A Model Father's Day With a Little Help From The Berenstain Bears

Holidays like Father's Day and Mother's Day can make mamas and papas a little tense. We want to make sure we properly honor our spouse and help our children do the same, but we're not always sure exactly how to go about it.

As with many of life's sticky situations, the Berenstain Bears books can be genuinely helpful - for both kids and adults.

For example, The Berenstain Bears and the Mama's Day Surprise turned out to be quite instructive this past Mother's Day. This has been a favorite book in our house for a couple years now, even when it's nowhere close to May.

Once Mother's Day drew near this year, the boys found new meaning in the book. Although they are old enough (age 5 and 3) to take an active role in preparing for these kinds of holidays, they still need ideas and direction. This book provided a realistic model for what kids (and dads) might do to make the mother of the house feel special.

So, with the Berenstain Bears as their guide, and their father as their leader, my sweet boys reenacted this story on Mother's Day. It was the best one I've ever had, and it turned out to be a meaningful day for all of us. ♥♥♥

With Father's Day approaching, I thought perhaps our beloved bears could work their magic again with The Berenstain Bears and the Papa's Day Surprise. I think we are well on our way. Big Brother is already working on his poem for his father, as modeled by Brother Bear and Sister Bear. I just hope he doesn't insist on getting him a "bearcalounger"!

If you haven't gotten into the Berenstain Bears books, give them a try. There's a book for just about any sort of problem you can imagine. One of the reasons I love these books is because they're focused on the whole family, not just the children. Mama Bear and Papa Bear usually have some sort of issue they have to work through, too. What a wonderful message to send kids... that we (hopefully) continue to grow and evolve into adulthood.  I also love all the positive messages about minimalism and healthy living, as I discussed in this article I wrote for Healthy Green and Frugal.

To find out what books other families are reading to their children, check out the link-up on Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns.