Upgrade Your Time with 'Littles'

Morgan Farr has always impressed me with her godly approach to coaching women, but I've also grown to appreciate her parenting skills. In this Parenting UPGRADE, she offers five ways to upgrade time with young children.

"If you hop on to any social media platform at any time of day you will see a TON of posts in the mom-of-littles realm," Morgan says.  

"I recently noticed a disturbing undercurrent of animosity among parents of young children… towards their children."

I (Dawn) know what Morgan says is true. The Bible says children are a heritage and gift from the Lord (Psalm 127:3);  but sometimes—fueled by feminism, stresses in the culture or a me-first perspective—atttitudes toward parenting today are often discouraging.

Morgan continues . . .

If you want to see for yourself, check out the hashtag #kidsaretheworst on social media sites. Some of the posts are the silly antics of kids being kids. Other posts are the cries of people that are clearly overwhelmed with kids, and most of the posts are from parents.

These posts make me so incredibly sad, because it doesn’t have to be this way!

I want to share with you how to upgrade your time With "littles" to help avoid feeling like the hashtag is true.

I am not a parenting expert by any means. However, at one point I had three children under the age of three and my husband is active duty military, so most days it was just me and the kids.

The way I not only survived, but thrived, with three under three, was to use the SHRED method.

Upgrade with the S-H-R-E-D Method

1. Structure

Children flourish with routine and structure. Having a plan for your week and a layout for your daily schedule will help a child to know what is coming next.

If that is all too much to take on, start with bedtime. I consider bedtime to be the single most important structure in our day.

The CDC says 3- to 6-year-olds need between 10 and 12 hours of sleep per day! For our family, that means the children go to bed at 6:30pm every single day, with no exceptions.

Does that mean we miss out on some things? Sure, but it also means my kids get a full night’s sleep and that seriously cuts down misbehavior and tantrums.

2. Home

Take a look at the environment you and the kids are in.

Is it messy? Is it cluttered?

I know most adults feel anxious and stressed when they are in an environment like that. How can we expect kids to be calm?

I am not by any means saying that your home has to be spotless. What I mean is, can you tidy things up to create a space that is restful, even if it is just one room.

This is often where people say that they don’t have time to do that, but if you are practicing the structure and putting your kids down, spend 15 minutes doing a quick sweep of the house to get things back in their proper place before you slow down for the night.

3. Read

Reading is an easy way to set the tone for your kids.

Margaret Fuller said, “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” If you want your kids to be free thinkers, read to them often.

We have several places during the day where I have scheduled time for reading.

• At breakfast, we read a devotional geared towards science and how God made the Earth.
• In the car on the way to activities, we listen to chapter audiobooks.
• At tea time, we read poetry.
• At dinner time, we read a devotional for kids about the names of God.
• When I do bathtime, I set up the two not being bathed with audiobooks and a toy and they rotate.

Get creative! 

4. Educate

Education is completely different from reading.

Yes, you can become educated by reading, but reading isn’t all there is to education.

Help you kids have curious minds.

• When they ask why seeds grow, sprout some in your window.
• When they ask how electricity works, look up Youtube tutorials.
• When they ask about firemen, schedule a tour of your local fire department.

Inspire them to ask questions and teach them what it looks like to find the answers.

Help them to see God in everything, all around them, by learning about everything that interests them.

5. Diet

Anne Mulcahy said, “Investing in early childhood nutrition is a surefire strategy. The returns are incredibly high.”

Helping your children fuel their bodies well is crucial to helping them be healthy adults physically, mentally and emotionally.

Sugary breakfast cereals set kids up for a sugar crash at mid-morning. Sports drinks, soda, and sugar-filled juice rot children’s teeth and can contribute to dehydration.

Help your children see how important it is to treat their body like the temple that God gave them (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

• Allow your children to help you make healthy food choices.
• Let them help you cook in the kitchen.
• Model for them healthy body image by fueling your own body well.

Are kids a lot to deal with? Absolutely.

Are they worth it? Absolutely.

At the end of the day, you are in charge of the little people you are raising. God gave these little miracles to you.

Raise them to be people that you like and that you would want to be around.

What changes can you make to help you enjoy spending time with your little kids?

Morgan Farr is a Texas-loving, succulent-cultivating, book nerd. Stationed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this Army wife is working to better love her husband, develop her three small children, and learn more about homeschool. Morgan is a homemaker dedicating her time to ministering to other Army wives through Bible studies, one-on-one mentoring, and physical training. She writes about her transition out of feminism and into biblical womanhood at The Forgiven Former Feminist.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Kevin Phillips at Pixabay.