Re: A radical idea - viewing kids as babies till 5
 

:yes :rockon

Re: A radical idea - viewing kids as babies till 5
 

I had never heard that Hebrews considered children to be babies until age 5, but that is really a mind-blowing thought for me. What a great perspective. Does anyone know if that corresponded with an age of weaning? I always wondered how old Samuel would have been when he went to the Synagogue with Eli. I can't imagine sending my little guy off at the age of not quite 3 (he just weaned due to my pregnancy), but I think the OT says that Hannah gave him over to God's service after he was weaned.

Re: A radical idea - viewing kids as babies till 5
 

Id like to know if anybody knows his age for sure. I know that Ive read commentary on scripture passages where they've guessed children's ages to be around 4 yrs old when they reference the child being weaned, so that was always my thinking for Samuel as well.

Re: A radical idea - viewing kids as babies till 5
 

:cup Need to come back to this later when I really do have a :cup

Re: A radical idea - viewing kids as babies till 5
 

Hmm true, thats really cool. And its interesting that 13 years olds were ready for marriage in hebrew society. I think part of the reason for societies disfunction is illegal marriage until 18. We need to equip kids to be ready for greater freedom and responsibility by then. Interesting how teens 'rebel'. Perhaps this is the way they/we were designed so that "The husband will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife"...We expect young kids to grow up too fast and young adults to remain our kids. :rockon

Re: A radical idea - viewing kids as babies till 5
 

Actually the word for children before age 5 is "nursling" so yes :yes Anyway, 5 was when they were weaned and wore clothes and started Hebrew studies and, as boys, got one foot into the men's camp :tu Samuel would probably have been 5 when he was taken to the Temple to do his studies and service. Instead of one foot in the men's camp he went straight to the Temple :amen

Re: A radical idea - viewing kids as babies till 5
 

Arms of Love, I love your info! I wish I had the confidence to nurse that long. In our society that is just outright weird... and I think Im too much of a man pleaser to quite jump that far over the hurdle ;)

Re: A radical idea - viewing kids as babies till 5
 

Thanks for that information Arms of Love! It's so fabulous how much more we can glean from the scriptures when we understand the original language.

Re: A radical idea - viewing kids as babies till 5
 

This is such a helpful thread. Thank you so much!
I think I definitely expect too much of my dd, she is only 2, but she is very articulate and bright and can express herself really well.
It's easy to forget that she is just a baby.
This is just what I have needed as a reminder at the moment, I need to lower my expectations and baby her a little bit more, even though she refuses to be called a baby and insists she is a "big girl"

Thanks again.

Re: A radical idea - viewing kids as babies till 5
 

What a great post! Thank you :)

Re: A radical idea - viewing kids as babies till 5
 

This is fantastic. I'm learning so much from this website. Thank you.

Re: A radical idea - viewing kids as babies till 5
 

these are the ones I really need to work on.

allow them to be clingy when they need to be
* I remember that they cannot do a lot of things and I cant get frustrated for them needing assistance
* I don't criticise them for being selfish - they will grow out of it
* I don't worry about their lack of independence
* I don't care if they don't want to engage in activities without a parent there

this thread was just what I needed to hear when I came here to day! thank you!

Re: A radical idea - viewing kids as babies till 5
 

Wow, I could cry reading that. I've had one of those days where I.just.want.them.off.of.me. I've read this thread a long time ago, but I REALLY needed to read that tonight. Thanks. :heart

Re: A radical idea - viewing kids as babies till 5
 

Honestly, my just turned six year old son is still so needy and developmentally immature. plus he frustrates easily and just gets so panicked about things. I think I should still consider him a baby :scratch do you??? I think I need validation too :shifty

Re: A radical idea - viewing kids as babies till 5
 

Love this thread! Makes me feel like I am doing okay and not failing as a parent when my DD is doing all the things Heather described on a regular basis.