http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/parenting/ en-us Fri, 26 Sep 2008 23:23:59 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2091423/posts "Now stay in bed and go to sleep," my husband, Bill, said as he hugged our 3-year-old son, Davey, good night. "If you don't, I'm gonna talk in my troll voice all day tomorrow." I smiled with pity at this poor, deluded man. Several times a night, Davey had been getting up to look at books. I had spent fruitless hours reasoning with him. No way could Bill's threat make a difference, especially since Davey found his troll-under-the-bridge act more funny than scary. But that night, Davey didn't get up once. In the morning he ran around crowing that he'd... NBC Today http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2091423/posts#comment Fri, 26 Sep 2008 23:23:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2080109/posts Self-Inflicted Self Esteem by: Irene Warren, September 11, 2008 Psychologist Polly Young-Eisendrath, author of The Self-Esteem Trap: Raising Confident and Compassionate Kids in an Age of Self-Importance argues that we, as a culture, are undergoing a cultural change which she identified as a self-esteem trap: a time when parents continue to interfere with their children’s developmental growth by constantly protecting them, telling them they are unique or special, thereby setting them up for a lifetime of grief and disappointments. To counteract what she believes is a growing phenomenon, Young-Eisendrath suggests raising children with the perspective that they are merely ordinary,... Campus Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2080109/posts#comment Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:02:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2075846/posts I called my husband hours before the Vice Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin was to speak before the Republican convention. I asked him how many kids she had. Five, he said without missing a beat. How many does McCain have? No clue, he said. Romney? He caught on quick (he's used to these pop-quiz phone calls). He said, well, wait, Palin's been in the news, blah blah, and I said, save your breath. I had no clue either just how many kids John McCain had, and I had absolutely no excuse: I had written TV news for a decade when four... Burbia http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2075846/posts#comment Sat, 6 Sep 2008 04:56:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2070548/posts [M]y impression is that many prosperous parents pay mere lip service to education. A study of elementary-school families last year in the Quarterly Journal of Economics bears this out. Researchers at Brigham Young and the University of Michigan found that parents preferred teachers who make their children happy over those who emphasize academic achievement. My experience in a nonobsessive school district is consistent with this. Our family's intense focus on learning is regarded warily by some parents, whose dissatisfactions with school are mostly about testing and creativity but never about a lack of foreign-language instruction or overall academic rigor. Indeed,... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2070548/posts#comment Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:49:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066476/posts A noted child and family psychologist says spanking a child can be an effective form of discipline, despite a recent study that states otherwise. A new report titled "A Violent Education: Corporal Punishment of Children in U.S. Public Schools" shows that more than 200,000 children received corporal punishment in U.S. schools. Texas accounted for the majority of the cases, although 21 U.S. states allow the use of corporal punishment. The study was conducted by Humans Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union. According to a Reuters article on the study, "liberal groups regard corporal punishment as a barbaric relic... One News Now http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066476/posts#comment Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:28:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2063535/posts You see them at the grocery, or in a discount store. It's a big family by today's standards - "just like stair steps," as the old folks say. Freshly scrubbed boys with neatly trimmed hair and girls with braids, in clean but unfashionable clothes follow mom through the store as she fills her no-frills shopping list. There's no begging for gimcracks, no fretting, and no threats from mom. The older watch the younger, freeing mom to go peacefully about her task. You are looking at some of the estimated 2 million children being home schooled in the U.S., and the... Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo, Mississippi. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2063535/posts#comment Mon, 18 Aug 2008 03:01:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056937/posts SPRING HILL, Fla. -- A Gulf Coast man was charged with murder after he said he gave his 15-year-old son powerful prescription drugs because he wanted the boy to know "how to party right." Steven Alfano was charged with third-degree murder after son Vincent died of an accidental overdose in June. Witnesses said the 47-year-old Spring Hill man showed his son how to crush and snort pills like the painkiller oxycodone and the heroin substitute methadone. Alfano was arrested Friday and is being held without bail in the Hernando County Jail. Officials did not know if he had a lawyer.... news4jax.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056937/posts#comment Tue, 5 Aug 2008 18:13:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2051677/posts ...Karin Miller, 43, a stay-at-home mother during the school year with a doctorate in psychology, who is redefining the role of camp counselor. She counsels parents, spending her days from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. printing out reams of e-mail messages to deliver to Bryn Mawr’s 372 female campers and leaving voice mail messages for their parents that always begin, “Nothing’s wrong, I’m just returning your call.” Jill Tipograph, a camp consultant, said most high-end sleep-away camps in the Northeast now employ full-time parent liaisons like Ms. Miller......The liaisons are emblematic of what sleep-away camp experts say is an increasing... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2051677/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:16:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2044302/posts Trying to raise a real man in today’s world may be harder than splitting an atom. Everyday our kids are bombarded with images and messages of the most unmanly things imaginable. Magazines are full of sexually ambiguous models dressed in feminine clothes in homo-erotic poses. There’s a new book out every month about how you don’t need a man in the house to raise a man. TV shows typically are full of metro-sexual, gay, and otherwise wimpy male characters, and nearly every Hollywood movie that comes out has at least one homosexual character. Almost every dad in the movies or... Real Man Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2044302/posts#comment Sat, 12 Jul 2008 04:44:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035655/posts A police review shows that New Zealand's new anti-spanking law has not reduced the number of physical abuse cases against children, but it has deterred good parents from properly disciplining their children. The report is the result of a three month review that took place directly after the passing of the bill and a separate three month review which was initiated six months later. New Zealanders are today presenting parliament with a petition calling for the law to be struck down. Family First NZ National Director Bob McCoskrie explained that the police review, which shows an almost 300% jump in... Life Site http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035655/posts#comment Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:59:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2029864/posts An operator of a so-called “Booty Camp” in suburban Chicago has a claim that will astonish parents of droopy-diapered toddlers everywhere. Give her five hours, she says, and she’ll give you a potty-trained toddler. MSNBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2029864/posts#comment Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:08:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2027549/posts The stage was set, the lights went down and in a suburban Japanese primary school everyone prepared to enjoy a performance of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The only snag was that the entire cast was playing the part of Snow White. For the audience of menacing mothers and feisty fathers, though, the sight of 25 Snow Whites, no dwarfs and no wicked witch was a triumph: a clear victory for Japan's emerging new class of “Monster Parents”. For they had taken on the system and won. After a relentless campaign of bullying, hectoring and nuisance phone calls, the... The Times Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2027549/posts#comment Sat, 7 Jun 2008 13:46:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2027573/posts The stage was set, the lights went down and in a suburban Japanese primary school everyone prepared to enjoy a performance of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The only snag was that the entire cast was playing the part of Snow White. For the audience of menacing mothers and feisty fathers, though, the sight of 25 Snow Whites, no dwarfs and no wicked witch was a triumph: a clear victory for Japan's emerging new class of “Monster Parents”. For they had taken on the system and won. After a relentless campaign of bullying, hectoring and nuisance phone calls, the... Times Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2027573/posts#comment Sat, 7 Jun 2008 15:04:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2008588/posts WESTON, WI -- Parents who prayed as their 11-year-old daughter died of untreated diabetes were charged Monday with second-degree reckless homicide. The father considered the illness "a test of faith," and the mother never considered taking the girl to the doctor because she thought her daughter was under a "spiritual attack," the criminal complaint said. "It is very surprising, shocking that she wasn't allowed medical intervention," Marathon County District Attorney Jill Falstad said. "Her death could have been prevented." She announced the charges Monday during a news conference at the Everest Metro Police Department with Police Chief Dan Vergin. Vergin... Madistan.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2008588/posts#comment Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:44:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2007963/posts ORLANDO, Fla. -- A mother who was videotaped while spraying her 2 1/2-year-old daughter with a high-pressure water hose at an Orlando car wash told authorities she did it because the child was throwing a tantrum. She told authorities she did not have the hose on full blast, and she said that it isn't as bad as it looks. The mother said she had used this type of punishment before with a spray bottle. The mother saw herself on TV late Thursday afternoon and called deputies. She called deputies and said they could come to her apartment to speak with... WESH.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2007963/posts#comment Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:50:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2003822/posts Theresa Bonopartis vividly remembers the day, more than 20 years ago, that she phoned her doctor for the results of her pregnancy test. She was 18, unmarried, and scared. The doctor's words confirmed what, despite months of denial, she already knew she was almost four months pregnant. She and her boyfriend decided to marry. But then her parents kicked her out, telling her to forget she was their daughter. She and her boyfriend broke up. Her father urged her to have an abortion, which she initially resisted. But without a job, housing, or any support, she felt she had... The Post Abortion Review (via Catholic Culture) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2003822/posts#comment Sat, 19 Apr 2008 02:40:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998072/posts My husband and I are getting ready to do what many couples in these brink-of-recessionary times would consider unthinkable. No, we're not buying a Martha's Vineyard retreat or planning a month in St. Bart's or eco-decorating our house. We're planning to have a third child. What shocks people, when we tell them, isn't the thought of hauling three kids onto a place for a vacation, or even the idea of coming home every night to a houseful of runny noses and homework assignments. What gets them is the sheer financial audacity. Raising kids today costs a fortune. Last month, the... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998072/posts#comment Mon, 7 Apr 2008 20:01:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1992518/posts The following is an excerpt from Lieberman’s upcoming book American Dreams Interrupted: How to Stay Sane and Safe in a Time of Terror. Age of innocence Underneath our pseudo-sophisticated exterior beats the heart of a child. Although society calls on us to be mature – especially now – in our heart of hearts, we secretly still want to believe that our wishes will come true when we blow out our birthday candles, and that we will live “happily ever after” as the fairytales promised. Even though we may be wonderful mothers or fathers, underneath we’re nostalgic for our own childhood... Family Security Matters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1992518/posts#comment Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:28:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1986535/posts The California appeals court decision criminalizing parents who homeschool their children is only the tip of an iceberg. Nationwide, parents are already being criminalized in huge numbers, and it is not limited to homeschoolers. During the Clinton years, the trend toward turning children into tools for expanding government power increased rapidly. Otherwise indefensible programs and regulations are now rationalized as "for the children." WorldNetDaily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1986535/posts#comment Sun, 16 Mar 2008 13:42:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1979456/posts More than half of parents believe that childhood is now over by the age of 11, according to a survey. The poll shows that children, desperate to keep up with their peers, are forcing parents to authorise freedoms that belie their years, in contrast with the traditional upbringings experienced by their mothers and fathers. Teenagers are increasingly being allowed to drink alcohol, stay out late and sleep over at their boyfriend or girlfriend's house, according to the survey for Random House Children's Books. But many adults feel that parents are wrong to succumb and that youngsters grow up alarmingly quickly,... The Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1979456/posts#comment Mon, 3 Mar 2008 09:46:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1979237/posts Crowd cheers advice to turn off TV, skip Popeyes for breakfast FORT WORTH, Texas -- On the campaign trail, Democratic front-runner Sen. Barack Obama talks about how he would use the bully pulpit if president, and he offered a demonstration Thursday when he drew wild cheers as he told a mostly African-American crowd that parents need to shape up, turn off the TV, help their kids with their homework and stop letting them grow fat eating Popeyes chicken for breakfast. "It's not good enough for you to say to your child, 'Do good in school,' and then when that child... Chicago Sun Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1979237/posts#comment Sun, 2 Mar 2008 19:16:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1979012/posts Kids lie early, often, and for all sorts of reasons—to avoid punishment, to bond with friends, to gain a sense of control. But now there’s a singular theory for one way this habit develops: They are just copying their parents. In the last few years, a handful of intrepid scholars have decided it’s time to try to understand why kids lie. For a study to assess the extent of teenage dissembling, Dr. Nancy Darling, then at Penn State University, recruited a special research team of a dozen undergraduate students, all under the age of 21. Using gift certificates for free... NY Mag http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1979012/posts#comment Sun, 2 Mar 2008 01:46:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1977310/posts The family that prays together stays together. True or false? The saying is very old and not based on findings of formal family research. Perhaps it was merely an old wives tale. Certainly the high incidence of divorce in the Christian community would lead one to question the old adage. But let's not be too quick to discard the saying or its sentiment; family research does support it. No one should imagine that merely saying prayers is some magic tonic that will neutralize the effects of hurtful actions in a family. You cannot live like Hell and pray to Heaven... Home Improvement Ministries http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1977310/posts#comment Wed, 27 Feb 2008 22:14:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1977210/posts Christian couple told: 'You can't foster if you think it's wrong to be gay'By DAVID WILKES - More by this author » Last updated at 11:24am on 27th February 2008 Eunice Johns: 'I can give love and security' They are devoted foster parents with an unblemished record of caring for almost 20 vulnerable children.   But Eunice and Owen Johns have been forced to abandon their good work because they refuse to tell children as young as ten that homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle. To do so, they say, would go against their Christian beliefs. The devastated couple withdrew an application... The Daily Mail (U.K.) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1977210/posts#comment Wed, 27 Feb 2008 19:07:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1975977/posts At lunch recently, a father of four who works in publishing told me he occasionally gives his children "a clip around the ear". The threat of minor violence, he said, was the fastest way to get his brood into the people carrier if they were all to get out of the house on time. It wasn't so much the fact that this otherwise modern thirtysomething father would slap his children that shocked me, but the fact that he spoke about it so openly. A decade ago, he might have been worried that I'd call social services - or at least... Gulf News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1975977/posts#comment Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:57:10 GMT