Have you ever had anyone tell you to give your children back to the Lord when you give birth? I don’t know if that is something that just black families do or if it’s a religious thing, but I gave my kids to the Lord when they were born. I really did not know what that meant. I just thought it was something like a christening without the water. I would learn many years later … [Read more...]
Is it ever too early to protect your children from sexually transmitted disease?
According to new government research released today, the prevalence of the human papillomavirus (HPV) has decreased by nearly two-thirds since the introduction of the HPV vaccine in the United States. Some suggest the news may help to bolster the currently low immunization numbers, which according to the New York Times lie around 40 percent of girls and 20 percent of boys for … [Read more...]
Don’t Blame Your Child…It Really Isn’t Their Fault
If you have been blessed, as I am, to be a parent, you know parenting to be an experience of the greatest highs coupled with the lowest of lows. This is not an exaggeration - parenting is part joy and part pain. Nevertheless, for the lucky parents, parenting is an experience with much more joy than pain. Joy & Pain Yet, no matter how lucky a parent may be, joy and pain … [Read more...]
10 Things Parents Do to Make Their Kids ‘Forever Dependents’
Is it just me, or does it seem that modern parents spoil the crap out of their kids? I'm sorry but if I see one more mom CARRYING a child that is bigger than she is, I'm gonna scream. If the child can walk, why isn't he/she walking? I've seen children that appear to be 6 or 7 years old being pushed in strollers. The child is so big that the feet are dragging the ground. … [Read more...]
6 Tactics for Teaching Teens to Deal with Physical Attraction and Sexual Urges
In my last article, Physical Attractions And Sexual Urges: 5 Things Parents Need to Teach Their Kids, I received a lot of comments requesting more detail. So, instead of ignoring that resounding rebuke, like a man, I’m going to take that one on the chin and inject my opinion about what parent should teach their kids. Let me first prepare you: my approach is not conventional. … [Read more...]
Physical Attractions And Sexual Urges: 5 Things Parents Need to Teach Their Kids
How did you learn about sex? How did you learn about dating? What to do? What not to do? Were you taught by your parents? It’s interesting. As I look back at my training grounds…I learned what not to do from my elders (“don’t do this”…”don’t do that”). But I learned what to do from my friends and the older guys I hung with. The church was helpful at correcting some of what I … [Read more...]
6 Things I Want My Daughter to Know Before She Starts Dating
If my husband has things his way, my daughter won’t start dating until she is 30. I, however, know that things won’t work out that way, so I want to make sure she is prepared for what the world of dating can bring. Thankfully, my baby girl is only 5 months old and I have quite a few years ahead before this dating stuff becomes a reality. With that said, I can assure you that … [Read more...]
New York Ad Campaign Tells Teens the Real Cost of Parenthood
Is your teenager aware of the cost of being a parent? If you haven’t taught them and you live in New York the answer might be as close as your nearest bus stop. Despite the drop in teen pregnancy over the years, Mayor Bloomberg’s office is taking it upon themselves to make sure adolescents know the “real cost of teen pregnancy.” The advertisements, which will run on subways, … [Read more...]
Why It’s So Important to Listen to Your Children
"Listen earnestly to anything [your children] want to tell you, no matter what. If you don't listen eagerly to the little stuff when they are little, they won't tell you the big stuff when they are big, because to them all of it has always been big stuff." ~Catherine Wallace I saw this quote on Pinterest a few days ago and later on Facebook. There hasn't been a day that … [Read more...]
Son’s New iPhone Comes With a Contract Written By His Mom
Normally, cell phones come with a contract or user agreement. However, the contract 13-year-old Greg Hofman received with his new iPhone didn't come from the company...it came from his mom. In an effort to educate her son and send a message to all mobile device users, Janell Hofman wrote up an 18-point contract for him to abide by upon receiving the gift. The agreement, … [Read more...]
Re-Connecting With Your Real Life
I often find myself frustrated with the glaring deficiencies in my teen son's ability to communicate --- what he's saying versus what he means and if he even understands the difference. He says he'll be somewhere when he needs to be picked up but nowadays I can almost gaurantee he'll be somewhere else, waiting for me to call to announce that his driver has arrived. His plans … [Read more...]
Would You Let Your Teen Have Sex In Your Home?
by Rene Syler (www.GoodEnoughMother.com) Since I was out of pocket a good part of the day yesterday shooting a segment for the upcoming Father Albert Show (more on that later but you can see some of the behind the scenes pictures here), one of the loyal GEM's left a link to this story on my Facebook page. Let me say it's a good thing I watched the piece after a good night's … [Read more...]
Teens From PG County Win Black Enterprise Young Entrepreneur Award
When private school bills became too much for the Holland family, instead of pulling their kids out of the school and enrolling them in a cheaper school, they held a family meeting and let their boys Adam and Jonathan come up with a solution. Their idea? A shaved ice business. That was four years ago and now the family business, AJ's Hawaiian Iceez, is racking up the … [Read more...]
The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of
by Eric Payne In our society mediocrity has become the norm. In this economy, hopeless-speak is just what we do. We want more and more; better for our kids yet they listen to us gripe all day long. Many of us get on our knees and pray to a God we cannot see, but won't even make eye-contact with let alone give a penny to, a homeless person stationed on the sidewalk in front … [Read more...]
Safe Haven Nebraska: Cambpell Brown
CNN's Campbell Brown talks about Nebraska's safe haven law that we highlighted yesterday. Check out this video it's pretty interesting and gives more details on some of the parents who have dropped off their kids. Embedded video from <a href="https://www.cnn.com/video" mce_href="https://www.cnn.com/video">CNN Video</a> … [Read more...]