Camping in GA
We went camping last weekend at Redtop Mountain. It went well. This was our first time so it was a bit bumpy, but fun. The kids had a great time. We are looking for the next place. Here are some candidates:
We went camping last weekend at Redtop Mountain. It went well. This was our first time so it was a bit bumpy, but fun. The kids had a great time. We are looking for the next place. Here are some candidates:
From Michelle Malkin: MOMMYBLOGGING: ON THE BOOB TUBE
It seems that Babs objects to eating in public. I don't get it. Why are people so freaked out? I can understand objecting to sexuality in public but nutrition?
I had saved an article to read from the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine. This was published on November 7, 2004, and written by NEIL SWIDEY. The article is called All Talked Out.
This really hit a nerve. I have been very concerned by parents I see who don't set boundaries for their kids, and just can't say no. The article posits that this is partially because the kids are so linguistically precocious, but that this is an illusion. The children are imitating complex speech and that they don't really understand the abstractions behind it. This is just another way that they are manipulating the parent/child relationship. In the end children want boundaries, but absent that they will run the relationship and get what they can.
Michelle Malkin: MOMMYBLOGGING: PORN STAR PROM DRESSES
I am with Michelle. I don't get this trend. Why do you let your kids dress like pr0n stars. I see mothers and daughters both dressed like they should be on a street corner. I wonder if this is a result of boboism, or if this is just a sign of the further decline of our culture.
Tv allowance looks like a neat tool to limit tv viewing. I need this ;-)
A letter to Dear Abby caught my attention...
From the Telegraph:
Relate said: "We need to make sure that people are properly prepared for marriage. Sometimes they think about the lovely wedding day and assume that the rest of their life will echo that. But it is just the beginning.
"You have two people coming together into one relationship and you have to be prepared to make adjustments."
The Observer discusses a recent study about "Poaching". This is the practice of stealing a partner from a committed relationship. Anyone easily led astray is not a good mate. Go figure.
I think the Marriage as a modern institution is in deep trouble. This article from The Atlantic attests to that. It seems that people marry because they don't know what else to do in a relationship. The taboos against taking up married behavior (cohabitation, having children) are gone. I am not saying the good old days were perfect, but marriage as an institution was definitely more sacred and important.
We know from studies that children in two parent households are better off. That is not to say they can't be fine in a single parent house, but on average they are better in an intact married house.
Marriage and the vows of marriage are sacred and holy. This aspect is ignored today. Instead, it is just a big party. It validates consumer choices, and those choices can be undone quickly.
It is ironic that the only people left that seem to want to get married for life are gay. The main function in marriage should be life-long commitment, shared risk/reward, and raising children. This should be a faith based institution only. I think domestic partnerships should be the secular equivalent that is sanctioned by the government. This would disestablish marriage as a state institution, but it might highlight it as a moral choice.It is ironic that the only people left that seem to want to get married for life are gay. The main function in marriage should be life-long commitment, shared risk/reward, and raising children. This should be a faith based institution only. I think domestic partnerships should be the secular equivalent that is sanctioned by the government. This would disestablish marriage as a state institution, but it might highlight it as a moral choice.
This from clarkhoward.com:
Kids watching TV as infants
Clark saw a report from the Kaiser Foundation about how parents are raising children, and some of the news was frightening. Multimedia is taking over our lives, it seems. One in four children under age 2 have a television set in the nursery. Some parents are playing cartoons and videos to keep infants quiet and busy before they are aware of whats going on around them. Some are even playing video games as young as age 3. And special computer software is now being offered to kids as young as six months old. Having kids so engaged with electronics at such a young age is not a good thing. Clark doesnt think that watching television is a bad thing in itself. He used to watch tons of TV. But today he doesnt watch much at all, except for football. So, it didnt harm his life. But television can become a substitute for human interaction, and that is not healthy. Kids need to play and involve their bodies as well as their minds. We hear a lot about how kids are obese and need more exercise. But kids also need to exercise their imaginations as often as possible.