What would your life be like if television, the internet, and computers suddenly didn’t work any more? The amount of uneasiness you have in reaction to that question is a good indicator of how influential electronic media is in your life. Most of us remember the days when there was no Internet and the television offered about 12 channels. What is more, we had to get up and change the television channels manually! Now there are so many media and entertainment options so easily available, it feels overwhelming. In fact, it seems as if the American family home is inundated by media overexposure. Continue
My Articles about children
I see plenty of adults who are punishing themselves because they aren’t someone else. Most of them started as children who felt punished because they weren’t someone else. This someone else they never were is not even a real person, it’s an ideal. This ideal was communicated to them by their parents and it is an anachronism, a relic, based on expectations, dreams, and hopes that the parent had for their child. Parental expectations and visions of the ideal child are formed before the baby is even born. Every parent develops these hopes and dreams to some extent. Mostly these are based on societal images of success, because for some reason we equate what others view as success as the key to eternal bliss and contentment for our children. So really what parents want is for their children to be happy and content. Continue
Every parent has a picture in their mind of how they want their child to turn out. Most parents want their child to be honest, responsible, polite, loving, hard working, and happy. Other values and virtues that parents try to establish in their children may include a love of sports, an appreciation for art or music, a love of the outdoors, faith in God, and community service. The list can go on and on. These various values fit into three broad categories; 1) Attitudes towards others, such as being polite, 2) Character traits, such as honesty, and 3) Lifestyle choices, such as a love of the outdoors. We often hope our children can attain these lofty values better than we do. There are several ways parents can instill these values, and “do as I say, not as I do” isn’t one of them. Continue
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there! Nobody loves us like our mothers, right? The quote “A face only a mother could love” is a testament to the staying power of motherly love. A mother’s love and nurturing are often taken for granted. Remembering the significance of mothers in our society is a big reason that mother’s day was first established by Anna Marie Jarvis. She was a West Virginian by the way. Continue
A road trip with school-age children requires planning and flexibility. It requires realistic expectations. It also requires good self-care for the parents, or you’ll feel like you need your own vacation after the family vacation. To illustrate these points, let me tell you a story about my good friend Chadd. Continue
