Halloween came and went, but Marion Salmon Hedges wasn’t able to hand out the hundreds of dollars worth of candy she purchased for the underprivileged children who annually visit her Manhattan neighborhood. Instead, she has spent the past 10 days in a medically induced coma at New York’s Harlem Hospital Center. Mrs. Hedges was the […]
The story related in last week’s Pennsylvania grand jury report had all the ingredients of a classic sex abuse scandal: a popular, successful authority figure suspected for years of molesting boys, a host of higher-ups unwilling to report him to police and a trail of vulnerable children left to suffer unspeakable violations while powerful adults […]
ABC has just announced that on Thanksgiving Day, as Americans sit back to digest the turkey and stuffing, the network will air a 90-minute prime-time special “A Very Gaga Thanksgiving.” Call me a cynic, but I’m thinking this won’t be your typical “Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” kind of show. Hopefully, the pop star won’t be wearing […]
In her National Post article “Only planet: Why one child is often enough,” Connie Jeske Crane reviews Susan Newman’s book The Case for the Only Child: Your Essential Guide. The book challenges the negative stereotypes surrounding the phenomenon of “onlies” — children who grow up with no siblings. She confronts the societal notion that only children […]
What comes to mind when you hear the word “parenting?” Perhaps being attentive, nurturing, caring, loving and wanting what’s best for a child. But what happens when parents’ good intentions go awry? Take the case of Thomas Lobel: Thomas was adopted by same-sex couple Pauline Moreno and Debra Lobel when he was 2 years old.[1] […]
A few months ago, I was e-commiserating with a friend about the physical challenges of having children. We were neighbors in the hospital as she delivered her seventh on the same day my fifth was born. Obviously, neither of us were surprised with the toll childbirth, sleepless nights, and nursing took on us. With the […]
If there’s one thing virtually everyone can agree on, it’s that bullying is bad. In fact, a recent survey commissioned by Care.com, a caregiver referral company, revealed that bullying is the No. 1 concern of parents of school-aged children — even more so than the fear of kidnapping. We’re all more aware of, and alarmed […]
The Gray Lady ran an opinion column this weekend by Emily Rapp, mother to 18-month-old Ronan. Ronan has Tay-Sachs disease and, by all medical estimates, will die in a particularly gruesome manner before he is three. The subject is chilling, but I was particularly struck by her critical analysis–wisdom gained in suffering–of our parenting culture. […]
Okay, now this is just sad. Toys help children to learn and prepare them for life. That’s why industrial designer Ben Forman (benformandesign.co.uk) has introduced a new dollhouse to help today’s modern preschooler prepare for the inevitable unhappy changes in her family structure. It’s called Detacho. Detacho families, like so many contemporary American families, can […]
How would you like to be splashed with water as you walk down the street? In Poland, that’s how they say, “Happy Easter!” If you had read last Easter’s issue of St. Mary’s Messenger magazine for children, you would have known that. I recently stumbled upon St. Mary’s Messenger through a phone call from Kris […]
Call it an occupational hazard, but I can’t look at the Occupy Wall Street protesters without thinking, “Who parented these people?” As a culture columnist, I’ve commented on the social and political ramifications of the “movement” – now known as “OWS” – whose fairyland agenda can be summarized by one of their placards: “Everything for […]
Twenty-six years ago today, I gave birth to our first born. Amazing how those years slipped by so quickly. Now he’s a grown man with hopes and dreams of his own, and I feel privileged at being able to witness how they unfold. I remember the day I found out I was pregnant with him. […]
Today was a beautiful fall day and I spent some of it outside blowing bubbles with a two-year-old. I would blow the bubbles and he would chase them and try to catch them – giggling with delight the whole time. As I blew the bubbles again and again, I couldn’t help but reflect on the […]
Every child deserves to be the most important person in the world to someone. The ever pithy Lou Holtz, who said of himself: “I’m so old I don’t even buy green bananas anymore,” once made an observation to the effect of: “80% of people don’t care about you one way or the other. 19% of […]
Have you ever wondered how many people you’ll meet in your lifetime? I was on a road trip with my wife and kids last week and we stopped at the Worlds’ Loneliest McDonald’s. I’ve also been to what local urban legend reputes to be The World’s Busiest McDonalds. It stands all alone amid the never […]
It’s back to school time, which often means it is also back to a frenetic pace of extra-curricular activities. We want our children to be well-rounded and well-educated and so we sign them up for all sorts of things: sports, dance, scouts, library programs, etc. There isn’t anything wrong with any of those things, but […]
Ok, fess up. Are you a good parent or a bad one? Last week, bad parents were all over the news, so if you weren’t plastered throughout the media for pouring hot sauce down your son’s throat, shaving your daughter’s head for lying, or otherwise terrorizing the little ones in your care, you’re not as […]
What does Scripture say to parents about evangelizing their children? At what age of the child should parents begin? One day, the Pharisees tested Jesus with an important question – of all 613 of the Bible’s laws, which is most important? The Lord quickly shot back a response: “you shall love the Lord your God […]
I ask you to share your wisdom. How have you walked this line of taking a strong stance against having sex before marriage while being pro-life and supporting those who have children out-of-wedlock?
How many times have you heard an expectant mom say, “I don’t care if it is a boy or a girl, as long as the baby is healthy?” But what happens when the baby isn’t healthy? How does one’s world change when a child is diagnosed with major health issues, either before or soon after […]
“Home-grown.” “Hand Picked.” “‘Native Produce.” Signs like this are beginning to dot the roadside as sticky hot August rolls into cool crisp September. Ask anyone in my family and they’ll tell you that it is my favorite season of year. Why? Because I absolutely love farmer’s markets, roadside stands, and U-Pick produce! In an age […]
What if our children could be given the gift that Solomon received? During his audience with those gathered at the papal summer residence in Castel Gondolfo recently, Pope Benedict XVI spoke in reference first Mass reading of Sunday July 24, which described Solomon’s request to God for a “docile heart” so that he would know […]
Not too long ago my daughter came up the basement stairs in tears. It seems her two big brothers and one younger brother were destroying her eight year old world and she had had it! “Mom, you have no idea what it is like to have to deal with 3 brothers!” She wailed. A perfect […]
When I decided my daughter’s first birthday cake would be a carrot cake made with whole wheat flour, I should have known God’s humor would one day smack me. Though I have relaxed, when my children were babies, I was a nutrition Nazi. Processed foods didn’t touch our table. When my daughter was three and ate […]
