How mothers and their new partners feel about becoming a stepfamily is one thing, and how the children involved feel is quite another. In 2009, more than 7 percent of children lived with at least one stepparent, yet much of the research and writing on the topic centers on how the adults navigate this new family dynamic. [...]
Parent Coaching is Latest Self-Help Approach
April 11, 2013 | Posted by
OBURN, Mass. – What tripped Lisa D’Annolfo Levey’s maternal tolerance meter on a recent Tuesday afternoon was not just the toy football her 7-year-old son, Skylar, zinged across the living room, nearly toppling her teacup. Or the karate kick sprung by her 4-year-old, Forrest, which she ducked, barely. The clincher was the full-throttle duel with [...]
Ray Charles’ Children Win Latest Round of Copyright Fight vs. Ray Charles Foundation
January 30, 2013 | Posted by
The latest salvo in the copyright lawsuit between the Ray Charles Foundation and seven of the late singer’s children finds the court ruling in favor of the children. The ruling allows them to reclaim copyrights on about 60 of Charles’ classic songs, including I Got a Woman, A Fool for You, Hallelujah I Love Her So and [...]
Foul Play: How to Deal with Children and Profanity
October 22, 2012 | Posted by
When a four-letter word falls out of your child’s mouth, figuring out how to stop the behavior before it becomes a habit is likely to be your first priority. And while you may not want to admit that day will ever come, unless your home happens to be a particularly sheltered one, chances are very [...]
New Study: A Reliable Environment Critical to Fostering Self-Control In Children
October 15, 2012 | Posted by
The so-called marshmallow test – one of the most fascinating experiments in child psychology – just got even more interesting. In studies first conducted in the 1960s, researchers presented children with a marshmallow and told them if they could resist eating it for a few minutes they would get two marshmallows. It was discovered that [...]
Character Trumps Grade Point Average
September 25, 2012 | Posted by
Are you more interested in your child’s grade point average or his or her character and sense of personal responsibility? Give yourself a big pat on the back if you answered character and responsibility! Children who grow up in a home where character and responsibility are modeled, valued, and enforced often have little trouble being [...]
Graça Machel: Education Holds the Key to Africa’s Development
September 19, 2012 | Posted by
“Economists like to debate precisely why education makes a difference. But the real reason is simple enough, and it can be summarized in one word – and that word is ‘empowerment’.” My husband, Nelson Mandela, once described education as “the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” He was right. But I [...]
Paul Ryan Called Immigrant Children ‘Anchor Babies’
August 15, 2012 | Posted by
Rep. Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney’s new running mate, used the perjorative term “anchor babies” to describe the children of illegal immigrants during a town hall meeting last year in Wisconsin. During a question and answer period, Ryan was asked a long rambling question by a man who used the term to describe children in southern [...]
Do We Push Our Kids More Than We Push Ourselves
July 12, 2012 | Posted by
As parents, we want our children to have the best of everything. The best education, the best friends and grow up with the best values. Along with having those desires for them comes our urgent need to push them in certain areas. I find myself really challenging my children to step outside of their comfort zones. [...]
Parenthood May Reduce the Risk of Catching a Cold
July 6, 2012 | Posted by
A new study suggests that being a parent may boost immunity to cold-causing viruses, though researchers acknowledge it may not always feel that way. In a series of experiments where adults had viruses placed directly into their noses, parents were about half as likely to get sick as adults who did not have children. Researchers [...]
