Tag Archive for: parenting process

Parenting the Puppy – Pupdate #2

This puppy thing is a lot of work.  Just as with our children, we console ourselves by saying, “If we put the work in now, we’ll have less to do later.” But that doesn't diminish the magnitude of the required dedication at all. Our friend…

The Kid Pro Quo

According to Merriam Webster Online, a quid pro quo is “something that is given to you or done for you in return for something you have given to or done for someone else.” I believe in the Kid Pro Quo, which I define as “something that…

PUPdate #1

A lot can happen in a week.   Although the puppy has had her share of “accidents,” all in all she’s doing a very good job of being a puppy; chewing on things, fighting imaginary foes, running in circles – all the regular stuff. JoAnn’s…

Parenting the Puppy

We had plans to go out tomorrow night, but those have been cancelled. We’ve been binge watching TV lately, but now we’re too tired. It’s been two days since we got…the puppy! She’s a Golden Retriever.  She’s ten weeks old.  She’s…

Harmony at Home

Imagine a group of musicians each playing a different song, in a different key at a different tempo. It would be chaos – and it would sound terrible. Now imagine a family like that. If you’ve ever played, sung, or performed musically…

Teaching Tolerance

When we were newlyweds ourselves, JoAnn and I were often successful matchmakers. We had one friend in particular - a talented, smart, and handsome co-worker of mine named Phil -- who was very eligible and very single.  I was pretty direct with…

On Fame and Fatherhood

“Don’t get a big head” was what I heard from my high school soccer coach. I had just debuted as the team goalie and we had beaten our biggest rival in a 1-0 shutout. After a childhood filled with criticism fueling piles of self-doubt,…

Building Your Creative Child

I’ve encountered a number of parents who, in their zeal to have “creative” children, resist discipline in their parenting process. They explain that they “want their child to be free to create” and to be “undiminished by structure”…

Parenting – The Shared Adventure

What happens when two strong individuals come together to raise a child?  Are they able to surrender control?  How do they deal with sharing tasks?  Who gets to be right and who gets to be wrong?  How can they make positive communication…

Necessity is the Mother of Happiness

None of us should expect to be happy all the time.  We can, however, choose to be happy most of the time, and being happy is not only a matter of perspective, but also a healthy long-term strategy. Although the expression is "Necessity is…