PARENTING –
participating with God in creation.
“To be friends with God means to pray with simplicity, like children talking to their parents.”
Pope Francis
“To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children. Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of the others.”
– Pope John Paul II
Congratulations! As a parent, God has entrusted the well-being of your children to you. He has called you to be the first and the most important person in the life of your children. You are the ‘primary educator; with three main duties:
- Create a family atmosphere animated with love and reverence for God and others so that each child becomes personally and spiritually well-rounded.
- Develop a strong and lasting bond of trust with each child so that each one will become emotionally and socially mature.
- Set godly standards and expectations for each child so that each one will develop moral character.
This is not an easy task or meant to be done alone.
Below are some apostolates to asssist you.
TIMELY TOPIC
Teaching the Way of Love is a “home-grown” apostolate of the Diocese of La Crosse that provides a framework of resources to assist parents at all stages. www.twl4parents.com
The Hernons began a podcast in 2015 that has grown to more than 10,000 families listening monthly. They share their experience as parents of 10 children ages 6-23. www.messyfamilyproject.org
Dr. Ray Guarendi is a Catholic father of ten adopted children, a clinical psychologist, author, professional speaker, and national radio and television host. www.drray.com
Founded in 1977 by James Dobson, this evangelical organization offers radio play for children and a wide variety of resources for parents. www.focusonthefamily.com
Here are a few books we would like to recommend.
GIST: The Essence of Raising Life-Ready Kids. by Michael Anderson and Dr. Timothy Johanson (a must read for all young parents)
Gist offers a fresh look at parenting that’s effective, efficient, and enjoyable. The focus is on instilling “life readiness” in age-appropriate ways at any stage of child-rearing.
Nursery of Heaven: Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss in the Lives of the Saints and Today's Parents by Cassie Everts and Patrick O'Hearn
Miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss happen more often than we realize, leaving many to suffer in isolation. Nursery of Heaven is a companion to help those grieving from child loss as they search for comfort and meaning.
Made This Way: How to Prepare Kids to Face Today's Tough Moral Issues- Leila Miller and Trent Horn
Provides parents, guardians and teachers, crucial tools and techniques to form children with the understanding they need, appropriate to their age and maturity level, to meet the world’s challenges.
Raising Chaste Catholic Young Men by Leila Miller
Anxiety among Catholic mothers is sky high. How do we teach our sons to be chaste when a sex-obsessed culture is ready to drag our boys into the pit at every turn? All we want to do is protect the innocence of our little ones and the honor of our teens, yet the snares of ubiquitous porn, hook-up sex, the LGBTQ juggernaut, and the devaluing of true manhood appear unavoidable. What’s a mother to do?
The 5 Love Languages of Children. The Secret to Loving Children Effectively - By Dr. Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell, M.D
The #1 New York Times bestselling The 5 Love Languages® has helped millions of couples learn the secret to building a love that lasts. Now discover how to speak your child’s love language in a way that he or she understands.
Love and Respect in the Family: The Respect Parents Desire; The Love Children Need by Eggerichs, Emerson
When children feel unloved, they react to parents in ways that feel disrespectful. And when parents feel disrespected, they react to children in ways that feel unloving. Round and round it goes on what we call the Family Crazy Cycle. This book helps families break the cycle of family conflict and replace it with a healthy, energizing rhythm.
…parenting is an activity most conducive to the formation of the human character and to the acquisition of virtue. …”parenting” (is more than) the act of begetting a child but of the sustained activity of raising a child; of taking care of its needs day in and day out, of attempting to form the child to be a responsible and independent adult.
…parenting provides a very important good beyond the good of bestowing the gift of life on one’s children. …parenting offers the opportunity for acquiring virtue. It is a school of virtue … the experience of parenting provides an opportunity to acquire virtue in a way that few other experiences do. ~Dr. Janet Smith