Parenting Books - "Raising Godly Tomatoes"

Raising Godly Tomatoes (L. Elizabeth Krueger) - VERY PRACTICAL
This lady runs a tight ship. I have tried applying it all, word for word, and it doesn't work with our family dynamic. But the biblical principles behind the way she does things are solid, and many of her ideas and techniques are very helpful.
  • The name comes from her principle of "tomato staking" - don't let your little tomatoes grow wild across the ground where they break and rot and get nibbled by pests. Stake them up where they can grow well, prune them, water and fertilize them regularly.
  • Love your children - same principles as "How to Really Love Your Child"
  • Have age-appropriate, but high expectations for your children.
  • Keep your children within sight and/or earshot all of the time so you can nip wrong behavior/attitudes in the bud and they don't become habits. (I have tried this. It is exhausting, but effective.)
  • Keep your children/family separate from the world so that they adopt your values and not those of the world. (I believe in this, but to a lesser extreme. Parents and godly friends and relatives should be the major attachments for our kids. The author never lets her children play with neighbor kids or others, except families that act and believe the way they do. I respect this lifestyle, but again, it is too extreme for us. I just always make sure I am watching carefully to supervise and guide when they play with other children. Sometimes that even means correcting the other child, if the other parent doesn't. Of course, as children grow in maturity they can be given opportunities to gain our trust out in "the world.")
  • "Quickly and cheerfully" - If a child obeys, but with a bad attitude or slowly or intentionally not quite the way you asked them to do it (like putting shoes outside the closet door instead of inside), it doesn't count. Have them repeat it from the beginning until they have truly obeyed with the right spirit. Don't give up until they do.
  • Never allow children to get away with wrong attitudes or behavior. Make everything an issue. Correct them every time so sin doesn't become a habit.
  • "Try again" - when they do something wrong, have them repeat it the way they should have done it.
  • The attitude/heart is key.
  • "Teach obedience so you don't have to teach anything else."
  • Praise children for display of good character (perseverance, unselfishness, overcoming temptation, etc.), not for things they have no control over - looks, intelligence, etc.
  • Whining - she has a great strategy. When whining begins, they go into a designated corner to finish whining/bad attitude.
Again, these are just the main points I've remembered. There is more worth reading. Judge for yourself. I don't own this book, but you can actually read it all online: www.raisinggodlytomatoes.com

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