Take a moment to think about your financial habits – good and bad. Do they mirror things your parents did? Was your father a diligent saver who was certain to be ready for that “rainy day”? Or did your family value new things, even if it meant going into debt? Understanding the origin of your financial habits and values... >Read More

Tags: better parenting, children, FaithLife Financial, Family, FamilyLife, kids, Money, money management, raise

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Every now and then, an idea explodes through our collective consciences, challenging our notions about how life works. It happened in the fifteenth century when Galileo argued that the earth was round. It happened in the eighteenth century when upstarts in North America decided they wanted to govern themselves. And I hope, for some of you parents,...... >Read More

Tags: better parenting, character development, children, consequences, fail, Family, FamilyLife Canada, FamilyLife Favs, guide, parenting essentials, parents, Shelia Wray Gregoire, succeed, teach, teenagers, values

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There was a video on CNN yesterday that stopped me in my tracks. It wasn’t footage from Thailand, or election coverage.  It is a video of a little 5 year old girl  sitting in front of an image of 5 cartoon children. The children are all wearing the same dress and the same expression, only the color of their skin... >Read More

Tags: beauty, better parenting, character development, Family, family issues, family values, in the news, parenting, parenting essentials, racism, Self, social issues, World

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Growing up my Dad always made a point of telling us that none of us are adopted. When it comes to me and my Mom, he really could have saved his breath.  I look just like her.  We are very similar in other ways too. I know that I get my love of words and my passion for word-play from... >Read More

Tags: aging parents, better parenting, Claire Colvin, communication, conversations, Family, family issues, forgiveness, leaving a legacy, lessons from Mom, Mother's Day, Self

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"Alcoholism has an effect on everybody around the person suffering from it. This is especially true for a family." says William Belle in the Ole! Times. In his article, which recounts his own struggle with alcoholism and (for the moment) sobriety, he provides statistics about how pervasive the problem is: According to a 2002 survey conducted by...... >Read More

Tags: alchole abuse, alcholism, better parenting, challenges & conflicts, child, faith, Family, healing, LIFE, mike woodard, parenting, resolving conflict, world culture

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My daughter cut herself for the first time when she was 12 years old. Today, 11 years later, she is still struggling to overcome this problem. At the time I knew absolutely nothing about "self-harm" and it scared me to death. I was shocked and bewildered that she would do such a thing. It’s important to understand cutting -... >Read More

Tags: anxiety, attitude problems, better parenting, challenges & conflict, Culture, cutting, Dena Yohe, family issues, FamilyLife Favs, fear, grief, hardship & suffering, harm, health, LIFE, parenting, parenting essentials, peer pressure, Self, self-harm, self-mutilation, slashing, slicing, suicide, teenagers, teens, World

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I was intrigued this morning by an article from O, the Oprah Magazine which asked “Bikini or headscarf -- which offers more freedom?” I was raised in England and Canada and my western brain immediately answered “not the head scarf”.  But as I read through the article – one woman’s account of her daughter’s choice to cover up... >Read More

Tags: better parenting, daughters, dress, Family, freedom, head scarf, modesty, modesty & appearance, parenting, parenting essentials, purity, teen issues

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