Archive for May, 2018
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It’s hard when kids leave for visitation. How can you help the single parent?
This is a tough issue. I have to confess I didn’t handle this one very well when I was a single parent. The first few times my children left for the weekend, I was lost and hurting. I have learned over the years how to approach this dilemma. This is one of those issues that unless you’ve experienced it or walked with Read more…
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Do you have single parents dreading the summer? Here are some ideas from an expert.
Today’s post is from guest writer Kathy Fallon.* Kathy shares with us her personal experiences of how she handled the summer as a working, divorced single mom. Share these wonderful ideas with the single parents connected to your ministry. When I was a single mom, I dreaded the summer. It was a time I still had to work, and the kids were out of Read more…
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“Wook at ME mommy”
“Wook at me. I doing it” is really cute when a little toddler has learned to accomplish a feat, such as slipping on a jacket. We might smile and say something like, “Well, look at you! You put your jacket on. You did it.” Kids of all ages want to be noticed. Even as adults, most of us like to be noticed Read more…
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Question of the week: Does divorce define who a child is?
Does divorce define who a child is? Ask these children. I’m divorced, says a seven-year-old girl. We’re divorced, my mom and me, says an eight-year-old boy. When my dad and I got our divorce…, says a ten-year-old girl. Why would children say these kinds of thing? They didn’t get divorced. However, you can hear many children, up through tweens and young teens, say Read more…
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Need tips to help a child transition to the other parent’s home for the summer?
Depending on where you live, children will be getting out of school in the next few days and weeks. This means many children will be traveling across the country or town to spend the summer with their other parent. How do children’s pastors and church leaders help these kids have a good send-off? You may want them to understand you will miss Read more…
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Question of the week: What custody arrangement is best for the children?
People ask me this question quite often. Usually, they are children’s ministry leaders or church leaders who don’t have much experience with divorce or single-parenting issues. Nationally, there is a huge debate on this issue. Let’s take a step back in history to help you understand some of the issues in this debate. In 1969, when then-Governor Ronald Reagan signed the no-fault divorce Read more…
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Children of divorce: caught in the middle
On my morning walk, I noticed two birds chirping very loudly. One bird was on the right side of the street. The other bird was on the left side of the street. It seemed to me that they were conversing with each other. The one on the right chirped almost as if it were yelling. Then the bird on the left Read more…
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Question of the week: Why are family meals so important for the single parent?
Quite a bit of research shows that family meals are important in keeping kids connected to the family unit. Some research even says kids get better grades and are less depressed when families eat together. Unfortunately, with the hectic, busy lifestyles single parents lead, family meals are often the last thing they think about. On the way home after work and picking Read more…
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8 fun and easy tips to help children release stress and get rid of anger
Many children of divorce will experience tremendous stress. These children may express their stress through angry behavior. When a child is stressed and living in the survival mode or the fight or flight part of the brain they are incapable of learning, processing information or functioning in a reasonable manner. It becomes all about surviving in the moment. When you can get Read more…
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How will you honor a single mom on Mother’s Day?
Mother’s Day is coming up. Have you thought much about how you might honor the single mothers in your congregation? For me personally, Mother’s Day was one of the hardest days of celebration when my kids weren’t with me. I know other single moms who feel the same way. Many single moms purposefully don’t attend church on Mother’s Day when they don’t Read more…