Finding a nanny on Craigslist.com?

“When you’re looking to hire someone, you generally find yourself talking up the position to make it more desirable to the top candidates. Read more

Does packing a lunch save you money?

“When planning out whether our eldest child will buy lunch or bring lunch to school, the cost involved is one factor. Last year, he brought lunch most of the time, and was allowed to buy a lunch for a special treat or as a reward for good behavior. Read more

To spank or to do something else

Potty training tips for boys

“Having successfully survived the trials and tribulations of toilet training four boys automatically earns me the title of “Male Potty Training Expert” among new parents. Read more

The Fertility Diet

I know from meeting with many couples that infertility can be brutal to the relationship. It can lead to frustration, hurt feelings, and in some cases, even divorce. Read more

The 28 rules for resolving conflict with your children (and the scripture to help you further understand)

When you get into conflict with your children, it doesn’t have to be the end of the world, or even miserable, take a look at the following list of ground rules for fair fighting.  Read more

What’s so bad about healthy food?

Kathleen Kingsbury has this to say on healthy foods, “Most parents already know that sugary sodas and greasy potato chips are not the healthiest food choices for children. Read more

The ‘Purity Ball’ - how you can be a father to your daughter

I love finding incredible stories that not only warm the heart but prove to be an incredible lesson as well.  You have to read this story from TIME magazine about Kylie Miraldi and her ex-NFL football playing father. Read more

What should your rules for dating be?

As a father of three beautiful children, I am not stressed about the day my kids get interested in dating (they are currently 11, 10, 6 and they all still don’t like the opposite sex).  The reason I am not stressed is because I believe dating is a wonderful way for my kids to develop in to loving and healthy adults. Read more

Has Jamie Lynn Spears encouraged other unmarried teens to get pregnant?

I found this post amazing! It really is upsetting and irresponsible of the OK! Magazine to print such an article:

Last week actress Jamie Lynn Spears (younger sister of reforming pop star Britney Spears) shared the first pictures of her newborn daughter Maddie Briann Aldridge on the cover ofOK! Magazine. The first time mom also shared Maddie’s birth story and after reading it you have to wonder how many teens it inspired to procreate.

Discover the most effective way to help an obese child

The American Association of Christian Counselors has this to say about helping children who are obese:

Childhood obesity has become a growing epidemic nationally and worldwide. Obesity is the most common pediatric disease in the majority of the world except for the former Soviet Union and sub-Saharan Africa (Sweeting, 2007) and the most common nutritional disorder in school-age children (Gortmaker, Must, Perrin, Sobol, & Deitz, 1993). Given the magnitude of this problem, the impact on life span development is enormous. Obesity affects the physical and mental well-being of children resulting in substantial life-long repercussions. The causes are multifactorial and differ from child to child. The identification of abnormal developmental weight gain is challenged by limited diagnostic tools and a lack of recognition by parents and practitioners. Nevertheless, significant effort has been devoted to studying methods of managing this newly emerging childhood disease. By addressing the psychological as well as physical aspects of this condition, successful treatment regimens have been developed…read more here.

Great 4th of July fun ideas

I am still amazed at the creativity of the blogosphere when it comes to fun ideas and the wealth of information out there now because of intelligent bloggers.  Take a look at The Weary Parent’s post on fun ideas for the 4th of July:

Happy Independence Day week everyone!  We will be thinking red, white, blue and fun this week and we theme our activities around the USA’s birthday on July 4th. Our community actually celebrated early this year and we watched fireworks last night. It was a perfect family evening and it definitely put me in the right mindset for the week.

The kids can get ready for the holiday by designing their own virtual and very safe fireworks display at…read more here.

Sexual predators stalking interactive video games

USA Today reports that sexual predators are using gaming consoles like Xbox, PlayStation, and the WII to meet kids online.

Do not ignore your kids’ gaming habits or gaming relationships. Make sure and talk about the potential dangers and practice safe Internet browsing with the game consoles as well.

Family reunions for adopted kids

My sister is currently in Ethiopia picking up my latest family member, Zoie.  She is a beautiful baby and I can not wait to meet her! I stumbled across this helpful article in families.com that might be of some help to those of you who have also adopted children in to your homes:

Many adoptees report feeling part of their immediate families, but never quite feeling like “part of the gang” at extended family gatherings. Especially when these reunions are of people who live far from each other and don’t know each other that well, much of the talk may center on who looks like who, on memories of someone your child never met, on family history and ethnic traditions which your child may be conscious of not being a part of. Even if your child is used to looking different from you and your spouse, being the only brown child in a sea of twenty blond cousins drives the difference home…read more here.

HPV: do these three letters scare you to?

I’ve been completely unsure and slightly negative toward the latest vaccination called HPV. Of course this is the one for little girls from age 9 to 26 that helps prevent cervical cancer (which is caused through sexual activity).

I’m not a doctor, but something just doesn’t sit right with me and the fact that 100% of all girls are being asked to take it. Do not forget that Merck recently had to pull all of its arthritis medicine off the shelves because it caused major heart issues.

Check out this young woman’s site for HPVTruth.org:

What’s the Truth About HPV and The Cervical Cancer Vaccine?

I’m a young woman concerned about my health, about preventing illness, and about the well being of young women everywhere. With these concerns in mind, I looked into Merck pharmaceutical company’s new product, Gardasil, a vaccine that claims to prevent cervical cancer by preventing infection with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).

Experts say HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that may cause some forms of cervical cancer. The concept behind the Gardasil vaccine is that if women avoid HPV infection, they will avoid developing the forms of cancer HPV is thought to cause.

Gardasil works by introducing ?dead? HPV virus into our bodies through series of three injections that cause us to produce HPV antibodies. It is believed that these antibodies will protect us from contracting HPV if it is passed on to us during sexual intercourse.

After reading up on HPV and Gardasil, I have a lot of questions. For example:

We’re on TBN tomorrow with John Tesh!

We will be on TBN this Thursday (June 19th) from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. CST. The show will also be available on Friday at 4 p.m. CST. If you want to see the show online, you can access it at www.tbn.org/video_portal.

If you want to find what station the show is on in your market, please go here. John Tesh is hosting the show, so you won’t want to miss a thing!

Parenting matters - the life of Tim Russert

You will want to check out the recent interview with Tim Russert’s son Luke. It is a great example of what it looks like when you work at leaving a legacy with your children. By the way, the legacy that lasts is a legacy of love!

I recently heard the most amazing quote, and I’m forgetting who I heard this from, but it goes something like, “What is the one thing you will bring with you to heaven? Your children.” Now that is a legacy worth leaving.

When little girls fight

I was a hero tonight. Well, at least I was a hero in my own way. In fact, now that I think about it, no one else (other than myself) has actually referred to me as a hero tonight. So I might be the only one who actually views myself as a hero. But that is not important. What is important is the lesson I was able to teach 4 little girls tonight in my neighborhood.

The lesson was about validation. My daughter got her feelings hurt by one of the neighborhood girls. I happened to be outside when it occurred because we’ve been experiencing a power outage due to a major thunderstorm that rolled through a few hours ago. I only share that because I want to be honest, there’s no way I would have been outside tonight because the Spurs are playing the Lakers in game 4 of the Western conference finals.

God used the power outage to my advantage. As I overheard the girls arguing back and forth with each other, each one taking her own position, I waltzed out to the middle of the cul-de-sac and announced that I wanted to teach everyone a valuable lesson about validating. Of course, each girl (including my daughter) looked at me like I was straight out of a science fiction movie. But I seized the opportunity for a ‘teachable moment’ and plodded ahead.

I quickly shared how validation is:

the reciprocated communication of respect which communicates that the other’s opinions are acknowledged, respected, heard, and (regardless whether or not the listener actually agrees with the content), they are being treated with genuine respect as a legitimate expression of their feelings, rather than marginalized or dismissed. (thank you Wikipedia)

Wikipedia has honestly one of the best definitions I’ve ever read on validation. So I taught the girls what it looks like when you validate one another. I even pulled out an example, you could even call it a parable. It only took me about 1.5 minutes to share my thoughts, and I truly believe the world is a better place because of my actions tonight (hence the hero feelings mentioned earlier).

When your kid freaks out

All I wanted to do was help my 9 year-old daughter learn her spelling, but judging by her reaction, you would think I was trying to help someone rip the fingernails from her tiny hands! Conflict comes in many ways, reasons, and circumstances.  They key to conflict with your kids is to maintain your own integrity during the argument.  The moment you loose control, the ability to effectively discipline your child is gone.

Luckily for me, Reagan’s fit was so over the top that I actually had to concentrate more on not laughing rather than loosing control.

I had asked Reagan to say each of her spelling words out loud, then write each word down three times.  It felt like a good plan to me but Reagan must have thought I was asking her to remove one of her vital organs! I sent Reagan to her room and told her she had 10 minutes to finish the exercise.  When the 10 minutes past, I called out to her and she ran down the stairs and handed me the sheet of paper.

I was surprised to see what had been written.  Instead of her spelling words written out 3 times each, there was one statement written in such a way as to fill out the entire sheet of paper, and it read, “I HATE SPELLING!”

Being a parent is so much fun!

First Time Research Reveals Staggering Annual Taxpayer Costs for Divorce and Unwed Childbearing

MEDIA ADVISORY

WHAT:    New, groundbreaking report: “The Taxpayer Costs of Divorce and Unwed Childbearing: First-Ever Estimates for the Nation and All 50 States.”  The report quantifies for the first time the astounding cost to government for family fragmentation; and is published by a coalition of research and policy groups—Institute for American Values, Georgia Family Council, Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, and Families Northwest.

WHO:      Panelist include:

• David Blankenhorn, president, Institute for American Values,
• Randy Hicks, president, Georgia Family Council,
• Maggie Gallagher, president, Institute for Marriage and Public Policy,
• Jeff Kemp, president, Families Northwest
• Ben Scafidi, Ph.D., economics professor at Georgia College and State University, and principal investigator of the report.

DATE:     Tuesday, April 15th, 2008

WHEN:    9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. (Coffee and registration at 8:30)

WHERE:     The National Press Club in the Holeman Lounge
529 14th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

How can I teach my daughter the power of purity and modesty when sex is treated so casually?

Q: How can I teach my daughter the power of purity and modesty when sex is treated so casually?Watch Michael and Amy Smalley’s Answer
More from Michael and Amy Smalley

I got pregnant and my husband is angry - what can I do?

Q: I got pregnant and my husband is angry. He insists it’s my fault because I didn’t take my birth control. I took it, what do I do to communicate this to my husband so he’ll believe me? Watch Michael and Amy Smalley’s Answer

Are we poisoning our kids?

I don’t have all the facts about this issue…but I’m telling you there has to be something to it:

AN INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT OF PARENT-VOLUNTEERS HELPING MORE THAN 10,000 CHILDREN BEGIN BIOMEDICAL TREATMENT.

Our children are experiencing epidemics of ADD/ADHD, Asperger’s, PDD-NOS, and Autism.

We believe these neurological disorders (”NDs”) are environmental illnesses caused by an overload of heavy metals, live viruses, and bacteria. Proper treatment of our children, known as “biomedical intervention”, is leading to recovery for thousands.

The cause of this epidemic of NDs is extremely controversial. We believe the primary causes include the tripling of vaccines given to children in the last 15 years (mercury, aluminum and live viruses); maternal toxic load and prenatal vaccines; heavy metals like mercury in our air, water, and food; and the overuse of antibiotics.

Generation Rescue is a parent-founded, parent-funded, and parent-led organization of more than 350 families. Our mission is to share the truth with parents about the cause of their child’s NDs so they can focus on treatment.

How can I teach my daughter that it’s okay to remain abstinent?

Q: In a world that treats sex so casually, how can I teach my daughter that it’s okay to remain abstinent?Watch Michael and Amy Smalley’s Answer
More from Michael and Amy Smalley

Put your kid on the “Thinking Chair”

My son’s preschool teacher has an excellent approach that is a tad different than a time-out. When I joined my son and his class today at recess, one of his buddies was quietly sitting at a bench in the middle of the playground. When I asked him what he was up to, he simply responded, “I’m on the thinking chair.” I could tell he was upset, and so I asked the teacher what the deal was (totally out of curiosity).

She then told me that she didn’t like the term “time-out”. So she puts kids on the “thinking bench” or “thinking chair” because they have some things to think over. I really liked this because it sounds and feels more productive and not so negative. Not that calling it a “time-out” is going to critically wound your child, but she does have an interesting twist.

Making your child mad

I just really upset my daughter at Chic-fil-a and I’m feeling a little guilty. She came running out of the play place because her brothers were laughing at her (in a playful way) and she didn’t like it. So she came running out to me for moral support and I did the only thing a father can do in a moment like that… I laughed as well! She just gets so incredibly angry and does so incredibly quick.

I know many of you probably feel that I’m a terrible father for laughing, and maybe you’re correct, but then again maybe you’re not. I’ve been working on Reagan for a while now about taming her temper and sharing her feelings in a productive way (as opposed to screaming her head off). The boys did not do anything deserving of her response, I watched the entire incident unfold and am confident she could have handled herself better. When she came running to me, I tried to help calm her down by having a carefree attitude, like the kind of attitude I’m trying to get her to adopt. She didn’t like it very much.

She grunted at me, and then tore off for the door to the play place, but she forgot that the door opened by pulling on it. She smacked in to the closed door with all her force, and sadly, I laughed again! I tried to hide it from her, but it was too priceless an event and I couldn’t help my reaction, so I hid under the table and sobbed out loud trying to keep the laughter in check. It didn’t work, but the good news is, the bang on the head finally helped Reagan relax and I actually got to see her laugh at herself for one, which is a great thing to learn.

Family Ties: Building a bond to last a lifetime

This is the final week (week 4) of Retrofamily and it is a special one.  Click here to learn exactly what it takes to ensure your family sticks together through the good times and the rough times.

The Sky Angel cowboy

If you don’t cry when you listen to this young man’s wisdom, there is something seriously broken in your spirit…

The Sky Angel Cowboy! Since posting this audio it has taken on a life of its own. People are forwarding it all over the world. Some corrections… We originally said Logan was 12. He actually turned 13 in August, so we don’t want to deprive him of such a big birthday. Logan listens to us (89.3 KSBJ which broadcasts from Houston, TX) on Sky Angel because he lives on a ranch in a very small town in Nebraska. He called us distraught because he had to take down a calf. His words have wisdom beyond his years.

What wisdom!

Family Ties: Building a bond to last a lifetime

This is the final week (week 4) of Retrofamily and it is a special one. Click here to learn exactly what it takes to ensure your family sticks together through the good times and the rough times.

Keep it in front of ‘em

The title is a quote from a man at Borders that heard my ringtone, Glorious, by Chris Tomlin. He mentioned that he liked my ringtone and its message. I mentioned that it was the song I chose for my son’s ringtone. The title of this post is his respones to me and I thought they were wise words.

What he meant was to keep God in front of my kids.  Sometimes it’s the little things that matter and maybe it is just a ringtone, but maybe it reminds my children of who they are in Christ.

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