Category Archives: language

56+ magic phrases to end food battles with picky eaters - and the science behind the magic words! | Sacraparental.com

Gentle Parenting Tips: 56+ Magic Phrases to End Food Battles with Picky Eaters, and the Science Behind Trusting Kids to Eat What they Need

There is a special kind of heartbreak a parent feels when the meal they have cooked is described as ‘yucky,’ or refused altogether. If you are struggling with the stress, sadness and discouragement of battling with picky eaters (of whatever age!), this post is here to reassure you and help you and your family relax and […]

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Everyday Misogyny: 122 Subtly Sexist Words about Women (and what to do about them) | Sacraparental.com

Everyday Misogyny: 122 Subtly Sexist Words about Women (and what to do about them)

    ‘Feisty’ is one. ‘Bossy’ gets a lot of press. And don’t get me started on ‘working mother’. How many men have you heard described as ‘working fathers’, let alone ‘dadpreneurs’? Subtly sexist words about women and girls. Not the obvious, awful insulting words (which are depressingly many and varied), but the ones that fly […]

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'Colours are for everyone!' - one of a great list of phrases for feminist parenting | Sacraparental.com

‘Colours are for Everyone’ + 38 More Phrases for Feminist Parenting

A little visitor came to our house for the first time recently. This was the conversation between the visitor and my four-year-old son, SBJ: Visitor: Whose bike is that? SBJ: Mine! V: It can’t be yours. It’s pink. Pink is a girl colour. SBJ: No, colours are for everyone. Pink is one of my favourite colours. […]

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Gentle Parenting Tips: 26 Things to Say to Kids Instead of ‘Stop’, ‘Don’t’ and Other Commands

Gentle parenting? I have a love/hate relationship with labels and jargon, in any field. I don’t like being put in a labelled box – who does? – but in a vast, Googleable world, knowing what keyword fits your life situation can be really handy for finding like-minded people or tailored advice. ‘Gentle parenting‘ is a natural […]

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Magic Words: Helping Teens Find (Cool) Ways of Saying ‘No’

Yet again a post in this series is purely about pointing you to someone else’s cool post. Glennon Doyle Melton writes at Momastery about the difference between feeling like saying ‘no’ to someone or something and finding the words to actually say it. Even harder for teenagers, in endless intense situations with friendship capital at stake […]

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Lent with Kids, Week 2: Jesus and the Prophets make us Brave

This is an all-in-one post for Week 2 of our Lent with Kids plan. To fill in some background, start here. You can also see the series index here. Week 1 of Lent is almost done, and Sunday is a-comin’! I’m experimenting this week with just one post with everything we need for the week. Let me […]

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New Year’s Guide to Democracy

Pop quiz for those of you who live in, or are interested in, parliamentary democracies, like the United Kingdom, New Zealand and other such wonderful places: What’s the difference between Cabinet and Caucus? What’s the difference between Government and Parliament and the House of Representatives? Can you describe in a paragraph how a law gets […]

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Advent in Art 2013: Expectation

Advent in Art is a project of World Vision New Zealand for the spiritual nurture of staff. Mark Pierson and Alison Squires curate and produce beautiful sets of cards with reproductions of paintings, Scripture readings, questions for reflection and a ritual to perform. This year Advent in Art features the art of Wayne Forte, reproduced […]

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