The title is self-explanatory. Most of us come here with complaints about everything from the weather to the government to the dog down the street. The problem is most of us just complain and don’t have suggestions. Recently I wrote about obesity because it has become a major topic of discussion in New York at [...]
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March 19, 2010
Posted by Minnette Coleman in: Advice, Children, Diet, Family, Habit Change, Health & Fitness, Uncategorized
 2 comments March 11, 2010
Posted by Kaye in: Accountability, Attitude, Children, Commentary, Economic Crisis, Education, Family, Governance, Habit Change, Homeland Security, Legal, Opinion, Politics, Social Issues, The Economy
3 comments Today, like every weekday, I got in my car, after work, and head for home listening to NPR. I’ve been thinking about this for some time now and today, after hearing a piece on NPR about Kansas City, Missouri’s school board approving a plan to close 26 schools in one district and Cleveland, Ohio’s school [...] March 4, 2010
Posted by Minnette Coleman in: Accountability, African-American, Attitude, Children, Commentary, Education, Family, Freedom
18 comments My youngest sister does not remember her first taste of prejudice but I do. It was an incident that shaped my understanding of race for many years to come. She was barely three years old so I must have been about 10, my other sister 7. My mother had taken her three girls to Rich’s [...] March 2, 2010
There is a dynamic in the family that has changed a lot since I moved to Manhattan. More fathers are taking charge of their children, a very good thing in my eyes. They walk them to school and take them to the park. They spend time with them. For many of these fathers it is [...] February 25, 2010
Posted by Lena in: Children, Creative Writing, Entertainment, Humor, Literature, Opinion
One comment I don’t want to say that I live in a bizarre world but you see I reside in a town called Topsy Turvy in the country of Before. My name is Todd and I live on a small farm with my parents and my grandfather. I go to school and am proud to be at [...] February 24, 2010
Posted by Minnette Coleman in: Children, Commentary, Diet, Education, Health & Fitness
Leave a comment Quiet as it is kept I love to bake and am pretty good at it. When my kids were in New York City public schools I participated in some of the bake sales to raise money for different school needs. Now bake sales are no longer allowed because of concern in the city about childhood [...] February 17, 2010
Posted by scottqmarcus in: Attitude, Children, Family, Habit Change, Health & Fitness, Inspiration & Motivation, Life Experiences, Mental Health, Motivation, Personal Experiences, Recovery, Relationships, Travel, Wellness
Leave a comment As I watched the drama, it dawned on me that this process of learning does not end when we move away from our parents. It is a sequence that presents itself continually: Frustration. Lesson. Acceptance. Progress. Repeat cycle as necessary until [...] February 16, 2010
Posted by Tyree Harris in: Children, Commentary, Creative Writing, Family, Freelance Author, Heroes, Journalism, Life Experiences, Motivation, Non-Fiction, Opinion, Relationships, The Writer's Corner
8 comments Dad’s love overcomes obstacles by Tyree Harris Four-year-old Amirya Skyler doesn’t know how lucky she is. Lying on her dad’s bed in a one-bedroom apartment murmuring “I love you” in her sleepy little voice, you’d never guess that she’s seen everything from drug addiction and abandonment to custody battles and adjusting to life with a man she [...] February 15, 2010
I am a Servant of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ With a message that could make a difference in your children’s life To all whom God has blessed with children Do not harden your heart, please take heed, and listen The Bible tells you not to spare the rod of correction Many of you don’t obey and your children lives [...] February 12, 2010
Posted by Minnette Coleman in: Advice, Children, Commentary, Family, Habit Change, Health & Fitness
Leave a comment Believe it or not I was a skinny little girl. I climbed trees, dug deep mud holes and ran with the boys. The only girls to play with in my neighborhood were my sisters and they were a few years younger and a whole lot prissier. Now being overweight I see that my youth was [...] February 8, 2010
Posted by Prentiss Gray in: Advice, Children, Communications, Creative Writing, Education, Family, Humor, Lifestyle, Satire
Leave a comment Chapter 7 – Dealing with Schools For most of us dealing with the teachers and administration at our child’s school can be a difficult process. Many of us approach this important task with needless trepidation or false conceptions. We were once students ourselves and may have built up a habit of obeying or even expecting punishment or [...] February 7, 2010
Posted by Tim Roux in: Children, Education, Family, Social Aspects, Social Issues, Sociology
6 comments I can already see the shock on your faces, the blood leeching from your veins, the rolling of your eyes. Such a dysfunctional attitude might be catching. It might be socially and irresistibly viral. As parents, we spend every day combating even the hint of its symptoms, like ‘flu and cancer. “But you must go to [...] February 5, 2010
Today one of my brothers-in-law buries his mother. I am not even sure if I ever met her for I don’t remember her from the wedding. But today as he lays her to rest my family will be there to support him. Not a family he was born into but a family he got when [...] January 27, 2010
Posted by Bob Grant - Editor in: Children, Comments & Discussion, Current Events, Family, Question of the Day, Relationships, Sex
2 comments Sex Education in Schools – too much, too little, just right? We welcome your thoughts and comments January 26, 2010
The First of all Virtues – Part 3 Since the episode with the punk kids, that mother who thought I needed reason for keeping them off our driveway doesn’t talk to me or acknowledge that I am alive if we pass each other on the street. After all, I ratted out her precious, perfect child [...] January 26, 2010
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse in: Attitude, Children, Commentary, Family, Personal Experiences
Leave a comment The First of all Virtues – Part 2 “Hey, old man, you can’t stop us. You can’t take our picture because it’s dark.” Those were the words I heard after dark one night during the summer of 2008 from a pack of kids taunting me as they raced in and out of our steep driveway [...] January 19, 2010
I laid upon the grass one day Where butterflies were spun of gold I rode the clouds amongst the trees December 28, 2009
Yesterday I learned that an old friend buried her daughter, barely 30 years old, on Saturday. The young woman died of breast cancer that had gone into remission and then returned. I was not going to speak about this since I have another dear friend who reads our website and has a son who died [...] December 19, 2009
The Eventual, Perfect Gift December 17, 2009
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority handed the citizens of New York City big lumps of coal yesterday in the form of big service cuts. Two subway lines will be shut down, lots of bus service will decrease and they will phase out free fare for the city’s school children. Did they get a memo to make the [...] December 11, 2009
Posted by AngelaPoseyArnold in: Children, Creative Writing, Faith, Family, Fiction, General Topics, Humor, Poetry
Leave a comment More rapid than an eagle, his Ford truck [...] December 7, 2009
Last year was my granddaughter’s first Christmas in New York. Her parents had moved back to care for her father’s ailing mother and grandmother. That meant having 2 year old Alicia close by all the time. She didn’t talk much back then because everyone anticipated her every need. She was the baby on both sides [...] November 24, 2009
In our city, like a lot of other places, we have a recycle bin that we put out every week with our trash. Using this as an idea – my daughter who is a teacher for the 7th grade gifted program in her middle school – gave her students a project. They were to collect the recycled [...] November 24, 2009
Nadya Suleman looks good for a woman with 14 children. She should she has more help and more access to money that any woman I know with one child. True she spends $1,000 or more a week for food, has 8 loads of laundry to do (or have done) every day and sleeps only a [...] November 19, 2009
Posted by Minnette Coleman in: Children, Family, Inspiration & Motivation, Lifestyle, Marketing
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Like most artists I would prefer making a living from my art. For the majority of us that never happens and we have to make do with professions outside of the creative. Sometimes we get lucky and land a job we enjoy. Sometimes we land [...] November 15, 2009
My wife and I decided it was time to educate our 4-month old granddaughter to the pleasures of our local mall – here is how she started the day and her thoughts on her experience: Wanting to keep my “Girlish Figure” I started the day with aerobics on the Mat.
After a quick “liquid breakfast” – I [...] November 9, 2009
Posted by Minnette Coleman in: Advice, Biography & Memoir, Children, Creative Writing, Family
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Sometimes life is all about family even though we are not aware of it. Thanksgiving dinner is usually one of those times when family and friends we consider family gather together to give thanks and to just be together. Being a real family unit is [...] November 5, 2009
When my children were eight and five, they used to love listening to a couple of Barefoot Books CDs in the car and as they settled down to sleep – ‘Tales of Wisdom & Wonder’ narrated by Hugh Lupton and ‘Grandmothers’ Stories’ narrated by Olympia Dukakis. Coming from Barefoot Books, these were charming multicultural tales suffused [...] November 2, 2009
The man sat on the train between the two girls with a big smile on his face. “His” girls, he called them and they gave a required half earnest smile. His arms hung over their shoulders safely above the breasts so no one could say that he was touching them inappropriately. His smile was all [...] October 30, 2009
Posted by schreiberapfel in: Biography & Memoir, Children, Family, General Topics, Inspiration & Motivation
One comment April 2007 She bagged 5 Gold Medals and 6 Certificates. She received gold medals for being the Class Valedictorian, Academic Citation for Science – RIPRISA Champion, Loyalty Award, Hon. Ramon Ilagan Academic Excellence Award, and the BEST of all awards: the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Academic Excellence and Leadership Award. She received certificates for the following: Certificate [...] October 21, 2009
Posted by scottqmarcus in: Children, Diet, Habit Change, Health & Fitness, Inspiration & Motivation, Mental Health, Nutrition, Weight loss, Wellness
2 comments When I’m bored, I want to eat. When I’m sad, I eat. When I’m angry — you got it. You know, there are people who, when they’re bored, they read a book? When they’re sad, they call a friend; and when they’re angry, they take a walk. There’s a clinical term for that kind of personality: it’s called [...] October 21, 2009
This is an open invitation to both our contributors – and our viewers – to post articles and brag about their children. If you don’t have children – please feel free to brag about any one of your relatives. For our contributors – they can post directly to our site. For our viewers – they [...] October 19, 2009
Last week most of us were attached to the news hoping that a six year old boy was in the runaway balloon and he was safe. When it touched down and there was no child inside I am sure many people believed he had fallen [...] October 13, 2009
Posted by psuedowriter in: Children, Commentary, Current Events, Humor, Opinion, Social Issues
2 comments I was incensed to read recently about a 6-year-old Cub Scout who was suspended from school after bringing a camping utensil to the lunchroom. Zachary Christie was only sentenced to reform school for 45 days. Frankly, I would have thought federal penitentiary would have been more fitting.
October 13, 2009
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Children, Commentary, Comments & Discussion, Current Events, Family, Opinion
Leave a comment Ruining Halloween for Everyone When I was a kid, some seven decades ago, Halloween was one of the most enjoyable holidays other than Christmas. The sixth graders in my town, in cooperation with local merchants, would paint Halloween scenes on the windows of stores and, on the great night, kids of all ages would go [...] September 29, 2009
Thank you, Bob, for the opportunity to brag. I think that’s what grandparents do best. I have two grandsons: Jonathan, who is three, and Elijah, who is ten and a half weeks old. They are, of course, my pride and joy. I don’t have much to tell about Elijah, except that he’s already wearing nine-month clothes and [...] September 28, 2009
Posted by Bob Grant - Editor in: Children, Comments & Discussion, Creative Writing, Family, Personal Experiences
One comment This is our new 2-month old granddaughter. My wife and I realize there are many children/grandchildren in the world – but this one is special – to us. We are fortunate enough that we both can afford to stay home and take care of her during the day while our daughter and Son-in-law work. We [...] September 14, 2009
I used to start cycling at the back of the house, wobble unsteadily around the tight Oil Storage Tank corner with its faint but persistent petroleum whiff, build up speed down the crackling side path against the wooden weave fence, emerge into the daylight beyond the rose garden to complete a celebratory and triumphant sweep [...] September 12, 2009
At thirteen, I was sent away to public school which meant that it was a private school anybody could attend whose parents were very, very rich. It was called ‘public’ because it was open to anyone (whose parents were very, very rich), not closed (in favour of whom exactly?). What is ever closed to the [...] September 11, 2009
Posted by Peggy Noonan in: Children, Current Events, Family, Heroes, History, Terrorism, The Writer's Corner
One comment The Children of 9/11 Grow Up by Peggy Noonan It is eight years since 9/11, and here is an unexpected stage of grief: fear that the ache will go away. I don’t suppose it ever will, but grieving has gradations, and “horror” becomes “absorbed sadness.” Life moves on, [...] September 8, 2009
Posted by Bill Hazelgrove in: Accountability, Children, Current Events, Democracy, Education, Entertainment, Opinion, Politics, Television, The Media
3 comments President Obamas speech–victimized again by television by Bill Hazelgrove Television may appeal to what is banal and base and it may be low art but it should not be used to hurt our democracy. We have been victimized again. Talking heads on the left and the right have hacked it out over the Presidents speech to school [...] September 7, 2009
Saturday morning we packed a van to take our youngest daughter back to school. Although classes don’t start at her university for two weeks she had to move in because this year, her senior year, she will be working as a Resident Advisor for one floor of a very large dorm. The packing had been intense [...] September 5, 2009
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Children, Communications, Current Events, Education, Governance, Inspiration & Motivation, Opinion, Politics
One comment Here Comes the President. Hide the Kids! By Alan Caruba So the President wants to get the school year off with a speech to all the kids from kindergarten to twelfth grade. Under normal circumstances, this would not arouse my comment although it must be said that I do not recall any previous president doing this. I do [...] August 31, 2009
It has been a long time since I spent time with my oldest daughter that did not involve her new family or her child. Whenever she comes over to visit now that she is back in New York, she brings our granddaughter, a bright smiling three year old with lots of energy. We get lost in [...] August 26, 2009
Posted by scottqmarcus in: Attitude, Children, Diet, Family, Habit Change, Inspiration & Motivation, Mental Health, Motivation
Leave a comment They – whomever “they” are – have erroneously told us that confidence is acquired as the result of years on the planet. Yet, after observing this energetic, welcoming, unabashed toddler, I wonder; maybe self-assurance is our birthright – not the self-doubt with which we saddle [...] August 26, 2009
There are some afternoons when I think if I hear that damn bell one more time I’m gonna scream. The ice cream man, the other truck with frozen treats play some stupid tune to announce their presence and before you know it the song is stuck in your head and every damn kid in the neighborhood is running [...] August 21, 2009
Posted by James BlueWolf in: Accountability, Attitude, Children, Current Events, Economic Crisis, Economics, Education, General Topics, Habit Change, Native American, Opinion, Social Classes, Social Issues, Television, The Economy, Uncategorized
Leave a comment It’s soccer season and suddenly the circle has come round and my wife and I are re-creating our lives from the early 1980’s. Instead of five children, it’s three children and five grandchildren. But times have changed and where we originally had to scrape and scurry to come up with money to sign them up [...] August 20, 2009
Posted by AMusico in: Attitude, Children, Creative Writing, Lifestyle, Nature/Wildlife, Spirituality
2 comments Have you been feeling a little down on yourself lately? Like “ordinary” just doesn’t even begin to describe how you see yourself? Feeling like you just are not doing anything well enough? I think we all feel that way at times. At least I will admit I do. I want to share something with you [...] July 9, 2009
While both men and women suffer from osteoporosis, it occurs more dramatically July 9, 2009
Posted by AMusico in: Children, Family, Inspiration & Motivation, Marriage, Spirituality, Women's Perspective
Leave a comment Motherhood is a noble profession and a sacred responsibility. As a mother, you are the most important person in your child’s life. Without in any way diminishing the role or importance of the father, it is the mother who has been created to be the loving, nurturing figure in her child’s life. Once children reach school-age, teachers and coaches play a primary role in their lives. Many mothers assume their role is not as vital as it was during those earlier years, but that is a fallacy. The older a child gets, the more vital it is to continue to be available. Mom remains the most important person in the life of her child, regardless of what society, or her child, say to the contrary! Our challenge as mothers is to realize that until our children have “left the nest” and established homes of their own, we are the most important person in their lives. [...] July 1, 2009
Posted by scottqmarcus in: Attitude, Children, Family, Habit Change, Inspiration & Motivation, Mental Health, Motivation, Weight loss, Wellness
Leave a comment Dinner had finished so they retired to the living room, leaving the pile of plates and cups in the sink. After all, dishes will wait, your daughter’s potential first steps will not. [...] June 21, 2009
Having a child is a choice—whether from a casual relationship or marriage. Regrettably, there are many kids who are ultimately made to feel like the consequence of a parent’s poor choice in life. [...] June 20, 2009
One of, if not the most disgusting, despicable behaviors on this planet is kidnapping women and children, moving them from country to country and state to state and selling them as sex slaves. According to a report by attorney Bradley A. Blakeman, “hundreds of thousands of young children and women are being abducted and treated as [...] May 31, 2009
Posted by Alan Caruba in: Accountability, Children, China, Current Events, Education, Entertainment, Motivation, Opinion, Social Issues, Television
2 comments Stupefying America If you have a suspicion that many of your fellow Americans are too stupid to trust with the great affairs of this nation, you might just be right, but you might not know why. Take a look at the choices television offers. Do you ever wonder why shows featuring stupid people or animated [...] May 27, 2009
The fact that I have three year old granddaughter amazes many. The fact that I have children amazes more. Though not a conceited or selfish woman I was never programed like many females in this society to exist just to be a mother. Being a vessel for the next generations took a back seat to higher [...] May 4, 2009
Perhaps there are better ways to discipline a child then putting them out of a car when they are acting out. I promised to do that with my siblings when my mother would force me to take them somewhere. Not being a parent or even thinking about being one at the time I had a system. They [...] April 27, 2009
Whenever I bring up something that really happened on the subway people think I made it up. Life has always been more interesting than fiction and if you reside in New York you tend to see it played out every day. I have learned over the years to take notes and try not to stare [...] April 26, 2009
Giving is a wonderful job that accompanies a wonderful feeling but it creates its own problems. People who are in the business of giving- help, shelter, food, clothing even money- often face criticism that what they do is generous but does not alleviate the problem [...] April 19, 2009
In the ten years since the massacre at Columbine High School not much has changed with high school students. In fact all the things that led to two young men planning to kill other students didn’t improve. There are metal detectors at schools and sensitivity training abounds but we have forgotten that the way we [...] April 16, 2009
For many years I have had the honor and sometimes pleasure of judging scholarship contests for teens. When The New World Foundation and Parade magazine joined efforts for the react Take Action Awards I would spend months reading over the application essays. When the contest [...] April 14, 2009
Posted by Minnette Coleman in: Children, Current Events, Family, Inspiration & Motivation
Leave a comment Could we all get over ourselves and the enormous pressures we think we are all under and be happy for just a minute? It could be like the moments of silence we have when someone passes, or the dimming of lights on Broadway. It could be just one minute past [...] March 25, 2009
The Education Wars
America is losing the education wars to countries like China and India. The reason for that is that the Chinese and the Indians love almost everything American. India even has their own Hollywood churning out movies by the hundreds. It’s called Bollywood.
China and India have hundred of millions of people that [...] March 24, 2009
Posted by James BlueWolf in: Children, Current Events, Education, Environmental Issues, Family, General Topics, Inspiration & Motivation, Lifestyle, Native American, Nature/Wildlife, Non-Fiction, Philosophical Genres, Politics, Relationships, Religion, Social Aspects, Social Classes, Social Issues, Sociology, Spirituality, Uncategorized
3 comments Of all the words that Traditional People favor, Respect is the one used the most. It implies many things: values, morality, character, compassion, commitment, relationship, and more that is unspoken, but understood. We think it is the foundation of Traditional Life. March 5, 2009
Posted by John Joss in: Book Review, Children, Creative Writing, Current Events, Freelance Author, Non-Fiction, Recovery, The Writer's Corner, Women's Rights, Writing Essentials
3 comments I’ve written 20 books, and edited many novels and nonfiction books, but never before have I faced the work of a 20-year-old autodidact recounting her excruciating early years. Here’s the first chapter. I fixed the few errors in grammar, syntax and spelling but left the structure intact. It’s short. Your thoughts? By the way, it’s [...] February 25, 2009
Posted by James BlueWolf in: Children, Education, Family, General Topics, Native American, Philosophical Genres, Social Issues, Sociology, The Economy, Uncategorized
Leave a comment My father was in education for fifty years as a teacher, counselor, psychologist, and administrator. Today he is fond of saying that today’s education systems are obsolete, irrelevant, impractical, and socially dysfunctional. February 25, 2009
Posted by Minnette Coleman in: Accountability, Children, Current Events, Economics, Family, Finance, Inspiration & Motivation
Leave a comment A Baptist friend once told me that Catholics didn’t know what a good thing they had in Lent. We were both trying to loose a few pounds at the time and my friend, soon to become a minister, proselytized stating the virtues of being forced to fast during Lent. Although her point was taken having grown [...] February 12, 2009
Posted by Minnette Coleman in: Children, Economics, Education, Environmental Issues, Finance, Inspiration & Motivation, Uncategorized
Leave a comment You tell yourself you don’t have a dime to spare. You wish the man in the ragged coat would withdraw his hand and not ask for your help. You are tired of seeing the homesless person with the dog sleeping outside on the cold ground. You wish the agencies to assist the needy would loose [...] February 12, 2009
Posted by James BlueWolf in: Children, Current Events, Education, Family, General Topics, Legal, Mental Health, Native American, Philosophical Genres, Politics, Social Classes, Social Issues, Sociology, Uncategorized
3 comments The discipline of children is a controversial topic today. I recently saw an article describing the negative effects of corporal punishment on children– likening it to child abuse. It said that it teaches violence, destroys self esteem, and generally demeans both parent and child. This is just another example of the twisted values of today’s [...] February 11, 2009
Nadya Suleman may turn at to be a good mother but she is not a good citizen. Sometimes we cannot have everything that we want. That hot new cell phone you long for, the designer leather bag you desire so, the over priced shoes that make you feel you are walking on air- you can’t always [...] February 4, 2009
Posted by AngelaPoseyArnold in: Children, Education, General Topics, Inspiration & Motivation, Medical, Non-Fiction, Religion, Self-Help, Short Stories, Social Issues, Spirituality, The Writer's Corner, Uncategorized
One comment “God’s miracle baby, there is no other way to explain it.” He called in other doctors and interns and had her walk up and down the hall. Then he would say to them, “this is the power of praying parents and grandparents, never discount [...] |
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Parental Stress on College Students
In the spring of 1970 the young heir apparent of a wealthy Illinois family committed suicide in a field outside my college campus. His method of self disposal was drinking some type of cleaning fluid he had purchased. I don’t remember if he left a note but I know that he had made an attempt [...]