What season of parenting are you in? If you’re not sure where the boundaries are, this week’s Home School Heartbeat is for you! Noted parenting author John Rosemond joins HSLDA President Mike Smith with insights on seasons of parenting—and how to make the transitions between them.
Mike Smith:
This week, I’m pleased to have author John Rosemond on the program. John, thanks so much for joining us!
John Rosemond:
Mike, thanks so much for inviting me, I appreciate it.
Mike:
John, your excellent resource on Christian parenting, entitled Parenting by The Book, has a lot of helpful insights for parents. One of them is the principle that parenting consists of seasons. Would you describe the first season of parenting? What are each parent’s roles in the “season of service,” as you call it?
John:
Well, it is the season of service for obvious reasons, Mike. The parents during season one, which lasts for two years, their primary role is to serve the child who cannot serve himself. And the child is at the center of attention and the parents orbit around the child in a constant ministry of service. And the parent who’s doing most of the orbiting is the mother. The father during season one stands slightly outside the periphery of his wife’s almost constant orbit around the child and functions as her assistant. But he is not the primary parent during this first two years, she is. Now this is an arrangement that’s functional only for two years.
Mike:
John, thanks for joining us today! We’ll be talking about seasons of parenting, all week. And until next time, I’m Mike Smith.
