This is a repost from 2017: This is an intriguing book helping parents know what societal changes are going on in their son's lives--Boys Adrift:The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men" by Leonard Sax, MD., PhD. My friend recommended three of Leonard Sax' books, the other two being … Continue reading Understanding The Shift In Our Culture Against Boys
Finding and Focusing On Our Children’s Strengths
Historically, Character Mattered
John Adams Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ruled Rome as an Emperor from 161 to 180 BC and is a philosopher of Stoicism. There were Five Good Emperors and he was the last one. Ryan Holiday wrote a book about the Stoics and here is what he said about Marcus Aurelius’s character and his teachings: “Marcus Aurelius … Continue reading Historically, Character Mattered
Understanding the Importance of Feedback
My mother’s love language was praise. That was a wonderful gift as a child but that also meant that negative language in any way was hard for me to hear. I was so primed to hear praise that when I didn’t hear it I was deeply affected. I distinctly remember right after we got married, … Continue reading Understanding the Importance of Feedback
Four Ways to Nurture A Relationship
In a recent post I wrote about criticism, contempt, defensiveness and stonewalling that kills relationships. In contrast the following four principles invite trust and two way communication: Keeping Our Commitments: Steven R. Covey says that when you want to build your own character, the very first thing you do is to make a commitment and … Continue reading Four Ways to Nurture A Relationship
The Collapse of Parenting
This is a repost from Feb. 2020: This week we were getting on a chair lift to ski and the young skier in front of us brushed by the attendant who was checking everyone's ski passes with an electronic gun. The attendant yelled something at him like, "If you do that again---" and I didn't … Continue reading The Collapse of Parenting
Family Stories Are The Gold Standard
I have been posting how much reading books will help our children. We know it helps their language skills, their mental models of how the world works and that reading at an early age will help them do better at school. Starting the love of books at a young age can help them love books … Continue reading Family Stories Are The Gold Standard
Two Different Outcomes
At a congressional hearing in 2021, Facebook was being criticized because Instagram, which they own, was raising anxiety and depression rates in young women.The CEO, Mark Zuckenburg, when asked about children and mental health said: “The research that we’ve seen is that using social apps to connect with other people can have positive mental-health … Continue reading Two Different Outcomes
Service for Christmas
We started doing service gifts for Christmas about ten years ago where we told our children we only wanted gifts of service from them. These gifts are so meaningful to me because when I get them on Christmas morning, it feels like I am part of the true spirit of Christmas. It is a triple-play: … Continue reading Service for Christmas
Venturing Out
This week my son, Chase, sent me a time-lapse video of a project he was working on. He likes to set up a camera and film himself doing something and then speed it up and send it to me. He sent me a video once when he was moving, and it was crazy watching a … Continue reading Venturing Out
Family Work
This is a repost. I wrote it in 2017. Kathleen Slaugh Bahr, a BYU Associate Professor of Family Life, helped my thinking tremendously when I heard her speak in 2000, at BYU Campus Education Week. I was going to publish the link so you could read the whole article and I still will, but I … Continue reading Family Work
"Peace Like A River…" 