One of the crucial but magical stewardships we have as parents is teaching our children how the world works. For hundreds of years children have lived and worked in families, learning to feed and clothe themselves and navigate the world in order to thrive. Things have changed so much in the last 150 years to … Continue reading Way of the Warrior Kid
Teaching Kids to Work
The Past/Future Principle
The blogger, Mr. Money Moustache, first brought this principle to my attention a few years ago. He wrote how he was installing radiant heaters under his flooring in the house he was building for himself. He said, "My January self, that will be enjoying a cozy warm house, will thank my October self, that was … Continue reading The Past/Future Principle
The Collapse of Parenting:Part 1
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:Part 1
“Easier and Cheaper to Outsource”
Clayton Christensen, the Harvard Business School professor said: " In my parents’ generation there was a lot of work that went on at the home. They had to preserve food for the winter; they needed to put coal in the furnace; they even sewed our clothes. Our gardens had far more vegetables than flowers. As … Continue reading “Easier and Cheaper to Outsource”
Four Simple Things
What if an older and wiser person told you he knew the crucial, essential activities to focus your family's time and energies on? Would you listen to him? Would the idea take root of less but better? My last post focused on three letters by confused parents, that wished they knew how to manage their … Continue reading Four Simple Things
Slimy, Frustrating and Hard
In the fourth month of my son’s mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he was in a courtyard of a building in Mexico City, teaching a lesson to a small group of people. He was sweating profusely because of the heat , and struggling with his Spanish. He felt so inadequate, … Continue reading Slimy, Frustrating and Hard
1-2-3 Magic
My husband and I were on a plane once ten or fifteen years ago. What made that flight memorable for me is the two obnoxious boys seated across the two aisles from us on the other side of the plane. Thankfully. However, we could see and hear everything. "Mister!" they would yell for the stewardess, … Continue reading 1-2-3 Magic
1000 People of Dance
I read about this video in a local paper last night. I wish I was more on the cutting edge, but I was the 38,456 person to see the "1000 People of Dance". (Whew! It's up to 52,965 views this morning!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOEmeyBie6g Watch this with your kids and see if you can find the one … Continue reading 1000 People of Dance
Holiday Helpers are the Sweetest Gift
A friend made a comment to me after Thanksgiving. She noticed that when she went to her extended family dinner, all the adults did the work. When I talked to another friend about this, she said at her dinner, her grandchildren were so happy to see and play with each other "they disappeared and for … Continue reading Holiday Helpers are the Sweetest Gift
The “F-I-R-E” Movement
It started with this article my son sent me in September. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/01/style/fire-financial-independence-retire-early.html I had been on the frugal train for years, starting in the early 90's with Amy Dacyczyn's newsletter that was mailed to me every month. Yes, in the mail! Before the internet, children, we had to do something to get information from one … Continue reading The “F-I-R-E” Movement
"Peace Like A River…" 