Meghan Zajac
April 9, 2025
When my husband and I were deciding what parenting philosophy we wanted to use with our kids, we turned to the Growing Families Int’l parenting classes for guidance. In these classes we have learned the importance of building routines and schedules into our day, and my husband and I have learned how to be on the same parenting team. We started going through the material before our son was born and we have been thankful for the truths and principles we have been taught each step of the way.
Our son knows what it means to be in playpen time and blanket time because we have had those in place since before he knew any different. Playpen time is putting your baby or toddler in a playpen and giving him a couple toys to play with. Set the alarm for 3 minutes and when he has stayed in the playpen quietly until the alarm goes off, get him out and try again later. When he is doing well at 3 minutes for a few days, set the alarm for 5 minutes. Keep increasing the time until you get to 15-20 minutes or so. Blanket time is the same except your toddler/preschooler needs to stay on the blanket and play until the alarm goes off. When your preschooler gets to 30 minutes, think of all the chores you can do! Oh, do change the toys out when your child is bored with the ones you gave him.
This has been so helpful now that our son is a toddler because he is able to play independently and safely in the playpen or on a blanket while I cook dinner or do laundry. He knows that when his timer ends, he may get out, and we will move on to the next activity. He is learning from a young age that his life revolves around our family, something bigger than just him. Blanket time wasn’t easy to put into place because he didn’t want to stay on it to play, but we saw the results of our perseverance. He is able to sit on a blanket in meetings and places we need to be at and entertain himself without causing a scene while I pay attention.
Our family often functions well during chaos because my husband and I have had discussions about how to handle them before we are in the middle of a temper tantrum, and we both know our goals in parenting. We aren’t parenting a 2.5-year-old but a future 20-year-old. The skills we are beginning to teach him now will help him function in society as an adult. I know this because I was raised in a home that used the principles in Growing Kids God’s Way and the practical advice in the Mom’s Notes (by Joey and Carla Link).
My husband and I can stay calm and attack the problem rather than each other or our son because we both know that we want him to learn self-control and that he can’t always have his way. The things we experience as a family that brings us contentment are a result of having a mindset of parenting practices that we see the fruit of and the willingness to be consistent in faithfully putting them into practice.
“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home
and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
Have you listened to these Mom’s Notes presentations Meghan talked about?
“Parenting as Partners”
Once children arrive, parents find they often do not agree on how to deal with them, becoming inconsistent in day-to-day living. This session discusses what wives wish their husbands understood about their role as moms, what husbands wish their wives understood about their roles as dads and shares ways to bring spouses together to parent as partners, not rivals.
“Training Toddlers” and “Training Preschoolers”
Each of these sessions explains what normal behaviors are for each age, including age-appropriate correction measures. They also describe what should be the primary focus of parents when training children in each age group.
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