Parenting With Grace Quotes

“Each night, we bless our children by placing our hands on their heads and saying, “Lord Jesus, please bless this child. Send Your Holy Spirit into his/her heart, and help him/her to love You more than anything. Give him/her Your grace so that he/she can grow up to be the man/woman You want him/her to be. Amen.”
― Gregory K. Popcak, Parenting with Grace

“Lord, Jesus. Please come into my heart and make me Your little child. Teach me to love You more than anything, and help me always live my life for You.”
― Gregory K. Popcak, Parenting with Grace

“Wow. Those are really strong feelings.” • “You seem really sad/angry/frustrated/disappointed about that.” • “I understand that you are very upset right now. Take a breath and think about what you are really trying to tell me.” • “I know that you feel like hitting. Please use your words.” • “I know you are angry, but you may not speak to me that way. Please say [fill in the blank] instead.” • “You obviously need to tell me something that’s very important to you, but you’re too upset to tell me the way you need to. Please go to your room; when you’re ready to speak respectfully, I will be ready to listen.”
― Gregory K. Popcak, Parenting with Grace

“there is no greater inheritance that we can give to our children than siblings.”
― Gregory K. Popcak, Parenting with Grace

“Choosing an “Away School” There was a time when this section would have been easy. We simply would have said, “Find the nearest Catholic school and send your child to it.” Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to make such blanket statements in an age where in some places teachers and staff are often either openly hostile or passively dismissive toward their own mission to be a Catholic school. It is our opinion that these schools do so at their own peril, because once you take the “Catholic” out of a Catholic school, you end up with a hobbled institution. Fortunately, these inferior institutions remain in the minority of Catholic schools. In fact, we are still very heavily biased in favor of Catholic schools, and we strongly recommend that you consider any and all available Catholic schools before considering other conventional schooling options (e.g., public or non-sectarian private schools). Generally speaking, they have been shown to be more effective than their public counterparts; they typically have smaller, more orderly classes; they support the values and prayers you are trying to teach at home; and they help your child appreciate the importance of the Eucharist by attending Mass during the school week.”
― Gregory K. Popcak, Parenting with Grace

“there is growing support for the idea that rather than promoting independence, letting a baby cry it out creates a condition psychologists call “learned helplessness,” which can be a precursor to depression. Crying it out can lead to quiet babies, it is true; but because an infant is physiologically and psychologically incapable of true independence, and in light of recent evidence about the impact of crying it out on cortisol levels and vagal tone, the more likely explanation for this quiet is that he simply has learned the uselessness of crying: “When I cry, nothing happens, so why bother?” This is why cortisol levels remain high for babies who are sleep trained using the cry-it-out method. They are literally being bathed in the hormones of hopelessness.”
― Gregory K. Popcak, Parenting with Grace