Parenting Articles

Why I teach my kids that Santa isn’t real

We never told our kids that Santa Claus was real. No north pole, reindeer flying through the air, he slides down the chimney and brings you presents. But we pretend. It was make-believe fun. It's not that I'm against the nostalgic holiday. I love Christmas lights and...

10 ideas to keep the conversation nice at family gatherings

What will you be talking about at the holiday table? Some people find camaraderie by putting other people down. It happens in the best of families too. It happens at the workplace and school. But it's especially damaging in the family. Sometimes it's just a bad habit....

The skill of self confidence in five steps

I try to instill self-confidence in my kids -- without being a dragon mother. And you can't be a phoney baloney when you praise your kids -- they recognize it. While watching my children grow up, I tried to perceive their natural abilities and encourage them to...

Learning to Listen

I have often heard that women like to vent, talk about their problems, disclose what’s going on, that kind of thing. But, I have also heard that women don’t really want their man to “fix-it”. They just want to talk about it. And they want someone to listen and...
Dog personalities

Dog personalities

My dog grabs the ear of other dogs, all playful-like, but super annoying. She has been doing this ever since we got...

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The Nursery

 The Nursery--a special room for the baby--a place where babies and young children go.  If you're a Mormon it's the...

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Bing Day

Bing Day

Today must be a bing day. My little granddaughter, 18 mos old shared her bottle and her bing (pacifier) with me this...

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