they are not being told the truth.  Children often sense what parents are feeling and wonder why their parents won’t trust them enough to share their feelings.  

Parents who fear telling the truth may not realize that it is not the facts that are most important, but rather how we share those facts.

Children are comforted more when they can trust parents to be truthful with them.  When parents softly and gently tell children about danger, and then assure them that they will do all they can to protect the children, those children find far more comfort.  To simply be put aside with “Everything’s going to be alright”, leaves a child wondering and feeling insecure.

By being truthful and honest with children, we are helping prepare them for handling difficulties in their future.  It does no favor to a child to be raised thinking that everything will be alright.  Children are better served when we teach them that there will always be challenges in life.  We need to model the right attitude and procedures for facing those challenges.  Life is not always fun.  

Giving children specific tasks in facing challenges lets them feel a part of the solution.  Being thrifty and saving are always good traits for facing any emergency.  A rule of thumb is to have savings that can maintain a family for three months.  Children can help by simply turning off lights when not needed, not wasting food, not begging for unneeded items, and practicing good health habits such as washing hands frequently.  Doing something to help gives a child comfort and helps build self-esteem.  

Panicky parents do no good for their children in modeling how to cope with challenges.  Being truthful with children in a loving and gentle way is always best.  If a child can’t trust a parent to be truthful at one time, can s/he ever trust a parent to be truthful?  Honesty is still the best policy!

Ideas for Children Home from School

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: “Let the Children Come”; “Children, Come to Me”; “When the Stars Fall Down”; “Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way”; “My Thinking Book”. Available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, www.patlambchristianauthor.com.)

Train up a child…

Ideas for Children Home from School

When children are required to be at home instead of school, new challenges are present.  “What can I do to keep them busy?”  “I’m not a teacher, how can I teach them at home?”  Kids get bored.  Here are some ideas:

1)  If lessons are being sent home via Internet or otherwise, do those first.  When you get “stuck”, ask the child to explain it to you.  They learn more by telling you than you telling them.  When they don’t know, ask an older child or call someone who might know.

2) Having a child copy something important teaches writing, spelling, punctuation, and concentration in addition to the subject matter being copied.  “Engage pen; engage mind.”

3)  This is a good time to teach home care.  Teach sons and daughters how to repair things. Most homes have something broken that needs repair. Teach daughters and sons to cook.  Make sure they learn to measure ingredients.  Doing so helps children learn fractions.

4) Teach housekeeping skills.  Sweeping, dusting, organizing, and sorting through things to see what can be shared with others or tossed are good activities.

5)  Now there is time for family meetings!  Family devotional times including the memorization of Scripture and discussion of proper behavior help a family bond. Help children become familiar with the Bible.

6) Board games such as Monopoly, Dominos, and many others are good activities.

7)  Write thank you notes to teachers and others.

8)  Family contests such as who can learn the most Scripture, who can recite from memory the Preamble to the Constitution, etc.  (Memorizing is a good way to train the mind.)

9)  Have children help in making a chore chart.

10) Plan a garden for spring and summer.

11) Use the Internet to look up interests of the family.

12) Review rules of good manners.  The basis of all good manners is kindness and consideration of others.  Ask children to write ways to demonstrate this rule.

We may find that this time at home is a very good thing!

Helping Children with Fear

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book. Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, www.patlambchristianauthor.com.)

Train up a child…

Helping Children with Fear

Many people are experiencing fear at this time concerning the virus being talked about so much.  Children sense those fears and are trying to deal with them.  They need the help of adults to do so.  How can we help them?

It is helpful if children understand that there have been times in the past that have presented challenges with sicknesses.  They also need to understand that some things are permanent and some things are not.  They need the security of knowing that they have the love of parents and others that will never be taken away.

Others in my age category may remember the small pox and tuberculosis epidemics that came through the Ozarks many years ago.  Yes, many people died, but many survived.  Of course, travel was not so prevalent and the media not as effective in their influence as now.  Just as there have been times in the past, there will probably be more times in the future when we are challenged. 

Part of a child’s education should include the fact that life has no guarantees.  It is tempting to avoid such subjects because no one wants to upset a child with scary thoughts.  However, truth is truth and can’t be avoided.  When we hold back truth, the children will not be prepared later to deal with it.  It never helps to tell a child, “Everything will be alright.”  It is actually insulting a child’s intelligence to do so.  Children see fear in the faces of parents and others; they hear fear in the voices of reporters and others.  They know better.  

Most of all, children need the assurance from parents, grandparents, and others that no matter what happens, they will be loved and cared for to the extent that caretakers are able.  Love is something that can never be taken away.  Life is full of uncertainties.  Children need to know that the love of parents is certain.  

Give children lots of hugs.  Don’t lie to them.  They can tell when you are.  Be honest in the gentlest way possible, but always be truthful.  Teach them health habits to be used at all times, not just now.  Point out those things that never change such as God’s love.  Set a good example of calmness and thoughtfulness.  Point out the difference between truth and hype.  Teach children to be thrifty with supplies, food, etc.  Teach the value of prayer, for God is in control of all.  

Some Children are Picture Smart

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book. Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and www.patlambchristianauthor.com)

Train up a child…

Some Children are Picture Smart

         We make a mistake as parents, teachers, and grandparents when we believe that children will act and respond in the same way that we do.  God created each of us uniquely and each person is born with dominance in particular intelligences.  That dominance influences the way we think and act.  Sometimes children are born with the same dominant intelligences as their parents, but often they are not.  

         Experts in the field of personality have isolated seven intelligences of humans.  They are verbal/linguistic, logical/mathematical, visual/spatial, musical/rhythmic, body/kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal.  These intelligences are also known as word smart, numbers smart, picture smart, music smart, body smart, people smart, and self smart.

         Picture smart children are those who have a sense of spatial relationships.  They think in images and pictures. They are often aware of colors, shapes, objects, and patterns in their environment.  They have strong opinions about colors that go together, textures that are appropriate and pleasing, and decorating.  They can “see with the mind’s eye”.  They can pretend and imagine.  They are our artists.  

         When teaching children who are dominant in the spatial/ visual intelligence, we need to give many opportunities for graphing, drawing, working with clay or other mediums.  Using posters and charts will be the most effective way of presenting material.  They are definitely visual learners.  Appealing bulletin boards in classrooms are very effective.  Since they are good at “seeing with the mind’s eye”, they will be able to visualize scenes and act them out. Role-playing past times in history helps in reinforcing learning in history lessons.  Color coding parts of written material with highlighters is effective as well.  

         Children who are dominant in the visual intelligence may grow up to be an engineer, surveyor, architect, artist, graphic designer, photographer, inventor, pilot, layout editor, designer, interior decorator, or any career requiring skills such as drawing, painting, visualizing, creating visual presentations, graphing, or filming. 

         It is interesting to observe children for behavioral characteristics that are clues to dominant intelligences.  Many of the Navajo children that my husband and I were privileged to teach displayed dominance in spatial intelligence. I recall an incident while teaching second grade on the Navajo reservation when I asked the children to draw a picture about a field trip we had taken.  One little boy drew a school bus on a road with puffs of dust coming up from behind the exhaust.  There was a tree with a squirrel and bird in it watching the bus go by.  A little rabbit was peeking from behind the tree watching the bus.  Children were waving out the windows of the bus and the sun had a smile on its face.  I was astonished at so much detail in this one picture.  He was definitely picture smart.  Most Navajo children that I taught seemed to have the same love for art. Some children do well to draw a stick house with a tree and a sun.  When a young child puts a lot of detail in drawings, it is probably an indication that there is some dominance in the visual/spatial intelligence. 

         It is nice that we have different personality tendencies.  It certainly makes the world more interesting.  It is of great value to understand these characteristics of children in order to better prepare them for their future. 

Some Children Prefer Physical Activity

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book. Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and patlambchristianauthor.com)

Train up a child…

Some Children Prefer Physical Activity

         Some children are “body smart”.  Experts tell us that we are all born with dominance in three or four of the seven intelligences.  The seven intelligences are:  verbal/linguistic, logical/mathematical, visual/spatial, body/kinesthetic, musical/rhythmic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal.  Other names for these intelligences are:  word smart, numbers smart, picture smart, body smart, people smart, and self smart.

         The dominance in “body smart” is displayed when children prefer physical activity over sedentary activity.  These children really go for sports or any physical activity such as dancing.  They often find it difficult to sit still for long lengths of time.  In adulthood, someone may say, “I couldn’t talk if my hands were tied behind my back!”  The movement of hands while talking is a clue to recognizing this intelligence.  This intelligence involves a sense of timing and the perfection of skills through mind and body union.  

         The teacher or parent would be wise to keep these children moving as much as possible.  They can act out stories, participate in drama, or be given opportunities to participate in sports or make display projects.  They like to work with their hands, and they should be given breaks often if they have to sit for very long.  Younger children could learn the alphabet by forming the letters in play-doh. “Body smart” children like water play and painting.  They like demonstrations to mimic rather than simply listening to instructions.  Physical games of all kinds appeal to these children.  Swimming is an excellent activity as it provides a real positive outlet for physical energy. 

         Other possible teaching activities for the bodily/kinesthetic child include acting out scenes from the past in charades to learn history, standing and turning 45, 180, or 360 degrees to learn the degrees in a circle, or making a healthy snack food and eating it to learn nutrition.  The possibilities are almost endless. 

         Children who are dominant in the “body smart” intelligence may grow up to be surgeons, physical education teachers, physical therapists, mechanics, actors, factory workers, nurses, house cleaners, or any career involving physical activity.

         The physically active child may seem to be a challenge to tired parents or teachers. I wonder if some of the children who have been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder may simply be children who are “body smart”.  Whether or not this is the case, these children need constant physical activity. With understanding and planning, the “body smart” children can be real assets. When the parent or teacher is tired, the active child probably wants to keep going.  We can have the child run errands and do some of the things we may not have the energy to do.  We simply need to keep something going for this child because if we don’t, the child will find something on his/her own.  I remember reading someplace, “Confucius say, ‘A child with something to do, him busy.  A child with nothing to do, him busy, too!’”