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 [...]
College – so far, and so near. Ignoring the politics of college and the debate surrounding left or right, we’re assuming you want your children to be as prepared for life-after-home as possible. And that might include continuing with a post high school education. Even though that might be far away, you may be already saving for that event just as you are parenting for that event. There’s a reasonable debate as to what’s appropriate [...]
Last week was National Youth Sports Week (July 15th-21st). In our nation, we are blessed to have wonderful youth sports programs for kids that do so much more than teach children skills for playing sports. Sports teaches kids about life while providing health benefits, increased prosocial behavior, improved emotional and psychological health, increased academic performance, and overall sense of well-being. We loved watching (coaching and team mom too!) our boys play different sports as they [...]
Blended families have as much potential for individual and collective harmony and success as any other family, they just have some unique challenges to face. In this Letter, we’ll offer some perspectives on those challenges. It’s a big topic, so this Letter can’t and won’t be able to deal with the multitude of nuances that exist when two people come together, each with their own previously established lives. “But sail we must, and not drift [...]
Emotional control or self-discipline is being able to manifest the appropriate expression of our emotional state. Our ability to manage our emotional responses is a lifelong skill that can define our character positively or negatively. Anger, frustration and disappointment are a part of life as a child and as an adult. There will always be times when these difficult emotions happen, but how we respond and express ourselves is the key to emotional maturity. When [...]
OneFamily is all about equipping, encouraging and sustaining you as you invest and grow in your marriage and parenting. Many of the concepts, principles and ideas that we share each week, in our OneFamily letter and quotes, are derived from the Growing Families curriculum we have taught for over 16 years. As a result, we would be remiss if we didn’t make you aware of a fantastic opportunity to learn and connect with other families [...]
"Dano, (Later – Shelli and Kevin) this is our yard. When people come over or drive by they’ll see this as the Marr house and they’re going to see the yard first. What kind of impression would they have of us Marrs if the yard was full of weeds and the grass, bushes, and trees were dead? They’d think that the Marrs don’t have standards of care. Maybe not in those words, but they’d think [...]
We recently read about an idea that really resonated with us. It described how children need their parents’ blessing. A blessing from mom and dad communicates unconditional acceptance and affirmation while greatly impacting a child’s identity. Your blessing frees their hearts and minds to grow into all the good things you as a parent want for them. For Dads, its especially important to know the impact your blessing has in the lives of your children. [...]
Let’s say your 12-year old son is twenty minutes late. He wanted to ride his bike to a friend’s house and promised to be home by 4:00 and now it’s 4:20. The bike ride required crossing a major intersection and called into question his capability and responsibility. Was he aware enough of traffic dangers and responsible enough to be safe and come home at the appointed hour? That was the plea and debate. In the [...]
Parenting is a year-round process. However, we found that summertime seemed to be a really productive and effective time in our parenting. Maybe it was because many of the school year obligations and hectic schedules got dialed back and the excitement of sunshine, family vacations and barbecues filled our home. Whatever the reason, we used our summertime excitement as a special time of the year to “super charge” some of our parenting initiatives while enjoying [...]