In 1990 I sat in my office with five or six young men, aged 16 to 18. We had been talking about the gang activity that led to their being sentenced to the residential treatment program where I worked, and where they lived. A little...
Over the years I have taught parenting classes to an assortment of groups and in a variety of venues. But the most memorable has to be the series of classes i taught to “a captive audience” in Lompoc Federal Penitentiary. I learned a great deal in...
“You can never get enough of what you don’t need, because what you don’t need cannot satisfy you.” This observation discussed here two weeks ago (Sept 16) has many applications and implications, and goes a long way toward explaining how we can easily become stuck...
Several weeks ago I wrote about discouragement—the condition in which one finds it difficult to move toward a worthy goal for fear it may not be accomplished as hoped. In that column I discussed ways of helping our children to overcome discouragement. But as a...
There is a good deal of conversation locally about levies and bond elections to make more money available to public schools. Radio and TV ads bemoan Idaho’s standing as “last” in money expended per student, suggesting that this is an accurate indicator of the value...
Ruth and I had been relishing in our first empty-nest experience for the past few months. This past weekend the nest was anything but empty. For the first time in six years all of our children and grandchildren were together. Just a couple of years ago...
One-third of Utah marriages include children from a former marriage or relationship, according to a recent report. That means that one-third of that state’s new families are “blended families”. While I don’t know the statistics for our own state and area I dare say it...
Some time ago my son, Tyler, introduced me to “Honest Trailers” on YouTube, silly reviews of popular films. Last night I saw the clip for the 1990 Christmas comedy “Home Alone” and it hit me—this week Tyler will move out, and Ruth and I will...
Last week I read a book, a whole book. (Pause for applause.) Okay, I’m not the veracious and speedy reader that my wife, Ruth, and daughter, Marissa, are. I pretty much stick to professional articles and only dive into an actual book if I anticipate getting some...
Summer is upon us the time, the time when families load into everything from minivans to 747’s to get away from the grind of daily work and do something just for the sake of fun. In some families great sacrifices will be made to assure...