Index: Relationships

I once received a letter from a mom asking how she could help her daughter navigate feelings of anxiety. The daughter would take her feelings out on whatever family member was closest. The mom had pre-taught her daughter that those actions were inappropriate and worked with her to find better alternatives, but it wasn’t working.… Read more »

The multiculturalism of modern society, or desire to promote all ideas or ways of living as good, no matter their opposition to moral, religious, social, and familial cultural norms, is creating negativity and confusion when it comes to attitudes about marriage and family. People have spent their young years reading books and watching movies that end in what many human… Read more »

Nicholeen,I spoke to youin Herrimanabout my 8-year-old daughter.She doesn’t tell me things or talk to me or anyone for that fact (other than day-to-day stuff).I told you she wouldn’t even tell me what she wanted for Christmas, etc.Anyway, you suggested that I have 5 minutes…… Read more »

When was the last time you felt lonely? In order to thrive during these socially unusual times, and even times that aren’t unusual at all, it’s important to understand the difference between being alone and experiencing real loneliness, and what we can do to combat the loneliness epidemic that seems to be sweeping many countries. According to 2021 Harvard research… Read more »

How do you find a good consequence for a thre-year-old who won’t participate in cleaning a shared bedroom? This mother explained to me of her struggle with this issue. This is the advice I gave her.… Read more »

Every year I read Christmas stories to my children each morning for the twelve days of Christmas, and then on December 23rd we read stories and sleep under the Christmas tree for Christmas Eve Eve. It’s one of our favorite Christmas traditions.One story that always gets read on the build-up to Christmas Eve Eve is a story called “The Year… Read more »

I’ve never liked the part in the Christmas song It’s Beginning To Look Like Christmas when it says “Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again.” Every time I hear this it makes me sad. Sad that parents wouldn’t enjoy their children and that they would want them to go away, and sad that our society would… Read more »

Younas and Martha Martin are from a small Christian community in Lahore, Pakistan. While looking for a school to send their daughter to, they researched the top U.S. universities to see which ones had the strongest family values. They ultimately decided upon Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. After their daughter married and settled down in early 2015, she learned… Read more »

Why do we cater to our stresses and forget to choose calmness? After all, calmness is the only state where we truly feel safe and empowered. Stress, anger, and frustration never lead to true empowerment or peace, only emotional bondage.In 1998, when I was the young mother of a small baby and a toddler,and before I went through a complete… Read more »

We can’t afford to serve two masters anymore because our children’s hearts and minds are a prize to be won. For years now, society and media have dually honored both animalistic sexual license as well as humanely nurturing the innocence of children and admiring the goodness of God. Unsurprisingly, basic nurturing and some of God’s truths have been mixed with… Read more »

“Porter, it’s your day to unload the dishwasher,” I said one night after dinner. “Okay,” he said, but then he started playing Legos instead of doing dishes. “Porter, you were told to do the dishes and now you’re playing Legos. You didn’t follow instructions,” I said. Porter immediately interrupted, “But I can’t. It’s too high to put them away.” At… Read more »

While visiting a friend’s house recently, I was asked this very interesting question. “What do you think about parents who let their children run wild and don’t even seem to notice? My neighbor doesn’t even stop her child from climbing my bookcases when they come for a play date. I think they call it ‘free-range’ parenting or something like that.”… Read more »