Consequences of Neglect

Recently I read an article which stated, that according to experts, child neglect can be just as detrimental to a child’s development as physical and sexual abuse. Those are pretty strong words. According to a recent study children of a sampling of 4000 children aged 14 and under, those with repeated history of abuse on average scored lower by 3 IQ points that those children who had not been abused. The sad but interesting thing is children who had been neglected scored equally as poorly as the children who had been abused. So the long term effects of neglect are … Continue reading →

Being Separate

What about the idea of separate holidays for husband and wife? I admit I find it a very odd concept and wonder why you would want to do it. I would never want to go on holiday without Mick. Yet it appears other couples have no problem with this. Recently I heard of a couple who have only been married a few years. He has gone off on a holiday with his mates, while she has an at home holiday of coffees, outings and meals and catching up with her friends. To me it sounds like two individuals who have … Continue reading →

Mother’s Day is Meaningless

Do I really mean that Mother’s Day is meaningless? Yes I do, under certain circumstances. It is meaningless to make a fuss over your mother and celebrate Mother’s Day with a special lunch or dinner and gift of you don’t show her the rest of the year that she is important to you. If you treat her as someone who is there to pick up after you and look after your needs but never stop to think about her and how she is feeling then, why be a hypocrite and celebrate Mother’s Day? The same could be said about husbands … Continue reading →

Discordant Music

On Saturday I watched two DVDs. A Man Called Peter, adapted from the book by his wife, Catherine Marshall, is one I have watched numerous times before. One thing that struck me in A Man Called Peter was his description of marriage. ‘Marriage is a oneness, divine and indivisible.’ Peter Marshall had a lot more to say about marriage. Why not check out the movie? It is a love story between a man and his God, as well as a man and a woman. Dear John adapted from the book by Nicholas Sparks is also a love story and this … Continue reading →

Insurance and Marriage

Yesterday I looked at the idea of insurance for the housewife or stay at home mom, but there are various other kinds of insurance you might need to consider. Insurance against sickness, accident or loss of income for the main worker in the partnership, house insurance, house contents insurance and car insurance are others. Sometimes with the birth of a child, people even take out an insurance policy that will mature and come to their child when they reach a certain age.This is something my parents did and Mick’s parents did too. Unfortunately they were policies that were not going … Continue reading →

Why I Wouldn’t Want to Marry a Prince

I am officially over it and it hasn’t even taken place yet. Of course I’m talking about the royal wedding, which I am doing my level best to ignore. But it is not easy. TV stations here are obsessed with it. I have no doubt the magazine market is too but since I don’t buy magazines and haven’t been near a supermarket or shop in over ten days, I wouldn’t know. It seems to me though that marrying a prince would be awful. Why? I’ll tell you. Firstly you’d live your whole life in the public eye with everyone watching … Continue reading →

The Interfering in-Law

Are you an interfering in-law or have you ever been on the receiving end of comments and the not so welcome actions or advice from interfering in-laws. It is something that can certainly be a problem. It can also be a fine line too between helping and interfering. Part of it may well come back to the relationship between the in-laws and the married couple in question. What can be seen as help sometimes from one person, may be viewed as interference by another. I recently heard of one grandparent who interfered in the upbringing of her grandchild by taking … Continue reading →

Banning Interracial Marriages?

Have you read or heard about the disturbing poll that took place in Mississippi? Apparently 46% of Mississippi Republicans would support banning interracial marriages. I was absolutely shocked by this. There were also only 40% who believe it should be legal. Should this surprise me? Maybe it shouldn’t but it does. First of all, I guess I thought we had come much further than this. I’m not so naïve to believe that racism has been completely eradicated but I did think we were further along than this. Second of all, we live in such a mixed society. America is made … Continue reading →

Family and Marriage Myths

The problem in trying to identify the type of marriage partner a person will choose and relate it to the family they grew up in, is there are too many variables. So much depends on the personalities involved and the relationships within the family. That’s why, in my opinion, making sweeping generalizations is not helpful and can in fact be harmful when choosing a marriage partner. My daughter and I are like in looks mannerisms and expression in characteristic, like the way we are both worriers. But there are plenty of other cases where we are not alike at all. … Continue reading →

Family and Marriage

We’ve probably all heard it at some point, the idea that if a guy wants to know what his intended will be like in later years to look at her mother. Sometimes it might be true but not always. The strange thing is no-one ever suggests to a woman that they look at their intended’s father to see what he will turn out like. Wouldn’t you think that could be just as valid? Is this as my writer friend suggested a case of sexism? Or is there not such a strong link between fathers and sons as there is between … Continue reading →