I should have known that when my doctors office was literally shoving books and pamphlets into my hands about how to change a diaper, how to feed my baby and “What To Expect When Expecting” that those were going to be as close to owners manuals as I was going to get.  Since then I have found some great books with wonderful advice, and I have found some that have just been a load of fluff.  After blogging recently about rules and discipline I remembered a great book that I read that really helped me when I was at my wits end.  It’s called “Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood – Practical Parenting from Birth to Six Years”.  If you’re not familiar with Jim Fay and Charles Fay Ph.D. they have many books, seminars and classes that teach about “Love and Logic” with regards to raising kids.  I haven’t read a ton of their material (there’s a lot of it) but I have to say with regards to this book I found their advice very useful and practical.  There are seminars I have listened to on CD that have also been funny, entertaining and helpful.  I would recommend purchasing their books, instead of borrowing them from the library, so that you can highlight and take notes in them.  If you’re anything like me I have to refer back to it at least a dozen times and that’s just for my first kid, not to mention when my second, third and fourth came along.  Amazon sells it for around $17 new and about $14 used.  I would let you borrow my copy but chances are I’ll need to reference it again tomorrow.

            If you have a favorite parenting book you like please let me know about it!  I’m always trying to stay one step ahead of my kids, but usually I find myself saying “That’s a new one . . . I wonder what that would fall under in an owner’s manual” and then I run to my computer to find a new book, or a helpful Mommy blog.   :-)

            Chores are one of those things that fall nicely under respect.  We respect our things by taking care of them.  Putting away our toys, making our beds, cleaning the bathroom, are all ways that we show respect for the things we have and for each other.  I have this amazing dream that there will come a day when my boy will show his future wife respect by cleaning up after himself!  Some day she’ll thank me.  

            By the way Susan . . . THANK YOU!!!

            Good manners also fall under the respect rule.  We show respect by saying please and thank you and not talking with our mouths full of food.  Again, I have a dream that one day my boy will politely hold the door open for an adorable girl and she’ll take notice.    Better yet, I hope my daughters take notice of the respectful young man that holds the door open for them!

            Again Susan . . . THANK YOU!!!

            Taking care of our bodies also falls under respect.  We respect our God given bodies by grooming, taking baths, eating healthy foods, getting enough rest, and exercising.  We believe that our bodies are a blessing from God and that when we properly take care of them life is richer, fuller, and longer.  Yep, I have a dream that when my kids grow up they will respect their bodies by not smoking or doing drugs.

            Susan . . . THANK YOU!!!

            As you can tell respect for me and my family is pretty important.  It does take extra time and effort to teach our kids the deeper meaning behind “please don’t fart at the dinner table”, but in the end it really could mean that mother’s dreams do come true.

            (By the way, for those of you who didn’t know, my mother-in-law is Susan.   )

It must take place late at night while everyone is sleeping.  I’m not sure if it’s multiplication, cloning, or mitosis, but some how when I wake up in the morning there are twice as many toys in our house as there were when I went to bed!  And some how my kids seem to know which ones are new and which ones are ‘old’.  Old as in a few weeks.  New toys are, of course, more exciting and entertaining, so now the ‘old’ toys get shoved to the back of the closet or under the bed never to be played with again.  Or maybe not. . .

I’ve noticed a phenomenon that seems to take place every time I try to donate those ’old’ toys.  When I dig them out from the depths of the closet and put them in a box destined for the donation truck all of a sudden they are the greatest toys ever!  “You can’t give it away, it’s my favorite.”  Before I know it my box is empty and all of the ‘old’ toys are now new.  Amazing how that works.

Now if you really want to get the biggest reaction ever to ‘old’ toys take some Rubbermaid bins and toss about one third to one half of the toys in it and stick the bins in the attic or garage.  Wait anywhere from three to four months and then rotate the new ‘old’ toys for the old ‘new’ toys.  Does that make sense?  It’s like Christmas every time we get the bins out of the attic.    I try to get my timing right by rotating the toys out of the attic during times like spring break, the beginning of summer, when we have a new baby, basically any time I need my kids to be self entertained.

So the next time your kids come to you and say their bored simply grab a box and start piling all of the ‘old’ toys in it and sit back and watch the old become new again.