Posts by Alice Heinzen
The Heart of the 4th Commandment: Do What Love Asks
You’ve been there, right? Your kids are not complying to a simple request that you’ve made. You don’t want to yell or berate or lose your temper. So you do the countdown – one, two, three… You hope that counting will move your kids to get to business. If it works and they do meet…
Read MoreLonganimity: Patience for the Long Haul
Our culture is broiling with anger and turmoil. Pandemic, lockdown, riots, and political vitriol surrounding presidential elections are making us irritated, frustrated, and angry. We could all use a greater strengthening of this month’s virtue: longanimity. Also known as “long-suffering,” longanimity refers to patience over a long period of time. The word literally means “long-souled” and is closely related to the term magnanimity, which means “great-souled.” Being willing to put up with suffering and frustration, especially out of love for others, is one way we express the greatness of Christlike love. In our parenting, longanimity means playing the long game, putting up with current challenges in order to help your children become who God created to be. Learn more about this powerful virtue in this month’s “Circle of Virtue” article.
Read MoreCreate a Circle of Virtue
We’re rolling out weekly parenting tips to help you embrace your role as a parent. Your journey to Christlike parenting begins here. Click here to get them for free! Preparing for this school year looks totally different than last year. Besides buying supplies, shoes and other necessities, parents must watch for any signs of illness,…
Read MoreEstablish a Great School Year
Click Here to Download the Printable Version in PDF Format Another school year is about to begin and families are quickly shifting gears from summer into school mode. In some ways, it is exciting to prepare for school (anticipating the new activities). But in other ways, going back to school is challenging (establishing earlier bedtimes…
Read MoreParenting in the Early Years: Form a Community of Persons
The first task of your family is to become a community of persons. With the birth of your child you have gone from a couple to a family. Even though this is a small community (and hopefully one that will grow) it is a unique and important one. There are three main objectives that parents…
Read MoreThree Key Catholic Teachings About Sexual Intercourse
The final step in the “stair-step” approach to teaching your child about sexuality is teaching about the act of sexual intercourse. In addition to the biological facts about intercourse, there are 3 key points to teach about God’s plan for life and love. Point #1: The most important Catholic Church teaching about sexual intercourse is…
Read MoreParenting Style Matters
Parenting is complicated because every child is unique and each situation is different. This means that parents can seemingly lose their minds trying to decide the best way to help their child grow in love. Diane Baumrind, a research psychologist for the Institute of Human Develop at Berkeley, looked at the relationships between parental behavior…
Read MoreCivility: Time for a Comeback
Click Here to Download the PDF A recent experience literally made me stop in my tracks in disbelief. While on my nightly walk, I noticed a group of grade school children arguing in a neighbor’s yard. Their voices boomed with anger as they stood face to face poised for physical combat. Unmistakably, a line had…
Read MoreParenting in the Early Years: Serving Life
SERVING LIFE The next task of parents is to serve life – both the children who have been born and those that are to follow.* When you are parenting children between the ages of birth and three, the more immediate need will appear to be to those who are already here. You will serve life…
Read MoreThe Dimensions of Maturity
I’m sure that you know that your child’s physical development and their level of maturity are not on the same track. Just because children grow physically does not guarantee that they are becoming more mature. Your child is an integration of a body and soul. Because the soul animates the physical body, you need to…
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