Happy 2012! The new year is a time to celebrate new beginnings and make new resolutions, but it’s also a time to rewind and revisit some of the top moments of the year before. I hope you’ve been able to take the time as a family to reflect on the most meaningful moments from 2011. The new year is a great opportunity to discuss with your family some of those favorite memories or even some of the more difficult ones. What’s your best memory? What do you have to be thankful for?

At Orange Parents, we’re thankful for your readership and interaction with us over the past year, for sharing our posts, and spreading the word. We’re thankful for great authors like Carey, Reggie and Kendra as well as our guest bloggers. Thanks for your wisdom and wonderful insights on parenting.

1 – “How To Raise A Jerk” by Reggie Joiner

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Some leaders say too many who work hard at building children’s self-esteem are raising kids who will exhibit a lifestyle of entitlement and egotism. Other specialists say those who talk about children being innately bad are raising a generation that feels inferior and insignificant. Every expert has an opinion and it’s hard to know where the line actually is. Many promote their agenda by pushing the opposing opinion to the extreme. Read more…

 

2 – “Losing Your Marblesby Reggie Joiner

photo-1-1080x675I got a message from a friend named David Wills a few months ago. It was about losing his marbles. He sent it to remind me about something that happened several years ago at our church. We handed out jars of marbles to every family. There was one for each child in the home. There were enough marbles in each jar to represent the number of weekends children had left at home before they headed to college. Read more…

 

3 – “Raising Beautiful Girls” by Kendra Flemming

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I have three girls. When they were little I was all about the hair bows, the ruffled socks, and the cute shoes. I loved getting them ready for the day. They were so cute! It was so easy back then.  I thought they were beautiful. Their daddy thought they were beautiful. In their little world, who else mattered? Read more…

 

 

4 – “Grace and Disciplineby Carey Nieuwhof

chair-in-corner-494x690No one would pretend that raising kids is easy. It’s a constant tension between grace: I love you. I see value in you. I will never quit on you. And discipline: You can’t write on the walls in crayon. You can’t hit your brother on the head with a mixing bowl. You can’t be out with the car until 5 a.m. Read more…