Please excuse me for taking this long to answer these. More to come still!
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I forgot to ask this in my first comment, what do you think of only giving the rabies and tetness vaccination when kids are older. I am not vaccinating my kids but have thought of only doing thoes two. Kids could easily get bit by a lose dog with rabies, or step in a rusty nail.
I am not a medical professional, and cannot give any medical advice. We do not vaccinate against anything, but some people who do not vaccinate still do the tetanus shots. You will need to do your own research on this and come to a conclusion you can have peace about.
If our kids got them, deep puncture wounds would be cared for with hydrogen peroxide, and closely monitored for infection, but none of our kids has ever had anything like that. My husband stepped on an old, rusty nail once that went all the way through his boot, through his foot, and out the top of his foot. In spite of not being "up to date" on his "shots", the wound never got infected or anything because he was vigilant about treating it with hydrogen peroxide. The tetanus bacteria can only thrive in anaerobic conditions (such as deep wounds that scab on the outside before the inside is healed, with little to no exposure to oxygen in the air), which is why it is so important to use hydrogen peroxide on the wound.
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Anonymous said...
Dear Zsuzsanna,
can you recommend any good parenting book?
Thanks for your answer,
Babs
Hi Babs, without trying to sound like a smartypants, I must say, the Bible. Even if that were the only book I had in life, it would have the answers to all the important issues and questions. Besides that, most modern parenting books are just a joke. In fact, I am currently working on a blog post called "Unnatural Parenting", in which I am taking apart the whole "Natural/Attachment Parenting" trend. Not that I am at all against being attached to my children, this particular style of parenting is just misnamed. There have been a handful of books that I have gleaned bits and pieces from along the way, but no single one stands out. Readers, please share any suggestions you may have in the comments below.
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What would be the #1 piece of advice you would give to teenage girls striving to live a Christian life (especially to girls who do not come from Christian families)?
Hm, good question! How wonderful to know you are striving to live a godly life even if you yourself had a different sort of upbringing. I would say that you would do well to find godly examples (both in real life, as well as in the Bible), and pattern your life after them as much as you can. In other words, to have what they have, do what they do. And remember that with God's help, you can overcome any hurdles in your way. It will make it so much easier for your own children to live righteous lives if you start them out on the right path from infancy. Be faithful in the areas you have control over, pray about the rest, and God will bless your efforts. Best wishes!
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Anonymous said...
Not a question, however, I'd love to see more authentic German recipes in the future!
Thank you, I will keep that in mind. The metric conversion of the ingredients is always a real pain :(
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You've said that the complications with Anna's birth have led you to believe that God is blessing your home births, but how can you be sure that that wasn't a warning for the future?
Well, it was only a single complication, not complicationS. I guess I don't look at it as God saying "Okay, here is a warning, don't have another baby or else!" We all could die any single day if it were not for God keeping us alive, and often have near misses. I don't look at those encounters as God warning me, either.
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Are you against dancing? I know some Christians are.
No, not as long as it doesn't involve dancing with members of the opposite gender (my husband excluded, obviously), or is something sensual. You won't see me doing the Tango even with my own husband in public.
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Anonymous said...
Could you talk about how you discipline your kids? Tips on toddler management would be particularly appreciated. Thank you!
The most important bit of advice I can give on toddler management is this: win every battle. They need you to be a parent, not their psychologist or BFF. I'm not saying to micromanage them - most days, there is no reason why they can't pick what clothes to wear, for example. But if you say something, mean it, and enforce it. When you say "come", he/she needs to come right away. When you say "don't touch!", they ought not touch the forbidden item, and so on. If you are not willing to enforce the rule, it's better to not even say it, than to make a rule and then not enforce it. Also, never give them what they cry/whine for, unless you like listening to them whining and crying.
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jake said...
I would like to know why you believe that you will be rewarded in heaven for just taking Jesus as your savior. You said in an earlier post that you do not believe good works will get you into heaven.
I also don't understand why you only stay involved in church activities and never talk about outreaches for the homeless or helping out local charities/ groups to show gods love and kindness
I don't think I will be rewarded just for believing on Jesus - rewards are extra things we get for serving God. Salvation, however, is free, because the Bible says so.
And does helping the groups you mentioned through our local church somehow mean less than helping them through a national organization?
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jankatcla said...
Love your Q&As! Here are a couple of questions that I would like to have answered:
1) Your written English is nearly flawless. How is your spoken English? Do you have an accent?
2) I believe you once said that you drive a minivan. With 6 kids, you must be about to outgrow it. Do you have plans to get a bigger vehicle?
3) Do you plan to encourage your kids to get a college education? What would you consider good career paths for them?
Thanks!
(1) I have a slight accent, but people can't necessarily put their finger on it and say it's German.
(2) Our van has 8 seats, so if we are all riding in it, all seats are taken up. If and when we outgrow it, I would LOVE to get a Dodge Sprinter, but that is rather quixotic. I hate the typical 12/15 passenger vans because they seem like death traps and are really, really uncomfortable.
(3) I am all in favor of "higher education", which is partly why we homeschool. However, I think modern colleges are more about social agendas and raking in tuition money than learning. Knowledge is available for free to anyone who wants it. These days, even to get a degree in something like engineering, one must sit through lectures on "diversity" and other garbage. Having a degree and being educated have little to do with one another.
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