I passed two people on my walk from the parking lot this morning who were discussing their kids. This is the extent of the conversation I heard:   "My kids are still little and at home." "Yeah, my kids are grown up and out of the house.  In fact, I sent both my daughters to four years of college and all they're doing is raising kids at home."   I can't let that kind of blinkard stupidity go unchallenged.  I turned around and told the man (after apologizing for ...

I'm going to be honest with you guys and do something I've frequently hesitated to do: reveal a real, ongoing problem at home. My son failed four classes last semester with no relief in sight. Our oldest son, Ben, was in a charter school that focused on math, science, and technology. A perfect fit for our really bright son, we thought. But since his sixth grade year (he's halfway through 7th grade now), they've sent home hours and hours of homework in addition to the intense class w...

I am the parent of four kids: ages 11, 9, 6, and 2. They are learning and trying to make their way in the world. It's my wife and my job to raise them in a way that makes them the best possible people. We do not live in a bad neighborhood. In fact, we live in a pretty darn good area. There appears to be no gang activity, no drugs, and it's relatively graffiti-free. So why is it that whenever I take my kids to the store there is inevitably some idiot thumpin' his gangsta rap all up and...

I don't want allowances to be a handout. I want to teach my children the value of work while also teaching the value of saving versus spending. Hopefully I can instill in my children a good attitude towards money, something that both my wife and I didn't get in our own childhoods. I give my kids an allowance, based on their participation in household chores. The chores are leveled in difficulty for the age of the child: I don't require my 5-year-old to perform the same chores my 11-ye...

Wow. I have been busy busy busy. First of all, I have been working 40+ hours a week at my great job . I love my job, but I've been having to work through lunches and some overtime in order to get things sorted out. The life of a worker in my field is never done. Then when I get home, I have four kids to take care of. They are wonderful, don't get me wrong, but they keep us very busy. Ben is now 10, Dylan is 8, Emilie is 5, and Zachary is 19 months old. I will post pictures so...

Regarding the question of breast feeding your baby: Do it. Best for the child; bets for the mother. According to La Leche League , there are definite benefits for baby. They cite the book "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" quite a bit, too: Benefits for Baby Chapter 18 of THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING, "The Superior Infant Food," documents the benefits of breastfeeding such as the antibodies in it to protect the baby from illness. For example, "Deaths from respiratory infe...

My kids are so funny. We just moved here from Texas, so this is our first true winter since 1998. We're not used to snow. We're not familliar with snow. We see movies about snow, but we just don't seem to get any snow. Not the real lasting kind, certainly. We had ice storms in Texas, but no real snow of any volume. So last night my kids were in a tizzy. The weather forecast predicted 2-5 inches of snow for us, as much as 6-10 inches down in northern Virginia (sorry Dr. Guy and Pseud...

It is so tough to keep my son, Benjamin, focused and motivated to practice his saxophone. He recently took up the tenor sax and it's very daunting for him. Mostly because he's such a perfectionist! He feels like he should already be able to play every note without any errors. He feels like he should get the sax to play "Greensleeves" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" just like it's supposed to. He also feels behind the other kids, since we moved into the school district in October and ...

I have a problem with my son, Dylan. He's seven years old and just doesn't get that he needs to use the toilet every time he goes to the bathroom. Mostly pee, sometimes both. He doesn't wet the bed; he gets up in the night to pee. We have been going over this with him, and we thought he had it at the age of three. He was using the potty every time and it wasn't an issue. But he's had ongoing problems with accidents. We've used rewards, punishments, and a combination of both. P...

My kids are totally into Spongebob Squarepants, Danny Phantom, and Fairly Oddparents. Oh man, the TV doesn't get turned from Nickelodeon until we have to tear them away to do homework, bathe, go to bed, etc. Do you have the same problems with your kids? How do you get them away from the TV once they get started? I'm no pushover, and I do get my way over them eventually. But is there a way to get them off the TV without being the bad guy?

Hey JU all, Hope y'all are having a great Halloween night. It's bedtime now, and wanted to see if you got as much candy as we did, and if you gave away as much candy as we did, too. Ben went as a sorceror, Dylan as a mummy, and Emilie went as Hermione Granger. Very cool bunch of kids, indeed. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

As you may know, we just moved to the state of Maryland, and I enrolled my kids in school. They started on October 3rd. My kids then had October 4th off for Rosh Hashanah. They had the 13th off for Yom Kippur. They have today (October 21st) off for the teachers to attend an MSTA convention/staff development day. Anne Arundel County 2005-06 School Calendar So, I am all for diversity and religious holidays. And I certainly have nothing against the teachers honing their professional s...

Well, June has come. Sometime this month, my wife will give birth to baby #4, a boy, and we're excited. We are quite fond of our other three, and we're very happy that number 4 is coming along. People are so funny... they expect that after 11 1/2 years of marriage, that we'd have 1 or 2 kids. Nope, we will soon have four. My point in putting this up on my site is to let you know that four is not weird, four is healthy but intimidating. Not everyone can have four kids, just as not ever...