Parenting Curriculum: In the Beginning

well, i know that all of you out there have been eagerly awaiting the result of my meeting with the pastor at my church about our parenting curriculum. that is, those of you who didn't think that the whole topic was a Big Yawn from the beginning. apparently, i even ended up on the radar of a few ezzo supporters/detractors, as i got some comments from a few new folks--didn't i tell ya this was exciting?

anyway, the process has been slown (slowed? slowen?) by the holidays, first thanksgiving and now christmas, but i do have a few things to report. first of all, i was able to find a few essays by people who were really looking for more structure with a small baby, but not necessarily The Structure put forth in babywise. if you're interested, you can check them out here and here. heck, even if you're not interested, i could use some other eyes to look at them and see if they are overly slanted in one direction or another.

another thing we are thinking about including is a meyers-briggs sort of analysis specifically aimed at parents. i came across the book Motherstyles, which seems to be exactly that, taking the different personality styles and pointing out strengths and challenges for each. i think that opening the class with this could be a good way to help each person navigate which style of parenting may be better suited to them, and why. it also may encourage more understanding among different mothers (this is what i was struck by in reading it), and help to "translate" the intentions (usually good ones) that can be misconstrued between types.

beyond that, we are still on the lookout for a good overarching curriculum if we can find one. we really want it to be focused on themes of parenting like the importance of discipline, grace, spiritual development, and being intentional vs. reactionary. one possibility is a partner to this book, Raising Great Kids, which has several different workbooks for different ages....but i still need to look through it first to see if it fits. still looking for more, if there are other suggestions out there.

one thing that has been a theme among some people i've talked to and/or read online is that they did use the babywise books as a resource or jumping off point for their parenting in the beginning, but then as they were more confident they tended to modify the advice or "do their own thing" entirely. i think this is a very healthy attitude when approaching any so-called expert advice regardless of what book they wrote, because ultimately no one thing will work the best for all people. but, i am also interested to know what ways that parents who used babywise specifically modified it to fit...since this is the one we're replacing, it could help me to understand what topics were helpful from this method and what needed a filter or a modification, or can be left out entirely.

so, ye 2 faithful readers, do you have any advice for me?