But I love my children!

So what is it? I use the term teen but don’t call my children ‘kids’. I guess I would not blame anyone for thinking I’m off the planet and contradictory. But in my reasoning it all makes perfect sense.

Yesterday I wrote about the ideas behind the words. The word ‘teen’ is in the numbers from thirteen to nineteen. So using the word teen is fairly logical to me. The idea behind those teenage years need not be ones of rebelliousness, irresponsibility and such. They can be years of developing maturity, responsibility, developing character and more worthwhile traits. As parents we can set high expectations for our teens… if they are to rebel let them rebel against the low expectations that society as set!

Webster’s 1828 Dictionary has a listing for ‘teen’

TEENS, n. [from teen, ten.] The years of one’s age reckoned by the termination teen. These years begin with thirteen, and end with nineteen. Miss is in her teens.

Which brings me to the word, ‘kid’. Webster’s 1828 also has an entry for kid:

KID, n. [L. hoedus; vulgar.]

1. A young goat.

2. A f*ggot; a bundle of heath and furze.

KID, v.t. or i. To bring forth a young goat.

1. To make into a bundle, as f*ggots.

KID, v.t. To show, discover or make known.

The 1913 addition included:

2. A young child or infant; hence, a simple person, easily imposed on.

[Slang] Charles Reade.

(* edited for discretion)

So the term teen was around long before the term kid was being used. However, when I think of ‘kid’ I think of a baby goat. Frolicking around, butting heads, escaping the yard, being stubborn, etc. What do you think of when you use the word ‘kid’? One only needs to go to the store to see children running amok as if they were mountain kid goats rather than well disciplined children. When my children were younger I did call them kids. I’d just never thought about it. After taking Miss A to preschool and observing how many parents referred to their children as ‘kids’ I felt that they had low expectations for their kids. It didn’t set a high bar. It just didn’t seem respectful to me. So I stopped using the word kid and changed to children. (all except in my blog name which was our previous business that we purchased). However, to be fair a dear friend of mine uses the term ‘kid’ regularly and they are very deliberate as parents- in fact I’m sure they are more strict and consistent than we are! Which is why I’m asking in this post… and not telling.

Some believe that the term kid comes from the word ‘kinder’, the German word for children. I’ve seen that some people prefer to use the term ‘lambs’ when referring to their children. Whilst this is a much gentler word picture I just don’t understand why the word children isn’t applicable. Feel free to educate me on the matter, if you’re a reader who uses these terms. To me, it is all slang and whilst I have been known to use more than my fair share of slang, idioms and colloquialisms I want more when I’m referring to my children.

Years ago, this was a slang term… not used in the media or in any professional manner that I remember. Nowadays, it is the norm! Look around news articles, informative magazines, professional documents at the doctor’s office, etc. Kids, kids, kids! Even in our churches!

Whilst I’m all for rebelling against the world’s standards for teenagers, I can’t take to the popular concept of calling my children kids. But maybe you think I’m now majoring on the minors.

So tell me, what do you call your younger children… and why?

There was a time when I banned the word ‘teen’ from our home. Being that the concept of ‘teenagers’ is a relatively new phenomenon we wanted to avoid the whole drama that seems to be synonymous with those teenage years. But you may have noticed that I have changed. I dont’ avoid the word teen. I use it. What changed?

Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen and nineteen.

Teen is in the word.

We have never embraced the typical teenage stereotype. It is and excuse to avoid maturity and responsibility and we don’t want to enable that. But being a teenager is more than chronological age… it is an attitude! But a true teenage attitude is a far cry from what society tells us it is. Avoiding a word isn’t going to make an awful lot of difference, in my opinion. Rather addressing the modern attitudes that define a ‘typical teenager’ will.

Today’s typical teenager will:

• rebel against their parents and all authority
• avoid responsibility
• forms stronger ties with friends rather than family
• and more. Much, much more.

And we, society, have come to accept this as normal. When and where did our expectation change? Society has adopted such a ridiculously low expectation of teenagers… this isn’t a word, it’s an attitude! We need to have higher expectations for our children during their ‘teen’ years and teach them that they can indeed rebel. They can rebel against the low expectations set by society!

Rather than tell my teens that they ‘can’t do this and they can’t do that’ I tell them what they can do – and the list is so much bigger!

I’ve had my eldest child join The Rebelution and now my 15yods is reading Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations. As my children got older and became teens I’ve tried to spend less time majoring on the words and more time discussing their purpose and possibilties with them. If you want to know more, you can start here with The Myth of Adolescence.

The bottom line for me is to call my children by terms that have high expectations… and after discussing what it truly means to be a ‘teen’ I feel quite comfortable in calling my young adults as ‘teens’. Barb Shelton has an interesting post on this topic. Check it out.

For me, the emphasis is on Concepts, not words. Ideas, not labels. Opportunities not avoidance. Possibilities not fear.

What about you? What terms do you use and why?

I have loved being a part of the HSB community. I loved blogging here with everyone and getting to know others. However, since the induction of a new server or system just before Christmas I have had major trouble trying to login and post…receive comments and post comments. I can’t even view some blogs anymore.
 

The posting had not really been a massive problem as my new website and project was beginning to take form. My new project was to have its own blog so with the hassles at HSB I decided to merge the two.

My new site is called Kerugma, which is simply about proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ…a proclamation which is increasingly important and relevant in today’s homeschooling community. (It’s relevant to all man but this is my way of blooming where I’m planted)

I have kept the archives open here although most posts have been moved over. I also like site maps more than archives so you can still view this blog’s site map.

Kerugma will be devoted to Bible study for families…with links and activities, ideas and encouragement. If you read my blog or want to drop in and see what is happening with our family, please head over to the Kerugma Blog.

You can still subscribe to the posts using RSS…in fact you have a few options. let me know if you have found your way to my new blog- drop in and say hello!

In His Grace,
Susan <><

What does Kerugma mean?

kay’-roog-mah

- that which is proclaimed by a herald or public crier, a proclamation by herald
- in the NT the message or proclamation of the heralds of God or Christ

Kerugma means ‘proclamation’. It comes from the Greek word kerux meaning ‘a messenger’ or ‘a proclaimer’. In fact, the official kerux or herald would stand in the market place and blow a trumpet, calling the attention of the crowd to the edict of the Emperor, and his proclamation was as a command… it had to be obeyed. The kerux was called upon only to proclaim. His role was not to speculate about the message, nor to explain or justify it, but simply to proclaim the message, the essence of the Gospel. The onus was on the hearer to hear and obey.

The essence of the gospel can be summed as as:

(a) Jesus is the Messiah predicted by the OT prophecies. His ministry of
teaching, his actions, his death, resurrection and ascension all comport
with the prophecies, and affirm him to be Messiah.

(b) His death was God’s act to deal with sin. His resurrection attested to
the effective power of the Cross, and affirmed Jesus as Lord over life,
death, creation.

(c) Men and women must, therefore, believe his Lordship, believe on him.
repent of their sins, and receive forgiveness from their Saviour, Jesus.

For a more detailed writings on this topic, you can download and read True Preaching: The Agony and the Ecstasy by Rev.Geoffrey Bingham

I have managed to creep into the deep, dark recesses of my computer to find the Course Requirements that I compiled for my high school children. Here it is:

• Complete one essay in depth (biographical, comparative,changing over time, or question based essay) from each group of three lessons, per week. (Ensure that student covers all forms of report/essay)
• Read two appropriate books per term. (1 book must be either primary source or classic, depending upon availability. (see Mum for high school booklist)) Submit a written book report, book synopsis or chapter reports for each book.
• Submit 2 – 3 projects (either assignments or choices from MoH or HoW)
• Maintain history timeline. Complete any mapping exercises as per course book.
• One page essay per term, in preparation for exam.
• Take tests/quizzes/worksheets as prescribed in course book.
• Take term exam.
• Take yearly exam.
• Watch appropriate video’s, documentaries or shows and discuss.