Why the Bearded Dragon?>?!?
Why on earth would I agree to go buy my little birthday boy a bearded dragon? Easy answer is that he really, really wanted one. But of course there is more to it than that. Here is the bigger reason. First can I just say that after 5 days of having this little critter, today I finally touched it. Spike needed to eat and I was the only one home.....so after I cleaned the dead crickets out of his food bin, and dumping the fresh jumpy freaky ones into the bin, I picked him up, moved him to the food bin, watched him inhale about 10 crickets, sometimes 2 at a time (oh. my. word) and then I picked him back up and put him back in his tank. ew. ew. ew. but mission accomplished. Then, and I kid you not, I had to go cut up some pieces of raw potato to feed the crickets.....to keep them alive until Spike is ready to eat them. Yes. Yes I did.
Attachment parenting involved being connected to your child and paying attention to their needs, their cues and their development. Attachment parenting is more than breastfeeding, nurturing and healthy physical touch. Attachment parenting is also about being intentional with our children in ways that grow them to be kind, selfless and empathetic humans. Attachment parenting helps children grow up to be in healthy relationships with others. It allows them to put others' needs ahead of their own and to be generous with their time and resources......and it creates Godly adults who can love the Lord and Love others. Attachment parenting is one of my greatest passions....and it comes with a price tag. It is costly.
Josiah at age 7 has lots of toys that he plays with sometimes. He thinks a lot about buying things and is easily triggered to angry rage if he feels like he is being told he cannot have something, like a toy at walmart or whatever. I would say his tendency is more toward stuff and wanting more stuff and thinking stuff will make him happy....and then he gets some "stuff" and it doesn't necessarily make him happy and so then he feels restless and unsettled and thinks the answer might be in more stuff or different stuff.....I don't really think a 7 year old child can suffer from materialism per se.....but the potential is there. I am also aware that most of the civilized world also struggles with materialism. I am waging a battle against it in our house as long as I have the power and influence to do so. I want healthy relationships with people and other living things to be more important to all of my children, then aquiring more stuff.
I knew Josiah would get lots of gifts and toys for his birthday because he has lots of people who want to love and celebrate him. He got lots of fun toys and stuff.....and we did give him some things to play with as well....but the "yes" for the bearded dragon was yet another attempt to grow another part of his human character.
It was my hope that Josiah would build a connection with his little critter. He was able to name him Spike. He lives in his bedroom. He gets to turn his heat lamp off every night and on in the mornings (unless Precious gets there first but that's another thing altogether!) I want Josiah to think more about playing with Spike and loving Spike and taking care of Spike than he thinks about spending his birthday cash. So there you have it.
Today I'm watching a little guy while his mama works. He also has secure attachments because he has a really good mom. He was sad when she left and it took awhile for him to warm up to me....and that's a good thing. I love that. I know how to win securely attached kids over......fruit snacks, snuggles and some singing work really well.
For supper on Josiah's birthday he wanted to go to the Pizza Ranch. Our whole family was there, even the teens and the college sister. A family nearby caught our attention. Young mom, dad and baby in a high chair. Each time the mom got up to go get more food from the buffet the baby would scream and wail and watch her walk away.....dad would try to comfort and distract the baby but baby wasn't having it . Baby wanted mom. When mom returned, baby was quiet and content. I started laughing and told the kids that this is what attachment parenting looks like. Especially if the most secure attachment is to mom and not dad. This was the case for several of our 5 kids.....they always wanted mom and fussed for anyone else. We were watching and kind of laughing every time mom got up and it happened again....then Josiah walked over to me and said...I have an idea mom. Maybe when the mom wants more food the dad should just get up and go get it for her so that the baby isn't sad. What a great idea buddy. I see secure attachments in his future.....he's got the right idea for sure!
Attachment parenting involved being connected to your child and paying attention to their needs, their cues and their development. Attachment parenting is more than breastfeeding, nurturing and healthy physical touch. Attachment parenting is also about being intentional with our children in ways that grow them to be kind, selfless and empathetic humans. Attachment parenting helps children grow up to be in healthy relationships with others. It allows them to put others' needs ahead of their own and to be generous with their time and resources......and it creates Godly adults who can love the Lord and Love others. Attachment parenting is one of my greatest passions....and it comes with a price tag. It is costly.
Josiah at age 7 has lots of toys that he plays with sometimes. He thinks a lot about buying things and is easily triggered to angry rage if he feels like he is being told he cannot have something, like a toy at walmart or whatever. I would say his tendency is more toward stuff and wanting more stuff and thinking stuff will make him happy....and then he gets some "stuff" and it doesn't necessarily make him happy and so then he feels restless and unsettled and thinks the answer might be in more stuff or different stuff.....I don't really think a 7 year old child can suffer from materialism per se.....but the potential is there. I am also aware that most of the civilized world also struggles with materialism. I am waging a battle against it in our house as long as I have the power and influence to do so. I want healthy relationships with people and other living things to be more important to all of my children, then aquiring more stuff.
I knew Josiah would get lots of gifts and toys for his birthday because he has lots of people who want to love and celebrate him. He got lots of fun toys and stuff.....and we did give him some things to play with as well....but the "yes" for the bearded dragon was yet another attempt to grow another part of his human character.
It was my hope that Josiah would build a connection with his little critter. He was able to name him Spike. He lives in his bedroom. He gets to turn his heat lamp off every night and on in the mornings (unless Precious gets there first but that's another thing altogether!) I want Josiah to think more about playing with Spike and loving Spike and taking care of Spike than he thinks about spending his birthday cash. So there you have it.
Today I'm watching a little guy while his mama works. He also has secure attachments because he has a really good mom. He was sad when she left and it took awhile for him to warm up to me....and that's a good thing. I love that. I know how to win securely attached kids over......fruit snacks, snuggles and some singing work really well.
For supper on Josiah's birthday he wanted to go to the Pizza Ranch. Our whole family was there, even the teens and the college sister. A family nearby caught our attention. Young mom, dad and baby in a high chair. Each time the mom got up to go get more food from the buffet the baby would scream and wail and watch her walk away.....dad would try to comfort and distract the baby but baby wasn't having it . Baby wanted mom. When mom returned, baby was quiet and content. I started laughing and told the kids that this is what attachment parenting looks like. Especially if the most secure attachment is to mom and not dad. This was the case for several of our 5 kids.....they always wanted mom and fussed for anyone else. We were watching and kind of laughing every time mom got up and it happened again....then Josiah walked over to me and said...I have an idea mom. Maybe when the mom wants more food the dad should just get up and go get it for her so that the baby isn't sad. What a great idea buddy. I see secure attachments in his future.....he's got the right idea for sure!
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