Thanksgiving is three weeks away and who doesn’t love all those Thanksgiving traditions? For our family, Thanksgiving has always been about making gratitude a hallmark of our Family Identity. From the time the boys were five and three years old, we would go around the table and each take turns saying what we were most thankful for over the past year and we would write them down in a notebook. Early on the boys were [...]
“You can do anything for 1 minute” is not just an easy phrase for parental encouragement, it’s a brick in the foundation of a child’s life. It isn’t long after babies become toddlers that parents should begin the long process of building character through self-discipline. Every era in childhood will present new opportunities for parents to develop in their children the ability to face the arduous ability of sticking with a task and persevering through [...]
Recently we received an email from a weary mom who has been diligently trying to be consistent with setting expectations for behavior. She’s been trying to teach the moral and practical reason why of right behavior and discipline her kids with encouragement and appropriate correction as needed. However, she feels like she’s losing the battle as she holds on to her resolve by a thread. We think this challenge is very common and know many [...]
Since we’re amidst the fall break travel season with Thanksgiving and Christmas both quickly approaching, we thought it’d be appropriate to talk about traveling with children. There are short and long trips on planes, trains and automobiles, but today we will mostly talk about long airplane trips . As you’ve no doubt experienced in your own travels, parenting skills get a serious wakeup call when kids suffer the gauntlet of cramped seating, long waits, time changes, strange food, disrupted sleep schedules, hurried and harried [...]
This past weekend we celebrated Trevor's 22nd birthday. While we enjoyed laughing, celebrating and reminiscing about his 22 year journey, we were also reminded of our own parenting journey and two important perspectives we have learned through the years. Parenting is process Wouldn’t it be great if you could tell your children something once and they would fully comprehend the meaning of everything in your instruction. Like, telling your kids to “play nicely” and they [...]
Every other week the Howards, Shelly and Rich, and the Marrs, Lis and Dave, trade off writing a OneFamily Letter with the intent to nudge, influence, educate, support and, in small part, come alongside women and men who are hard at work in the job of life. On the whole, life can be…well, complicated. They don’t teach parenting, marriage, or being an adult in school. It is true that a small misconception of how “things [...]
What kind of impact does having a longstanding group of friends have on a growing family? Enormous. Therefore, you should be intentional and proactive in building a community of like-minded friends. It is surprising the level of influence that your community of friends can have on your life, your style of living, your parenting, the quality of your marriage and its potential longevity, the behavior of your children, your health, your sex life, your business [...]
Parenting in the Digital Age can be challenging to navigate. In the first two parts of this series, our intention was to give you an overall understanding of the issues that come with technology and help you form a clear perspective to manage it thoughtfully in your home. This week we offer 3 areas, with specific tools and resources, to consider when implementing technology strategies and plans in your home. Communication is critical and must [...]
In Part 1 of this series last week, we highlighted three areas that Moms and Dads should understand as they begin to formulate a strategy to parent in the Digital Age. Health Effects – Brain Development, Melatonin & Dopamine Safety Issues – Cyber Bullying, Identify Theft, Online Predators Behavior Complications – Moods, Empathy & Relationships The research and information in these areas provides you with knowledge you need to form a healthy perspective without fearing [...]
Do you have a 4 year old that uses a tablet or 13 year old that is glued to their phone or video games? If so, you have a Screenager! In fact, a Screenager is any toddler, child, teen or adult that actively uses digital media or technology. Yep, we're all Screenagers! Over the next couple of weeks, our goal is to equip and encourage you with information that will help you to better understand [...]