Monday 29 July 2013

Is it politically correct to teach my children about God?

I'm going to tackle what can be a controversial subject: teaching children about the existence of God. I am a person of faith and my beliefs play an enormous role in my day to day choices, my outlook in life, and the activities I do. I was raised to believe in God and to respect people of all faiths and of none.

Yet I found myself struggling with the idea of sharing my beliefs with my first child. Is this the right thing to do? Can I adequately convey the concept of God and the role of spirituality in life? I concluded that even to teach my daughter nothing about religion would be a choice, since God is an important concept in the world whether you believe in God or not. Letting her decide for herself later in life is fine, but she would be hugely influenced by whatever I had taught her as a child.

After some soul searching (yes, I believe in the concept of a soul!) I decided that if I believe firmly in a loving Creator then I should have no hesitation in sharing my beliefs and my understanding with my children. I wouldn't want to deny them the comfort I find in prayer, or the fellowship I find in my community (of Baha'is).



Maybe I have been influenced by Western secular thought which is in itself an ideology. There is always that notion that if you have faith it means perhaps you are an idiot, or weak. I consider myself to be a rational human being, to have a strong belief in science, and in my worldview science and religion can exist in harmony with one another.

So, I'm overcoming my fear of being politically incorrect and am teaching my children to say their prayers daily. They love to participate in prayers and find them soothing when they are sad. Thinking back on my own upbringing I can't remember questioning the existence of God until my late childhood or early teens. Maybe I didn't understand what God is (and still don't!) but I always felt God's presence in my life.

I hope to teach my children that everybody is important and deserves respect whatever their beliefs. I hope that they will be open-minded and ready to question the world. That they will understand that we are all on a journey in life whatever our belief system.  I hope they will at least believe that there is more to life than what we see here on earth, and I hope I'll have the courage to be happy for them whatever choices they make about their own beliefs.

Below is a prayer from the Baha'i Writings which my two eldest are learning to say: "O God, guide me. Protect me. Make of me a shining lamp and a brilliant star. Thou art the Mighty and the Powerful."

Thursday 25 July 2013

How are you coping with the school holidays?


So here are my 3 children. All ready to spend 6 full weeks with Mummy and Daddy, without the help of pre-school. We both work from home which is great for sharing the childcare, but also challenging to get any time to concentrate.

I'm dividing up the time into half-day slots and trying to schedule in activities. I also have grand ambitions for the summer such as potty train Sutherland (who is 2 and 1/4), teach Alabama to read and write (which she has begun) and conduct several virtues classes with them to teach good behaviour. I'm also hoping we'll catch up on the gardening, clean the whole house, going swimming every week...

We will be going away for a week to Baha'i summer school which has a range of family activities and simple classes for children. We're going to experience the joys of camping with 3 little people.

Let me know your summer holiday ideas! x

Monday 22 July 2013

My baby is starting primary school!

I'm sure there are many mums out there in the same situation: that little person you have been nurturing so carefully is about to take the huge step of starting school.

My daughter has been attending pre-school and is definitely ready to progress with her learning. Thankfully she knows all of her classmates really well through pre-school, which will make the transition much easier.

We have been collecting items of school uniform and have everything except her shoes. Even her daddy welled up when he saw our little girl wearing school uniform!

We are lucky to be part of a community and that our daughter can attend the village school.

Thursday 18 July 2013

When will that baby sleep through the night?


So my third baby is now 9 months old! His life has flown past as he's been dragged along to all the activities put on for his older brother and sister. He is rolling around and almost crawling, he has 5 teeth, and he has a charming smile. BUT... he still likes to wake up several times during the night for a feed.

He usually ends up staying in our bed from at least the 4am feed, and then of course gradually rotates until he is lying horizonally - the best position for kicking us awake!

How can I get him to sleep through the night in his own cot? I guess I need to make more of an effort to stay awake and take him back to his cot after each feed. I'd also like to introduce bottle-feeding to try and settle him at night.

Inspire me with your success stories! x

Thursday 11 July 2013

Mummy deserves a treat!

OK so I treat myself to coffee and cake way too often, but today I bought a handbag at what for me is an outrageous price. There is a sale on at Cath Kidston in Exeter, and I dragged the kids in for a quick peek and came out with this beauty. I convinced myself that it is practical as it vaguely resembles a small changing bag. So, if I fill it with nappies and baby wipes then maybe it can be justified... And yes, it matches my table cloth!


Wednesday 10 July 2013

Beautiful Sidmouth

We're lucky to live near to Sidmouth so we can regularly pop down to the beach, enjoy the cafes and browse the independent shops. The beach is pebbly so shoes are needed, but we had a lovely splash in the sea to cool down.

The children love discovering unusual pebbles and digging with their spades. This kind of beach is a bit hazardous for our 8 month old baby, but he enjoyed a snack in the shade of his pushchair, followed by being held by Daddy whilst he had a paddle.



We had a good conversation about geology with our inquisitive 4 year old, and selected a special rock for her to take in for her to 'show and tell' at pre-school.



A visit to Sidmouth is not complete without a visit to the premier ice-cream shop and cafe 'Taste': http://www.tasteofsidmouth.co.uk/

Sunday 7 July 2013

Summer is finally here!

Summer has come to Devon, ladies and gentlemen. It has been a while since I posted here and it is mainly because we've been out enjoying the sunshine.

I have loads of topics to sit and write about soon: how our family virtues session went, our new online store, our daughter preparing for school, plus days out reviews for 2 more beaches.

So for now hope you are all enjoying the sunshine like we are! x