Index: Culture

“You have blessed our lives and our families so much.” “Thank you so much for coming to teach us! You have to come back. Kenya is a big place. We need more teachings like this.” “I have to admit that I never thought anything good ever comes from America. You have proven me wrong. This is good and I am… Read more »

“Mom, I think I’m in a phase where I just want to dress comfortable instead of cute. For the last couple of weeks, I don’t even think about dressing nice,” said Londyn, my 15-year-old daughter who has an eye for style, and who always looks good. “Do you think it’s really a phase?” I asked. “Yes, it’s just a temporary… Read more »

The first cellular phone became available to the public in 1984. By 2007 Apple had made the Apple iPhone, which has since taken the cellular phone world by storm. In 23 short years, society went from brick-sized phones to handheld computers. Today, smart phones are everywhere. Even many of the tribal people in Africa now carry smart phones. It’s not… Read more »

Chris W. shared this shocking story with me about his experience last week with his son at a California park. “My son and I were playing soccer at a park in the bay area of California. Multiple African American boys came up to my son and started punching him in the head for no reason. When I attempted to stop… Read more »

A Mother’s Question About Building Self Esteem In Children “Emma said to me at bedtime that she thinks that she’s ugly. I’m not exactly sure where she heard this since I’m always telling her how cute she is, but what would you say to your kids if they said that?”… Read more »

Two to three times per day, my 17-year-old son spontaneously comes up to me as I’m coming down the hall or when I’m standing in the kitchen, and wraps his arms around me and gives me a tender, loving hug. “Oh, Mom…I love you,” he says. These hugs are some of the highlights of my days. They truly turn our… Read more »

Trapped! That’s what many people feel like they are right now. Many children are complaining of being bored, or worse, having way too much screen time. Stress is infiltrating more homes globally by the day because businesses are closing their doors, people are losing their jobs, bills are still coming due, social distancing is making people feel disconnected, and there… Read more »

It’s all too common in many modern households to hear sighs, grumbling, complaining and whining from children when parents give reminders of daily work responsibilities, or when additional work assignments are given to children.But, before we think this is the way children have always felt about doing work or that everyone should feel work is somehow one of the punishments… Read more »

As I held my 15-year-old son’s hand and watched the magic of Christmas unfold around me with lights and nativity displays at the city center, I felt that date with my son was a parent’s dream come true. Who doesn’t dream of the perfect parent/child memory? We all want them, but could our desire for that perfect moment be just… Read more »

When I was a teenager I dreamed of what kind of parent I would be. I just new I would be one of those cool moms who had great relationships with her children and always did fun stuff. My husband also had similar visions of coolness. I remember that when we got married he declared. “I don’t want to be… Read more »

No matter the amount of technology that’s developed to filter devices in order to keep children from viewing objectionable material, the mental, physical and spiritual risks of digital devices facing children have never been greater. Note: In this article I’m using the word “phone” liberally to mean all digital devices that are in regular use in the lives of our… Read more »

Dear Teaching Self-Government Friends, Every year we’ve tried to do a “State of Teaching Self-Government” update for you. So much has been happening that we feel like it’s time for one of those updates — even though it’s not January yet. Ever since people started asking us to talk to them about the self-government principles and skills we were using… Read more »