Newspaper Page Text
Solving your child’s sleeping problems
Ask anybody whether
they are a morning
person or a night owl
and they will immediately
blurt out their answer, i am a
morning person. I have been
that way my entire life. In
college, I took the 8:30 a.m.
classes. When I returned from
all of my classes, around one
o’clock in the afternoon, my
roommate would just be
rolling out of bed. She was a
night owl.
Regardless of your morn
ing or nighttime preferences,
having children changes
things a bit. Well, not a bit
it changes everything dramati
cally. How we handle sleep, is
just one of them. That brings
me to the issue of children
and their nighttime tenden
cies, or more specifically, how
to get your children to go to
sleep at night. This can be
especially challenging if they
Sundays are meant for church
One Sunday afternoon,
I was punching
addresses into a state
of-the-art hand-held device
that my best friend, Debbie,
had recently given me. She
had heard me often lament
that I needed one to pick up
emails while traveling, to
avoid carrying my laptop. As
I worked diligently on this
gizmo that is smarter than I
will ever be, I thought back
to a dinner conversation the
previous evening.
I was dining with friends
when talk turned to plans for
the next day. It was a normal
conversation, one that I’ve
had on many previous
Saturdays with other friends.
All of us planned to go to
church the next morning and
then hurry on to our offices
work, to catch up from the
previous week and get a
jumpstart on the upcoming
one.
As I fiddled with the new
fangled do-dad that will tuck
into my purse and keep me
connected to the world 24
hours a day, I thought of that
conversation. Thought of
how many times I had
squirmed through church,
thinking it was taking longer
than it should, then rushed
home to work. Sometimes I
even go to early church in
order to get more time out of
the day. It’s a shame and a
disgrace.
Celebrate God's Love and Spirit by
joining us at Lanier United Methodist
Church for our Easter Week Activities
Refresh and Renew
Your Spirit
Lanier United Methodist Church
1979 Buford Hwy.
Cumming, GA 30041
770.887.0615
Agenda
April 4 - Palm Sunday Services
B:3oam - Traditional Service i
11:00am - Praise Service 1
April 8 - Holy Thursday - 6:3opm JU
Christian Seder Meal
April 9- Good Friday - 7:oopm I SUBKU
April 10 - Easter Egg Hunt - 2:oopm k
April 11 - Easter Sunday Services
7:ooam - Sunrise Service
B:3oam - Breakfast
10:15am- Worship Service and
Easter Cantata "51
home
matters
by Adlen
W. r
Robinson| |
for the
Forsythlflft jfl
County
Newsß
are babies or young children.
My thoughts on this subject
were prompted when one of
my neighbors called recently
to vent about her problems
getting her oldest, a five year
old boy, to go to sleep at night.
He would go to bed all right,
but he would not stay there.
She had tried everything short
of tying him to the bed, and I
could tell I had better give her
Dixie
by <dl
Ronda Rich M •*
for the |A fl
Forsyth J|
County BBrV fl
News ' flK*"i
When I was growing up,
Sundays were reserved for
the Lord and family. In my
childhood home, there was a
fast, strong rule: No work on
Sunday. Daddy was especial
ly opposed to yard work on
Sunday.
I still honor that one. And.
on summer Sunday after
noons. when I am trying to
create. I am always miffed by
the annoying noise of lawn
mowers, weed eaters and
n""’" 1 ■■ ■
The Best 30 minute workout in Cumming!
BB
X '~- J Fast Fun Fitness for Her
Come in & experience the difference!
Call Today! 770-781-6555 * Warm - comfortable environment
1715 Friendship Circle * Sturdier, adjustable
(1 mile from Bethelview Kroger) h > dnlulic equipment
• Friendly, certified trainers
*■"' .. .n i
some answers before she
resorted to that.
First, I had to take a trip
down memory lane and
remember all of our difficul
ties with getting our first bom
to bed at night. You see, when
children are in cribs, the crib
provides a sort of cozy, jail
house environment. And as a
parent, this is comforting.
Even if your baby cries a bit,
you know he or she is safe.
After all, they have their paci
fier, favorite stuffed animals,
blankets, etc. Graduating to a
big-girl or big-boy bed is
exciting for most new parents.
They talk it up and the big-girl
or big-boy gets excited too.
Then, that first night, as your
child is lying they realize what
new parents have yet to fully
process: There are no more
bars on the bed. Needless to
say. most children will test the
waters here.
When our oldest discov-
blowers that my neighbors
are using.
Don't they know that it’s
Sunday? A day of rest? Don't
they know that I’m trying to
work and need quiet?
Mama was raised in a
family where sewing or any
kind of handwork was pro
hibited. ’’Never start sewing a
new dress on Sunday,” she
always warned. “It’ll never
turn out right.”
One Sunday afternoon
when I was in college. Mama
caught me knitting on a
sweater.
Sharply, she reprimanded
me. "Put that down right
now! It’s Sunday and you
shouldn't be doing any kind
of work like that on the
Lord’s Day.” I was just big
enough to be too big for my
britches. 1 shrugged and kept
on knitting. “Mama. I went to
church this morning. So. it’s
okay. If I hadn't gone to
church, it would be differ
ent.”
ered his newfound freedom, he
took full advantage of the situ
ation. My husband and I tried
everything and since he
was our first child, mostly we
tried to reason with him. Ha!
In any
event,
suffice it
to say I
was des
perate
for help
just
like my
neigh
bor. I
found
help in a
66
...I had to take a trip down
memory lane and remem
ber all of our difficulties
with getting our first bom
to sleep at night
99
gem of a book, called “Solving
Your Child’s Sleep Problems”
by Richard Ferber, M.D. My
copy of the book has the back
cover ripped off and numerous
pages are dog-eared-further
evidence of its usefulness.
In his book, Ferber system
atically goes through every
That was the beginning of
my downfall. From knitting, I
steadily progressed down the
wayward path.
I took to cutting out and
sewing dresses on Sunday. I
became a sports writer and
covered ballgames and races
on Sunday.
From there, it was a short
stroll to Sundays becoming
another nameless, number
less workday.
Now, there’s no time for
rest and a minimum amount
allotted for worship and fam
ily.
I'm ashamed of myself so
I’m going to do better. Just as
soon as I get this column
written and finish fiddling
with my new gadget.
Ronda Rich is the author
of What Southern Women
Know (That Every Woman
Should) and My Life In The
Pits.
events seminars
Unless otherwise noted,
all seminars are
SPECIAL EVENT fr Ce -
women’s health | Maybe Baby
Shelly Dunson-Allen, MD and Alise Jones-Bailey, MD address issues
for expectant parents or those thinking of becoming expectant parents.
When: Thursday, April 15 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: North Fulton Regional Hospital, Second Floor, Classroom B
Call: (770)751-2660 for registration and information
ONGOING SEMINARS
arthritis | Hip and Knee Pain
Kim Yourick, PT, MBA discusses hip and knee pain, joint pain, arthritis
treatment options, surgery, rehabilitation and nutrition.
When: April 29, May 27, June 24
Where: NFRH Medical Office Building, 2500 Hospital Boulevard, Suite 400
Call: (770)751-2660 for registration and information
weight LOSS | Bariatric Surgery Weight Loss
Program Coordinator Belencia White, RN discusses surgical weight loss
options for those 100 pounds or more overweight.
When: Seminars are offered each month.
Where: 11685 Alpharetta Highway, Suite 165, Medical Arts Center Building
Call: (770) 751-2660 for registration, dates, time and information
diabetes | Diabetes Self Management
North Fulton Regional Hospital, in conjunction with the Diabetes
Association of Atlanta, host ongoing diabetes self-management programs.
Call: (404)527-7150 for dates, time, location and fees (Medicare and
some insurances accepted)
North Fulton Regional Hospital
senej,
www.northfultoflrafl4nal.com GfiOfgia
FORSYTH COUNTY NCWB - Sunday, April 4,2004
single possible sleep time
issue you could ever hope you
never have with your children.
From babies who do not want
to give up their pacifier to chil
dren who have night terrors, if
Especially for dealing with
first bom children.
Not to say that you won’t
have an occasional nighttime
struggle with younger siblings,
but as with most other parent
ing issues, those struggles will
pale in comparison to the ones
you experience with your first
SELF from IB
elected chairman of a com
pany than be crucified. The
crosses we wear and adorn
our churches with are gold
plated and bejeweled, not at
all offensive.
We like Palm Sunday and
Easter, but are quick to skip
over Maundy Thursday and
Good Friday as too uncom
fortable.
So ... what’s so good
about Good Friday? The
name has a history. The
name Good Friday is pecu
liar to the English language.
In German it is called
Karfreitag.
The Kar part is an obso
lete German word which
roughly corresponds to the
English word care and woes,
or mourning.
Followers of Jesus
thought all was lost.
The word good used to
have a secondary meaning of
holy.
There is a possibility that
child. Your first born always
gives you more confidence as
we all “learn” on them. Just
like the second time you drove
a car alone. Or, the second
time you rode a bicycle. By
the time you get around to the
third or fourth child, you are
much more concerned about
being able to remember all of
their birth dates when put on
the spot then about bed time
issues. As soon as I finish this
column, I am taking my tat
tered book to my neighbor.
Please feel free to let me know
what worked for you.
Adlen Robinson's "Home
Matters" column is published
in every Sunday's Lifestyles
section of the newspaper. You
can also read her food column
in Friday’s newspaper. She
welcomes reader tips, com
ments and suggestions! Please
email her at a4kidz@bell
south.net or write to her at the
newspaper.
you
have
ques
tions
about
sleep
prob
lems,
this is
t h e
book
for you.
Good Friday is a contraction
of God’s Friday, as goodbye
is a contraction of God be
with you.
We call it Good Friday in
modern day because all the
tragedy and pain brought
about the greatest good we
could experience.
Both are correct, if we
call it Mourning Friday. We
are facing reality head on,
fully conscious that the
Christian walk is not a walk
in the park.
By Good Friday, if we
choose to call it that, we are
confessing that Christian
hope, not even death, can
overwhelm God’s provi
dence. love, and grace.
Either choice presents a win
win situation.
Tony Campolo, the
preacher from Pennsylvania,
is right when he reminds us
that in our lives, if it’s
Friday, Sunday is coming.
PAGE 7B