Anger in Parenting

I read a daily devotional, Parenting by Design. Today's message, was related to anger. I think my temper with Sean is my biggest failure as a dad so far. It's certainly the most common.

"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.  - Ephesians 4:26-27

Anger is not always wrong, but what we do with our anger determines whether we are acting righteously or sinfully. We should be angered by acts of ungodliness, unrighteousness, injustice, and inequity. These things anger God as well.

But if you are angry because someone has disturbed your pride, self-sufficiency, status, prestige, or power, your reaction will likely be sinful. And sinful anger is often expressed in harshness, cruelty, bitterness, and a lack of control.

We must examine our hearts when our kids make us angry. If it is righteous anger, let it motivate you to take action and deliver consequences. Sin needs to be addressed, and we honor God by delivering those consequences with empathy and love. If it is sinful anger, pray for the courage to confess it, repent, and resolve it.

Examine your anger to determine the motives behind it.


That's one of the most insightful thought provoking devotionals I've read so far in the series (I'm on day 68 of 260. My anger with Sean is almost always sinfully based.

Parenting as Monty Python

So, the other night, my three year old wasn't too thrilled with his ravioli dinner. Having tasted it, I could understand why. But he needed to eat. So, I tried to get him to take one more bite. He wasn't having any of it. No sir.

I told him he could stay in his high chair for another hour and then go to bed: not a problem for me. I wasn't going to turn the Veggie Tales back on the tv until he took a bite. He repeatedly said no, he couldn't eat any more, he wasn't feeling well, etc. But I wasn't bending. He would take one more bite or stay there (flashbacks to my own childhood here).

Finally, he took one bite. It was Monty Python's 'The Meaning of Life.' "Just one little mint, monsieur. It is so thin. What harm could one little mint do?"

Get out the buckets. He threw up a whole day's worth of food. Guess he wasn't feeling well.

I thought the Python bit was disgusting back when I watched it. I didn't find this flashback funny either...

Parenthood - It ain't easy

I got through grad school, became a key part of a world-class Ultimate (Frisbee) team and worked on becoming a good writer. But nothing in my life has been nearly as difficult as being a parent. My almost-three year old son had a pair of asthma attacks Tuesday night/Wednesday morning: the second easily being the worst he's ever had.

We were basically holding him down to keep the mask on his face, while he yelled, cried and tried to breathe. That's hard. Hiking up the side of a mountain as a conditioning exercise is a walk in the park compared to that. The decisions you have to make and things you  have to do for your child's welfare, far exceeds the difficulties of other aspects of life. At least, they do for me.

This is a past treatment that went well. It's the exception. Fortunately, he switched to a new treatment method yesterday and it goes much easier for him.