Ms. Druckerman moved to Paris with her husband not long before getting pregnant with her first child. She quickly noticed that parenting in France was different from what she had seen in the States: “The moms never feel guilty and the children are boisterous and curious, but well-behaved.”

Druckerman, a Wall Street Journal reporter, decided to start talking with French friends, teachers, neighbors, and childcare experts to find out the secrets behind French parenting.

I’ve not read the book, but here are some areas of differences between the Americans and French parenting styles that she writes about, according to SFGate:

1) French children sit quietly in their high chairs eating their vegetables and fish, while American kids are whining and throwing food.

2) French children aren’t required to clear their plate but they do have to try everything, while American kids refuse to eat anything but french fries and macaroni and cheese.

3) French parents have the ability to focus on one parenting style and stick with it, while American parents read dozens of different parenting books, overwhelm themselves with information, and are constantly changing and questioning the way they parent.

4) French moms are sexy and skinny and quickly lose their baby weight, while American moms are forever dieting and wearing pajama bottoms when dropping their kids off at school.

5.) French babies sleep through the night by two our three months and French parents never use the “cry it out” technique, while most American parents don’t get a night of uninterrupted sleep until the child is at least 1 year old.

6) French children greet adults with a friendly bonjour while a typical American 4-year-old cowers at her mother’s leg. Ever notice how American children don’t look adults in the eye? 

Ahhh, the French! I’ll admit, I’m both intrigued and a little offended at the same time.  Getting my kids to eat their vegetables would be a great accomplishment, but what’s wrong with a big bowl of Kraft Mac n Cheese, every now and then?  And isn’t in Druckerman’s best interest that we Americans DO read every parenting book we can get our hands on?

Oh, and thanks so much for the over-generalizations of American moms. For the record, I never wear my pajamas while “dropping off” my kids at school. We simply home-school while wearing them!

Lisa Strnad is a freelance writer/blogger, who regularly contributes to What’s in the Bible? and Jelly Telly.  She is a homeschooling mom of two, who works independently in Christian media in the areas of writing, promotions and marketing.  She lives with her husband and children in Nashville,TN.  

Back in the 1970’s, comedian George Carlin spoke about the “7 words you can never use on TV”. That standard no longer exists. Carlin was a pretty uncensored comedian, so the fact that some of these offensive words have actually become mainstream language, speaks volumes about where we’ve gone in programming. Language that was once only heard on adult cable dramatic programs, like “The Sopranos” has gone primetime!  The major networks have recently taken this issue to the Supreme Court, asking for more lenient FCC rules.

More lenient?

The Parent’s Television Council has researched this very topic and found that use of a bleeped-out F-word during primetime has increased from 11 instances in 2005 to 276 instances in 2010.

Christian parents are already having to play police officer when it comes to what our kids watch and listen to.  It’s not as difficult when they’re in preschool.  Big Bird, Buck Denver and Larry the Cucumber are pretty safe choices! We can easily plug in a DVD that reinforces our values and worldview or that teaches our kids about their ABC’s. But like it or not, our kids will eventually be exposed to what pop culture and what society now deems “normal language” or “acceptable values.”  It’s not just bad language either. The media’s barrage of youth-centric sarcasm and the ever-present talking back to elders, is now considered acceptable and cute. Parents are constantly portrayed as stupid, weak, and incapable.

While we could disallow all secular television or music in our homes, what happens when those kids of ours venture out into the world with their iPhones and iPads– which easily connect them to a vast assortment of streaming media? Most 12-year-olds are media savvy. Videos on YouTube go viral within hours of being posted and their content is sometimes questionable, if not outright offensive.

The world can be an ugly place, especially to those of us who walk a different path.  As our kids get older and have to make choices about what movies or TV to watch or what music to download, I pray that they make good choices based on what we’ve taught them and based on the examples we have been in their everyday lives.  We can’t trust that the FCC will moderate the airwaves as they once did.  The crumbling values of our pop culture society are seeping into all areas of our lives.  Unless we choose to live in virtual bubbles, we will have to prepare ourselves to guard our children’s eyes and ears even more than we have been while instructing them how to live in a world that doesn’t speak or live out their lives the way we do: Biblically.

How do you plan on guarding your children against the crumbling morals of mass media?

Lisa Strnad is a freelance writer/blogger, who regularly contributes to What’s in the Bible? and Jelly Telly.  She is a homeschooling mom of two, who works independently in Christian media in the areas of writing, promotions and marketing.  She lives with her husband and children in Nashville,TN.  Follow her personal blog posts on www.talkinglikeagirl.blogspot.com.

This Week’s Currents:

1. iPhone Apps for Moms (Confessions of a Homeschooler)
A list of helpful iPhone apps recommended by a mother of four.

Source: confessionsofahomeschooler.com via JellyTelly on Pinterest

2. Valentine’s Day Printables (Money Saving Mom)
A great printable pack of Valentine’s Day activities.

Source: moneysavingmom.com via JellyTelly on Pinterest

3. Printables for The Mitten by Jan Brett (Homeschool Creations)
A printable pack with fun activities that can be used with the book The Mitten by Jan Brett.

Source: homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com via JellyTelly on Pinterest

4. February Calendar & Coloring Page (Ministry-to-Children)
Free download of a coloring page that doubles as a February calendar.

Source: ministry-to-children.com via JellyTelly on Pinterest

5. Free Valentine’s Day Photo Cards (Faithful Provisions)
Get free, personalized Valentine’s Day cards, this week only.

Source: faithfulprovisions.com via JellyTelly on Pinterest

Thanks for reading!

For generations there have always been “those” kids at school…the cheaters.  The kids who copied a friends homework before class, wrote the answers to the test on their hand, or who had a minuscule cheat sheet hidden in their sleeve. But in the cyberage which we are now living, the concept of cheating may be a little blurry when every fact can now be googled on our smartphone and then copied and pasted.

It’s tempting to not take part in this type of cheating, as many young people will tell you.  How do we parents help instill in our older children the importance of education and truly leaning, sometimes even failing, over cheating and the instant gratification of a guaranteed good grade?

According to Michael Hartnett, Ph.D., author of “The Great SAT Swindle”, there are five important steps we should take to help our kids in this age of rampant technology! This advice came from an article on Williamsonparent.com:

1. Check homework every night.  This may sound a little age inappropriate for our middle to high schoolers, but how else will we know what our kids are learning at school? According to Dr. Hartnett, a good sign that our kids may be cheating is the routine lack of substantive work. Our kids should be able to show, concretely, how they completed their assignments.

2. Create a device free zone of at least an hour a day for studying. Being the mother of a teenager, I can see this as a viable point!  In this cyberage it’s been noted that our young people can multitask pretty well, but can they unitask with the concentration that is needed to complete an assignment well?  Kids will argue that they NEED the internet to complete their assignments and many times that’s true.  But this argument might also be a slight exaggeration, and they could easily fill this hour’s time with studying, rewriting notes or reading.  I know from experience that many times that the computer workstation is just another place where my teen can toggle back and forth from social media sites during his homework time.

3. Give your child a practice test the day before an exam. This is something I’ve started doing in one particular subject.  His teacher routinely gives out “reading” as the assignment.  I’m not sure how reading gets cross-referenced as having “no homework”, but it has happened!

4. Talk to your kids about honesty and realistically about cheating. This is the place that our Christian worldview can be inserted, not merely as a device to instill guilt, but as a means to teach our kids why cheating directly goes against what God expects of us.  Proverbs 6:16-19 “Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion: eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent, a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked track, a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family.”

5. Avoid Cliches.  In the article they point out to not tell our kids that “Cheaters never prosper”, because the truth is that many times they do– at least in the eyes of the world.  The sometimes painful act of learning has always trumped grades in our family. Cheating will only get you so far.  At some point, everyone must stand on his or her own, away from the test / grades.

As a Christian parent I think it’s vitally important to teach our kids important values by example.  Never–ever would I use the old “do as I say not as I do” argument.  Kids are smarter than that. And they observe us more than we even know!  This is again where our worldview is used to validate our values!

This Week’s Currents:

1. 100 Indoor Activities for Kids (Money Saving Mom)
An opportunity to get a free copy of this e-book with 100 indoor activities for kids.

2. Snowy Day Printables (Money Saving Mom)
Free printable pre-school pack that goes with the book The Snowy Day.

3. Polar Animal Snacks (2 Teaching Mommies)
Creative, easy snacks you can make to go along with the cold weather.

4. January Calendar – Coloring Page (Ministry-to-Children)
Free, coloring printable for January.

5. Homemade Play-doh (Money Saving Mom)
How to make your own play-doh.

Thanks for reading!

This Week’s Currents:

1. Winter Fun (Two Teaching Mommies)
Free, educational printables for January.

2. I Don’t Belong Here (The Better Mom)
Thoughts on grace, homeschooling, and peers.

3. Learning From Tim Tebow (Her.Meneutics)
What can we learn from Tim Tebow about our own workplace environment.

4. Budget Book Club (Money Saving Mom)
Join other moms who are reading the Money Saving Mom’s new book and working on their own budgets.

5. One of the Hardest Decisions I’ve Ever Made for My Children (My Mess…His Success)
Thoughts on ministry, motherhood, and putting your family first.

Thanks for reading!

This Week’s Currents:

1. Christmas Tree Brownies (Money Saving Mom)
An easy recipe to make Christmas tree brownies.

Source: moneysavingmom.com via JellyTelly on Pinterest

2. Present over Perfect (Shauna Niequist)
A great reminder to stay focused on what’s important this week.

Source: shaunaniequist.com via JellyTelly on Pinterest

3. Candy Canes (2 Teaching Mommies)
Fun learning printables themed around candy canes.

Source: 2teachingmommies.com via JellyTelly on Pinterest

4. Christmas Printables for Decking Your Halls (Faithful Provisions)
Free Christmas printables for your home.

Source: faithfulprovisions.com via JellyTelly on Pinterest

5. Make Your Own Finger Puppets (Money Saving Mom)
A guide to making your own finger puppets.

Source: moneysavingmom.com via JellyTelly on Pinterest

Merry Christmas!

Take for instance “Tebowing,” a newly coined word which describes the one-knee prayer stance that Tim Tebow unapologetically takes on the field after scoring a touchdown.  His respect, love and unabashed acknowledgement of the Lord’s sovereignty has taken precedence over the more social acceptable idea that prayer should remain a private matter.

Most of us who are Christians applaud Tebow.  We embrace the stance he has taken on and off the field: to live his life for Jesus and as an example for others to do the same.  We proudly point to him during the televised games and tell our kids what a neat guy he is!  But, like I mentioned above, this story comes with a bit of controversy, too.  And not just from the secular journalists. Not all Christians are behind Tebow’s excessive display of affection… even if it is for Jesus.

I’m guessing Tim Tebow didn’t set out to become the poster-boy for American Christianity, but that’s what’s currently happening.  The mainstream media has put him up on this pedestal and some are worried about the possibility of him falling off, and taking the Gospel message with him.  There is also a large group of young Christians whose take on this issue is that Christians are seen in today’s society not as individuals, but as a whole group /culture.  When one of us fall from grace, we all fall from grace. We lose a sense of validity.

Without mentioning names, we can probably all think of a few well-known pastors, priests and conservative politicians who have lived out a somewhat hypocritical lifestyle even after professing a personal faith in Christ.  Each case resulted in a lot of damage control and even the need to defend the Gospel message on the part of the church. The concern is, what happens if Tim Tebow should fall from grace?

That’s a lot of pressure to put on one person.  But in the same way, making one ordinary man the face of American Christianity may be a huge mistake as well.  I’m pretty sure Mr. Tebow is a sinner just like you or I, and in need of a Savior.  From what I’ve read, he believes this to be true.

As a Christian parent I like that Tebow isn’t ashamed to outwardly show his faith as a Christian. It’s a good reminder to those of us who feel that little nagging embarrassment to perhaps bow our heads and pray in public or take out our Bible at Starbucks.  I also like that even if the secular media mocks Tebow’s prayer stance, there may be a little seed of truth that gets planted in the hearts of people who are on the fence about their faith.  The message I get is that it’s ok to outwardly love Jesus!  How about you?

As for the fear of “what if Tim Tebow falls from grace?” … Maybe it would be better to pray for him as a brother in Christ instead of waiting for him to mess up.  I think that’s a good lesson to teach my kids.

While I’ve never been a Broncos fan before now, He sure gives me a personal reason to root for Denver! So yeah, Go Broncos!!

Have you asked your kids what they think when they see an athlete kneel and say a prayer while on the field?  Would they do this if given the opportunity?  Would you?

Lisa Strnad is a contributing writer/blogger to What’s in the Bible? and Jelly Telly.  She is a homeschooling mom of two, who works independently in Christian media in the areas of writing, promotions and marketing.  She lives with her husband and children in Nashville,TN.  Follow her personal blog posts on www.talkinglikeagirl.blogspot.com.

This Week’s Currents:

Decorate the Christmas Tree Game (Money Saving Mom)
A free Christmas tree game.

Source: moneysavingmom.com via JellyTelly on Pinterest

Santa’s Sugar Cookies (The Better Mom)
A recipe for a new twist on sugar cookies.

Source: thebettermom.com via JellyTelly on Pinterest

Nativity Printables (2 Teaching Mommies)
Download these great, educational printables centered around the nativity.

Source: 2teachingmommies.com via JellyTelly on Pinterest

Not Exactly the Perfect Family (The Better Mom)
A reminder that no family is perfect and encouragement for moms as Christmas begins.

Source: thebettermom.com via JellyTelly on Pinterest

Candy Cane Coloring and Counting Books (2 Teaching Mommies)
Help your children learn their numbers and how to count with these candy cane printables.

Source: 2teachingmommies.com via JellyTelly on Pinterest

Thanks for reading!

Here’s a list of some of our family’s most loved Christmas movies and some great descriptions of them we found here. Maybe you have a list of your own?

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) In this holiday classic, Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey, a compassionate young man who gives up his dreams of travel and adventure to run the family business after his father dies. But things turn sour when $8,000 turns up missing, thanks to evil millionaire Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore). George is ready to jump off a bridge (literally) when his guardian angel, Clarence (Henry Travers), appears to show him what life would have been like had he never existed. The moral? Sure, life has its twists and turns, but it truly is wonderful if you have the right perspective. While there’s nothing objectionable in this movie, kids under six might not fully understand the themes of how precious life, love and family really are (but it’s never too early to get them clued in either!). (Kaboose.com) My personal all time favorite movie—great anytime of the year!!

Miracle on 34^th Street (1947) Does Santa Claus really exist? This movie makes a pretty good case. Maureen O’Hara plays Doris Walker, a no-nonsense Macy’s executive desperately searching for a new store Santa. She hires a nice old man named Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn), who insists that he’s the real Santa Claus. After Kris is sent to an insane asylum, a young lawyer (John Payne) decides to defend him by arguing in court that he truly is the real thing. Still, Doris and her six-year-old daughter, Susan (scene-stealer Natalie Wood) are skeptical, until – well, I won’t give it away if you haven’t seen it yet! (Kaboose.com) If your family does the Santa-thing, this movie might be best viewed by family members who are over 8 years old. 

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) In our house, Christmas just isn’t Christmas until we’ve seen Snoopy decorate his doghouse and heard Linus recite the true meaning of the season. When Charlie Brown complains about all the materialism he sees during the Christmas season, Lucy suggests that he become director of the school Christmas pageant. He accepts, but it proves to be a frustrating struggle, and he tries to restore the proper holiday spirit with a forlorn little fir tree. (Kaboose.com) Wonderful for all ages. It’s thematic relevance becomes even greater as years go by!

A Christmas Story (1983) This movie has become a Christmas staple in our home!  With our two boys who pretty much embody the personalities of Ralphie and Randy…down to asking Santa for a Red Rider BB gun!  Maybe it’s the narration of the somewhat dysfunctional family that hits home, I’m not sure.  But this comedy celebrates the sort of Christmas a young boy may have had in the 1940s, while trying to convince his parents, teacher, and even Santa that a Red Ryder is the only thing he wants for Christmas.  Our kids starting watching this around age 7.

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer (1964) This classic made-for-TV Christmas movie tells the story of Rudolph, a reindeer with a nose that lights up. He’s looking for a place where he belongs. Special guest appearances by the Abominable Snowman and the misfit toys make this movie extra-special. (Kidzworld.com)  Can be enjoyed by the whole family!

The Little Drummer Boy (1968) Another clay-mation, made-for-TV movie that tells the story An orphan drummer boy who because of personal loss, hates humanity. He then finds his life changed forever when he meets three wise men on route to Bethlehem, following a star in order to find a new born King! Great for the entire family!

The Nativity Story (2006) Finally a story about Christ’s birth!! The problem is that while very little in this movie is un-biblical; there’s a significant amount of extra-Biblical. For instance, we are given the impression that Mary was unhappy about her arranged marriage to Joseph.  This is not a Cecil B. DeMille epic movie of the 1960’s, but the character development is great! It’s rated PG, because there’s some mild violence and the birthing scene could scare the little ones, so I’d keep this movie for the pre-teen and above crowd.

Polar Express (2004) My family loves this movie! Like many journeys in classic children’s literature, this one is allegorical. The children learn what their peculiar faults are and how they must overcome them. In this sense, it bears a strong likeness to the “Wizard of Oz” in that it has four characters sharing a journey to a magic city (the North Pole) where they receive the knowledge about themselves they were lacking. Thematically, it is even more similar to John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress because of the underlying spiritual theme of belief. (Christiananswers.net) Great for the whole family!

Our family loves Christmas movies, and my list could probably go on for pages! But instead I’d really love to hear about your favorite Christmas movies! And maybe share a little memory with all of us as to what makes them so special to your family!!

Lisa Strnad is a contributing writer/blogger to What’s in the Bible? and Jelly Telly.  She is a homeschooling mom of two, who works independently in Christian media in the areas of writing, promotions and marketing.  Lisa lives with her husband and children in Nashville,TN.  Follow her personal blog posts on www.talkinglikeagirl.blogspot.com.