Parenting

The Summer of Letting Go

This fall my 18 year-old son, my first-born, my newly minted young adult, will be leaving home to start university.  I have never been an overly protective mother.  Over the years, he has often left home, even for extended times.  At 8 years old, he spent a week with members of our extended family whom he barely knew. After that there were...

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Teaching Kids to Share the Plenty
Teaching Kids to Share the Plenty

As you celebrate your blessings during family gatherings why not use the holiday to teach your kids about sharing with others? Here are some tips for helping your family live generously. Breaking down financial barriers to be free to live generously   1. Live within your means Save up for purchases and pay cash rather than buying...

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Education – A vital gift
Education – A vital gift

The most valuable things we offer our children cost nothing. But there are many other things we give them that cost money.  The most expensive is often the opportunity for them to attend college or university. Without financial assistance, our children may have to forego post-secondary education or graduate with loads of student debts.  We want...

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When you Don’t Discipline the Same Way
When you Don't Discipline the Same Way

One of the most difficult parts of marriage is agreeing how to discipline. When one parent is more lenient, and one is more harsh, often parents fail to back each other up, and instead form emotional bonds with the kids. Here's a situation that happened in our family recently: One of our daughters, who had been very compliant, hit puberty, and...

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Is Racism Natural?
Is Racism Natural?

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 is different.  An interviewer...

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Alcoholism & Family
Alcoholism & Family

"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...

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How to Stop Spoiling Your Child
How to Stop Spoiling Your Child

Are kids more spoiled today than in years past? According to a Time/CNN poll, 80% of respondents felt that "kids today are more spoiled than kids of 10 or 15 years ago, and two-thirds of parents admit that their kids are spoiled." On the assumption that lovingly caring for your kids is good, but spoiling them is not so good, here are some highlights...

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Extreme Makeover: HOPE edition
Extreme Makeover: HOPE edition

Would you let go of your child if it meant giving them a better life? This past Sunday I was watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, a show that I love even though it makes me cry.  It was the season premiere – did you see it? Instead of building a house for one family they built a home for Boys Hope Girls Hope Baltimore, a group that takes at...

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