by Shannon Popkin | Mar 21, 2014 | Funny, Kids' Perspective
At parent teacher conferences, Cade’s teacher showed us a picture he had drawn:She told us that she had said, “Oh, Cade! You did such a nice job on this. I can see all of the colors of the sunset, here. And you’re waving, right?”But Cade said,...
by Shannon Popkin | Feb 1, 2014 | Kids' Perspective
My fourth grader called me from school the other day.When I answered, he said, “Hi, Mom. This is Cade from Ms. VanderWall’s class.”I laughed and thought, “Oh, that Cade.” There isn’t really another Cade who calls me when he’s...
by Shannon Popkin | Jan 17, 2014 | Faith, Fear, Gifts, Humility, Kids' Perspective, Pain, Parenting, seasons, Teens
As a mom, one of the most painful things in life is to see my kids struggle through something that is humiliating. I alternate between wanting to fix my child and eradicate the struggle, and wanting to pummel anyone who would dare to snicker or poke fun at...
by Shannon Popkin | Jan 14, 2014 | Kids' Perspective
When Cade was about three, he had his neighbor friend over to play for the afternoon. While I was upstairs busily vacuuming and cleaning the kitchen, they were in the basement, quietly playing.Or so I thought.It wasn’t until I sat down to check my email that I...
by Shannon Popkin | Dec 4, 2013 | Kids' Perspective, Parenting
A young mom recently told me about the day her three-year-old had been playing with his cousins. A report came to the moms that he had hit one of his cousins, so she called him to her side and said, “Honey, we don’t hit our cousins. We have to be...
by Shannon Popkin | Nov 5, 2013 | Kids' Perspective
Once, when my daughter Lindsay was two, my mom was taking care of her and was out running some errands. With Lindsay on her hip, Mom ran into a store to pick up an order. When the sales lady asked for her name, Mom said, “It’s Judie.”Two-year-old...