Heart Focused Parenting

Technology, social media, online gaming - these things have become one of the hardest things parents need to navigate these days - and our children are being exposed or influenced at younger ages than previous age groups. So it is a challenge - and we want to jump in and find hard and fast rules that will keep our children safe - but rules are rarely the answer. Instead, we need to look at the heart.

>>FULL SHOW NOTES: Episode #11

Online Technology & Social Media are not the Real Problem for our Kids

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If you find yourself saying 'no' to your child all day, if you follow behind fixing things, avoiding accidents, resorting to reminders, and constantly telling offs - and nothing really changes - then it is probably time for a little tweak in the boundaries happening in your family life. Tweaking our boundaries is a proactive step that makes a big difference to the conflicts going on but more importantly it creates an opportunity for you to train your kids in areas where they need it. So let's look at boundaries.

>FULL SHOW NOTES: Episode #10

Parents, Step up and Establish Safe Boundaries for your Kids

>>>Sign up for HEART-BOOSTERS here.

Weekly email digging deeper into the heart-focus topic so you can make real change in your family.

>>>FOLLOW BELINDA

On Instagram: @ belindaletchford

On Facebook: facebook.com/heartfocusparenting

One of the aspects of our family life that I don't talk about very much is that Peter works away from home a lot. He has done this for over 25 years and it has become a way of life for us. Not ideal but it is what it is. Over the years I have become aware that this lifestyle is normal for a lot of people (to differing degrees) so it is worth talking about. Today I'm sharing some of the key practices that have helped us maintain our sanity, our marriage and build a family culture where the kids have a relationship with their dad.

>>Does your husband's work take him away from home for extended periods of time? How are you going with that? If you want to talk about this then you can email me here - or book a coaching call here.

>>>FULL SHOW NOTES: How to do Family life When Work Takes your Husband Away from Home

>>>FOLLOW BELINDA

On Instagram: @ belindaletchford

On Facebook: facebook.com/heartfocusparenting

"How many times do I have to tell you!" is something I think nearly every parent has exclaimed. Unfortunately, the obvious answer is, "Until I get it!" but no child is ever quick enough to utter those words. But that is the truth; we need to keep telling our kids until they get it. The problem is though that we only tell our children where the Bible clearly instructs us to train our children. Let's look at what training means in a parenting context…

>>>FULL SHOW NOTES: How to make Training a part of your Heart-focused Parenting

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>>>FOLLOW BELINDA

On Instagram: @ belindaletchford

On Facebook: facebook.com/heartfocusparenting

>>>COACHING: Book a free Jumpstart Call - see details

Central to heart-focus parenting is the desire for our children to love God with all their hearts. In all that happens in family life we need to ensure we don't lose sight of this goal. There is so much I want to share with you on this topic - but for today we are going to have a quick look at the tree of knowledge of good and evil (from way back in Adam's day) and then we are going to look at Jesus and how He offers love, mercy and grace. If you want your children to be followers of Christ - listen in.

>>>FULL SHOW NOTES: #7

Our Children need to Meet Jesus - and We Should Make the Introduction

>>>WHAT NEXT

>Heart focused Action Step: Please reflect on how you are sharing the gospel message with your kids - how do you share Jesus to them?

>Leave a review (see the extra note for the thank you gift if you leave a review!)

>Follow me on Instagram: @belindaletchford

>>>EXTRA NOTE:

If you have enjoyed the podcast so far I would really appreciate it if you could give a rating and review. I have a bonus Heart Booster with a Parenting Quiz based on 12 Parenting Skills for the Heart Focused parent, and a bonus audio dealing with knowing you need to change and yet being content within yourself as a thank you gift. To get this Bonus Heart Booster you need to write a Podcast review, take a screenshot of it, and send it to me and I'll send you the download! All the details are on the show notes with this episode.

What does it mean to you to have a good attitude towards your children? We tend to know what we want being a mother to look like but often fail in getting there, sometimes not having a clue how to remotely reach that goal. Life around us seems to dictate our responses and suddenly we realize that we are not acting as we want.

How to be calm, gentle, and positive and stay that way? Here are 5 different aspects of parenting that I believe kept me calm and gentle, and by doing so changed my children's reactions, which put together changed the vibe in our home.

>>FULL SHOW NOTES: #6

How to be Calm, Gentle and Positive Towards your Children Every Day

>>>WAYS TO RESPOND

>Heart focused Action Step: Please reflect on these 5 perspectives and prayerfully consider which one you need to grow in.

>Leave a review (see the extra note for the thank you gift if you leave a review!)

>Send me an email with a question

>Follow me on Instagram: @belindaletchford

>>>EXTRA NOTE:

If you have enjoyed the podcast so far I would really appreciate it if you could give a rating and review. I have a bonus Heart Booster with a Parenting Quiz based on 12 Parenting Skills for the Heart Focused parent, and a bonus audio dealing with knowing you need to change and yet being content within yourself as a thank you gift. To get this Bonus Heart Booster you need to write a Podcast review, take a screenshot of it, and send it to me and I'll send you the download! (available till end July 2022) All the details are on the show notes with this episode.

I remember sitting around the table asking my kids, they were older teens or young adults at the time - and I asked them "What are the top 10 manners you think everyone should know?" My conversation starter was derailed (as it often is in our family) as someone asked - are good manners even relevant today? This led us to talk about different cultures and different times and how manners - or what is considered good manners change. So instead of simply listing 10 top good manners, we had to ask why are actions considered good manners. This is an essential question for all parents to ask and find an answer for before they start insisting on certain behaviour calling it good manners. So today, let's talk more about good manners….

>>FULL SHOW NOTES: #5

Do you Intentionally Teach your Children Good Manners?

>>>THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE: If you have enjoyed the podcast please consider taking the time to write a review. This helps the podcast be found by other parents. As a thank you, I have a bonus Heart Booster Parenting Quiz based on 12 Parenting Skills for the Heart-Focused parent, and a bonus audio dealing with that inner conflict where we know we need to change and yet still be content within ourselves so we aren't driven to guilt and self-criticism. To get this Bonus Heart Booster you need to write a Podcast review, take a screenshot of it, and send it to me and I'll send you the download! The details of how to contact me are on the full Show Notes.

Here are instructions on how to leave a review.

Stay heart focused!

>>>JOIN HEART BOOSTERS: Belinda's free weekly email that encourages parents to stay heart focused in all areas of family life. Sign up here

>>>NEXT EPISODE: How to be a Calm, Gentle and Positive Parent

Parenting is a journey is a phrase that I use - actually saying life is a journey is a bit of a trendy phrase. It paints a good picture, so in this episode, I start comparing family life to a journey we took around New Zealand but then I talk about comparison - it is such a trap - an unhealthy trap. Let's get started: Parenting is a Journey and you can't Compare - Let's Celebrate Both

>>FULL SHOW NOTES: #4

Parenting is a Journey and you can't Compare - Let's Celebrate Both -

Includes links to further reading:

• Create a Family Vision
• The Issue of Comparing Ourselves
• Perfectionism Distracts us from our Purpose
• Crisis Parenting and How to Stop it

>>>THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE: If you have enjoyed the podcast please consider taking the time to write a review. This helps the podcast be found by other parents. As a thank you, I have a bonus Heart Booster Parenting Quiz based on 12 Parenting Skills for the Heart-Focused parent, and bonus audio dealing with that inner conflict where we know we need to change and yet still be content within ourselves so we aren't driven to guilt and self-criticism. To get this Bonus Heart Booster you need to write a Podcast review, take a screenshot of it, and send it to me and I'll send you the download! The details of how to contact me are on the full Show Notes. (This bonus is available till end July 2022)

Here are instructions on how to leave a review

>>>FOLLOW BELINDA on Instagram: @BelindaLetchford

One of the biggest challenges I faced as a parent was to be a Christian parent. There was plenty of information out there telling me how to parent my children according to various scriptures - but I don't think that was my real problem. My real problem lay in my heart. I was a Chrisitan and I was a parent. How was I to be a Christian parent? That is what we are talking about in today's episode of Heart focused parenting - the biggest issue we have as a parent is our own heart and living out our faith as we parent our kids.

>>For full Show Notes: #3

What does it mean to be a Christian Parent? as well as further reading on this topic.

>>>THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE: If you have enjoyed the podcast please consider taking the time to write a review. This helps the podcast be found by other parents. As a thank you, I have a bonus Heart Booster Parenting Quiz based on 12 Parenting Skills for the Heart Focused parent, and a bonus audio dealing with that inner conflict where we know we need to change and yet still be content within ourselves so we aren't driven to guilt and selfcriticism. To get this Bonus Heart Booster you need to write a Podcast review, take a screenshot of it, and send it to me and I'll send you the download! The details of how to contact me are on the full Show Notes. (This bonus is available till end July 2022)

Here are instructions on how to leave a review

In the last episode, I defined the heart. That place inside each one of us that processes and holds beliefs, values, emotions, and choices. God tells us to guard our heart. We are to guard the things that go into our heart because what goes in comes out. So today we are talking about putting in values or another way of saying that is putting in character - good treasure in the heart.

Key idea for teaching the heart: Character is the quality of our response to people or circumstances consistent with our moral values.

Full Show Notes includes links to Character resources as mentioned.

>>FULL SHOW NOTES: #2

Top Tip for Parenting the Heart in any Situation

>>>THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE: If you have enjoyed the podcast please consider taking the time to write a review. This helps the podcast be found by other parents. As a thank you I have a bonus Heart Booster Parenting Quiz based on 12 Parenting Skills for the Heart Focused parent, and a bonus audio dealing with that inner conflict where we know we need to change and yet still be content within ourselves so we aren't driven to guilt and selfcriticism. To get this Bonus Heart Booster you need to write a Podcast review, take a screenshot of it, and send it to me and I'll send you the download! The details of how to contact me are on the full Show Notes.

Here are instructions on how to leave a review