In a recent OneFamily Letter “Summer Time and the Livin is Easy”, we mentioned one of the positives of summertime was the kids having a sleepover, where play time doesn’t want to end, and pleading ensues to let “Timmy spend the night”. That letter caused some questions on the concerns some of our readers had about sleepovers. Today’s Letter expands on the idea of sleeping over and addresses those concerns. You are charged with the [...]
OneFamily is all about equipping, encouraging and sustaining couples as they journey in their marriages 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 the past 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 that [...]
Summer!!! Gotta love it. Doesn’t that recall memories and create images of warm summer nights relaxing around the pool or play field with nary a care in the world? Playing with friends, drifting from day to day where every day is the weekend, Fourth of July, watermelon, bathing suits, bare feet, endless games with friends, sleeping in, later nights awake, visiting Gramma and Grampa, family vacation, and hanging out with the siblings. Does it get [...]
One of the many concepts we love from the Parenting from The Tree of Life class, is The Potato Principle. Derived from a dining experience and shared by the Ezzo’s ministry associates Don and Karen Kurtz, The Potato Principle speaks to the idea that we can become fixated on the flaws at the expense of looking at the overall good in our child’s behavior. Have you, your spouse or your children ever thrown out or [...]
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 [...]
Last week in our Playing with Fire letter, we highlighted three areas that Moms and Dad should have awareness and understanding as they 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 the challenges that [...]
Last week our Encouraging Courage (Girls) Letter was a neat little message that had clear edges and the takeaways fit the title where we came away looking like competent parents. But life isn’t always so cut and dried. Encouraging the heart can often be vague platitudes that miss the mark and confound parents and frustrate children. That was the case when dealing with our son Kevin whose sweet spirit was occasionally a puzzle to us. [...]
These Letters are intended to provide you with whatever insights we have gained over the last 30 years of parenting and marriage. Our perspectives are not comprehensive, just intending to spark thought on how to take your parenting and marriage to the next level of effectiveness. There is so much to say to you which we hope is instructive and encouraging, perspectives we wish we had ‘back in the day’. We had to figure it [...]
In all the curriculum that we lead parents through, the concept of CouchTime remains as one of the most impactful tools we discuss. Over the years we've had many parents ask us to provide more insight regarding CouchTime. So we thought it might be helpful to provide a little more detail regarding the why, when, where, and how of CouchTime. Why The Benefits of CouchTime for us were numerous. First of all, it got us [...]
"Hey Dad, can we talk for a minute?” “Sure, what’s up?” “I need to bring something up that’s an issue that is delicate. It’s about Mom and my wife.” “Ok, I’m listening.” “Well, I need to start by saying that I love you very much. I enjoy getting together and sharing my life with you. To see you playing with the kids and how much joy it brings you and Mom and them, it truly [...]