Parent conversations: How can we help today’s overwhelmed teens?
Being a teen has always involved struggle and angst. The difference today is that a teen’s struggles can be broadcast immediately to an entire world of virtual “friends.” Plus, social…
Parent conversations: Why do siblings fight? How should I react when they are fighting?
My life is so much richer, thanks to my brother and sisters. Each one helped shape me into the person I am today. Part of that shaping involved fighting—a lot…
Parent conversations: How should families prepare to go back to school?
How should families prepare to go back to school? That’s quite a question this year, isn’t it? After all, education is likely to look different depending on what school you…
Teen talk: You are not alone
When you feel at the bottom with nowhere to go, turn to the Lord. Emmilee S. Hillier Empty. Forgotten. Worthless. Defeated. Hopeless. Alone. I feel all these things when I’m…
Parent conversations: Dealing with stress
From day-to-day stressors like homework and whom to sit next to at lunch to larger stressors like changing schools or facing a family medical issue, our children are not immune…
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 a dad who described his nightly…
Parent conversations: How can we prepare children for summer camp?
How can we prepare children for summer camp? When I was going into eighth grade, I went to band camp for a week during the summer. I had a blast,…
Parent conversations: How can we protect kids without scaring them?
When I was a child, McGruff the crime dog taught us about “stranger danger,” and “Mr. Yuk” stickers alerted us to the phone number for poison control. Boom. My parents’ job was done.…
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…