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Author: Laurie Gauger-Hested

  • Laurie Gauger-Hested

    Laurie Gauger-Hested and her husband, Michael, have a blended family that includes her adult daughter and son and his teenage son. Find more articles authored by her.

    View all posts
    Parent conversations: How does a parent’s role change over time?
    Parent conversations: Parenting post–high school: What is a parent’s role?
    Parent conversations: What if we can’t follow our Christmas traditions this year?
father of groom talking to son

Parent conversations: How does a parent’s role change over time?

No matter what age your children are, your role as a parent has changed over time. The first time we leave them with someone else as newborns can feel monumental....
James Aderman, Marilyn Sievert, Laurie Gauger-Hested, Nicole Balza

Parent conversations: Parenting post–high school: What is a parent’s role?

My kids are 15, 10, and 7, so I haven’t quite gotten to this stage of parenting yet . . . but I can feel it coming. The important moments are stacking up. Time...
Laurie Gauger-Hested, Ann Jahns, Nicole Balza

Parent conversations: What if we can’t follow our Christmas traditions this year?

For better or worse, Christmas is filled with traditions. Some of these traditions help celebrate Jesus’ birth—the Christmas Eve candlelight service or the children’s...
James Aderman, Laurie Gauger-Hested, Nicole Balza

Parent conversations: How much should I monitor my child online?

This month’s column might not be what you are expecting. It doesn’t include endorsements for the latest security apps to keep your child safe online or to measure...
Laurie Gauger-Hested, Rob Guenther, Nicole Balza

Heart to heart: Parent conversations: What’s the best parenting advice you’ve received or given?

What’s the best parenting advice you’ve received or given? Years before I became a mother, I wrote a news article for Forward in Christ in which I interviewed...
Dan Nommensen, Mary Clemons, Jonathan Bourman, Ann Jahns, Laurie Gauger-Hested, Nicole Balza

Heart to heart: Parent conversations: How should we handle it when people undermine our parenting decisions?

How should we handle it when people undermine our parenting decisions? I think that parenting is often like an ice cream sundae bar. No two people make exactly the...
Laurie Gauger-Hested, James Aderman, Mary Clemons, Nicole Balza

Parent conversations: How can we teach gentleness and strength at the same time?

Parenting is a balancing act in so many ways. For example, each day I try to help my kids balance their sleep. If they go to bed too early, they’ll wake up too...
Laurie Gauger-Hested, Adam Goede, Dan Nommensen, Nicole Balza

Parent conversations: What should we do when our children grow silent?

What should we do when our children grow silent? There are days when we all would long for some silence as parents—during those long colicky twilight hours; the...
Jenni Schubring, Dan Nommensen, Laurie Gauger-Hested, Nicole Balza

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