You know what a Stay-at-home mom is. But do you know what a Stay-at-home daughter is? I recently found Jasmine’s blog about being a Stay-at-home daughter. Jasmine is an incredible young lady who has chosen to put family first in her life. She is intentionally learning the art of homemaking, and stays home to serve [...]
I remember sitting in a circle at a college fellowship group at church, each person introducing himself/herself. We were asked to “Tell us your name and what you would like to be doing in 5 years.” “My name is George, and I hope to be working for a graphic design company.” “My name is Denise, [...]
Last week I met a 7th grade boy who was expelled from school for cyberbullying. He wrote something, must have been a terrorizing something, on Facebook directed at a girl at school. Honestly, I am shocked! I know about cyberbullying of course. I’ve read a lot about it. I know it’s a big issue. I [...]
Last Sunday at church, I was called in to talk to a crying 8-year-old boy. “It’s not fair!” He told me in frustration. Another boy had grabbed a Pepsi bottle from his hand, and in anger he started to swing at the boy and the teacher. It wasn’t fair that he got in trouble, and [...]
It’s a radical idea, but a good one. My daughter’s teacher, the school Christian club adviser, told the kids that her approach to dating is that she hopes to marry her first boyfriend. What did she say?? Let me clarify. She doesn’t mean she’s going to blindly marry the first guy she happens to go [...]
I have two daughters. But I have to be honest, I have not always been intentional about teaching them “womanhood.” However, I hope that the way I conduct myself as a woman and our occasional talks has taught them some important priorities of being a woman. Here’s what I want my daughters to know about [...]
Take a look back on your life; what were the circumstances that caused you to experience growth? I remember in elementary school, I wanted a pair of boots, because all my friends had boots. But my mom said they were impractical and a waste of money (she was right of course). I cried and lamented [...]
One of the impressions I want to leave with my children is that the home is a place of fun and laughter. I want them know that family life is enjoyable, not just tolerable. There is enough bad news in the world that we don’t need our home to also be full of solemnness. Isn’t [...]
The holiday season is approaching. It’s all good, yet, the busyness can get families rather stressed out. My daughter has been having a lot of stress about school. There are worries about getting assignments and projects completed on time and peer pressure of being socially acceptable. She had an assignment last week to complete a [...]
I was talking to a friend today who recently found out that her independent 14-year-old daughter used to cry at school in the first and second grade. “I thought she was perfectly happy! I didn’t even know she was going through a hard time,” my friend said. She felt bad that she didn’t do anything [...]
“Mom, I saw him take another cookie!” “Did you know what she did at school today?” Parents are constantly dealing with irritants. Tattletaling is one of them that seems to be just annoying, but not serious. However, tattletaling can develop into a bad habit and character flaw in our children. My two older kids are [...]
In previous generations, kids were expected to work for their own spending money, and even to contribute to the family’s needs. Later as parents, they, understandably, wish their children to have an easier life than they had by making it possible for their children not to have to labor as they did. Unfortunately, this has [...]
What are your biggest concerns for your children in high school? My daughter is looking forward to starting high school in September. Since our local high school is rather large with almost 3,000 students, she is concerned about being able to find her classes, navigating the complicated registration process, and keeping up with the academic [...]
No matter what the schools may say, and now matter how much they try to prevent it, alcohol always finds it way to proms and graduations. Drinking had never been an issue for me when I was a teen. But I know teenagers now are often pressured to drink. Unlike other drugs, alcohol is viewed [...]
According to a survey by Babycenter.com, teaching children manners is “back in Vogue.” Why? The top reason, the survey found, moms say that the world has become a more “freewheeling” place and they want to give their children tools to guide them. The number two reason that moms give for teaching children manners is witnessing [...]
Parents want the best for their babies. Does that mean having to spend a lot of money on “educational” material such as “Baby Einstein” and “BabyGenius”? CNN reported a study that shows TV viewing of educational DVDs have no benefits. According to CNN, “researchers from Children’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and Harvard Medical School reached [...]
I mentioned here before, my mother-in-law lives with us. While there are certainly many adjustments, there has also been many benefits. One of the most important advantage is that my children get to have an intergenerational relationship. Yes, grandma makes them whatever they want to eat. Grandma buys them stuff when we go shopping. Grandma [...]
A 3rd grade boy was hating school. That’s not unusual, except that he used to like school. What happened? The child has gotten good grades throughout his short academic career…up until this year. He is struggling in one subject. His nemesis is Math. Now he is depressed, he is frustrated, he doesn’t want to go [...]
If you have more than one child, you know it is unrealistic to think you can treat them all “equally.” With different interests, personalities, and ages, it is impossible to be “equal.” The pie cannot be cut precisely the same. You can hear it already – “It’s not fair; he got the bigger piece!” Our [...]
A female caller to the radio talk show today asked the host, “I’m a virgin and I’m 24 years old. I’m probably the only one! Should I continue to hold out?” The host answered facetiously, ” Yes, you’re probably the only one.” Then she added seriously, “And Yes, you should hold out.” Even if the [...]
Last year at age 19, my son had his first car accident – on the freeway, at night, and with a semi-truck behind him! I thank God that no one was hurt. But the car was not worth repairing. This podcast features an interview with Allan Ramsey, CEO and co-founder of www.SafeTeenDrivingClub.org. His mission is [...]
I am proud of my son, that despite my mistakes in parenting him – I had no experience with him as my first-born – he is turning out pretty well. Yes, he’s always been a good student and all those things that moms are proud of in their kids. But what I love best about [...]
I can relate to Sue Shellenbarger’s post in the Wall Street Journal blog. Speaking of college students who do not know how to do their own laundry, Shellenbarger says: I too have stressed achievement, adventure and life outside the home with my kids over learning more mundane domestic duties. I don’t like to clean the [...]
Walk through the front door of my house and you will see that I am obviously not an organized person. We have stacks of stuff on every horizontal surface, including the floor… “Mom, where is my report card from last year?” “Mom, where is my vaccination record?” “Mom, when was the last time I had [...]
I live about 5 miles from Chino Hills where the earthquake just hit this morning. I’ve lived in Southern California most of my life, and it’s still rather disconcerting every time we have an earthquake. And we still don’t have an emergency plan, not smart. Here is some good advice from Quake Kare: If you’re [...]
My mother-in-law lives with us. You read it right. My mother-in-law lives with us. My father-in-law passed away of cancer about 10 years ago, and she has been living with us for about that long now. What is your reaction when you read this? People usually think I am either a martyr or a saint. [...]
Have you noticed that It doesn’t come off well when we tell our girls to dress modestly? Yes, we’ve been told we are old-fashion, we are too conservative, we don’t know the current styles, we are out of date, everyone else wears it, etc., etc., etc. Girls basically dress to be attractive to boys, right? [...]
It may surprise you to know that my children do not like to drink soda. We basically like to drink water. When we go out to eat, we save a lot of money because we don’t order any soft drinks. It’s great. I didn’t drink soda growing up and never liked it. So when I [...]
The spirit of meanness comes out in the best of us when we can be mean while remaining anonymous. Just look at ourselves when we drive. We feel little hesitancy in cursing other drivers and giving them dirty looks or gestures, while remaining inside the safety and privacy of our cars, Most of us wouldn’t [...]
My husband and I both had parents who owned their own businesses. So it seemed natural that my husband and I carried on the entrepreneurial spirit. At the time when I was pregnant with our 3rd child, my husband gave up a stable job in hospital administration and started our real estate business. Just as [...]
Is it always bad to feel bad? This is the last in a series about how negative situations can in fact be good for our children. Read the first one here, second one here and the third one here. A 5th grade boy sat across from me with his head down and tears streaming down [...]
Is it always bad to feel bad? This is the third in a series about how negative situations can in fact be good for our children. Read the first one here, and the second one here. “Life has its ups and downs.” Difficult times will come, even to a child. Whether it’s moving to another [...]
Is it always bad to feel bad? This is the second in a series about how negative situations can in fact be good for our children. Read the first one here. “Come on guys, let’s go to a party.” Sure! “Come on guys, let’s go to a funeral.” Silence. Nobody really enjoys funerals. It’s solemn, [...]
I admit, we live a sheltered life here in the suburbs. I’m not complaining. We like the relative peace and tranquility of suburbia. On the other hand, we cannot live with our heads in the sand. In my zeal after reading about the devastating earthquake in China, I went berserk last night and lectured my [...]
A caller on the radio talk show had this question: She was very excited to have landed the lead role in a community theater. The problem is, there is one kiss with the leading man required. Her husband objected to her taking the role. What should she do? When I heard the dilemma, my first [...]
This may surprise you, but I read that most teenagers actually rate their parents high on the list of people they trust to give them accurate information about sex. Yet, we as parents are often embarrassed to talk about sex with our children, aren’t we? Honestly, my mother never talked to me specifically about sex. [...]
Should we teach our teens about using condoms? Isn’t it better to teach them about safe sex since they are going to have sex anyway? Kara, an abstinence educator, tells it like it is in a letter she wrote to Dr. Laura. It gives us the right perspective about what we should teach our children. [...]
Imagine this, if you can: Your daughter gets ready to leave the house in an outrageous outfit showing way too much skin, to say the least. You reel on her and yell, “You are not going out of the house like that! You look like a slut. No decent boy will respect you.” Your daughter [...]
Male high school teachers have a very tough job. I especially feel for their wives. When 17 and 18 year-old girls wear tank tops, tight clothes, and short shorts, do you think the men teachers, even the most moral ones, would notice? How can the wives of the teachers compete with these young beauties? Recently [...]
A 20-something year old girl at church said something to me on Sunday that was incredibly mature. “I decided to stay at this church because when I was growing up at this church, a lot of people here contributed to my growth. Now I want to give back and help other people grow at this [...]
It’s about prom time – do you dread it or do you enjoy it? I survived the ordeal when my daughter went with a group of friends to her prom last year. I didn’t wait up all night worrying. I give that job to my husband. As parents we always worry about practical concerns of [...]
While out with some clients for lunch, I tried in vain to remember the proper etiquette from Emily Post. Am I suppose to order a drink to be socialable? Is there a rule as to who orders first? Who pays the bill? I grew up in a very casual family where proper table manners were [...]
Do we want to teach our children to make the world a better place? We can’t all be a Mother Teresa. But we can all make the world around us a better place with just a few simple acts that takes hardly any extra effort from us. When our children see our example, they will [...]
