Tag Archives: role models

One More Thing To Worry About

We all know that stress is bad for us, but now someone in Australia has done a study about the effects of stress on your unborn baby. Their study followed pregnant women and the children born from those pregnancies from age two until fourteen. Their findings indicate that the more stress you have when you are pregnant the more likely your child will have behavior issues. So now as a single mom to be, you have one more thing to worry about. The study does go on to say that mothers shouldn’t worry if they have too much stress during … Continue reading →

Marriage Lessons For Children

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Sometimes I worry. Ok, most of the time I worry, but this is a specific worry. What am I, a divorced woman, teaching my daughter about marriage. I’ve been divorced since my daughter was ten. My ex husband and I made a point to never argue in front of our daughter, so she never got the chance to see us work things out either. I want my daughter to have a marriage that we all dream about so I trot out all the tired cliches: Marriage is a life long commitment. Anything worth having, including marriage, is worth working for. … Continue reading →

Too Many Princesses

When I was little I never dreamed of being a princess. I would sing and dance and play along to my favorite Disney films “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “Aladdin,” but although I longed for the adventures of Belle and Ariel, I never wanted to be them, exactly. Ariel and Jasmine seemed to have too many boring responsibilities associated with their crowns, and aside from the gorgeous library, I preferred Belle’s original quaint cottage and village of residence to the echoing, impersonal castle she’d presumably inhabit as a princess. Yet everywhere I looked, the heroines of my … Continue reading →

Pushing “Up” into New Territory

On Tuesday, November 10th, Disney released “Up” on DVD, and I eagerly rushed to the store to add Pixar’s latest triumph to my collection. Each year I find myself blown away by the studio’s offerings, especially their original storytelling, sharp writing, and gorgeous graphics. “Up” holds a special place in my heart and mind, however, for its groundbreaking take on an important issue. One of the struggles facing modern families today is how to raise tolerant, discerning children. It can be difficult teaching children to overcome stereotypes. If all the heroes and leading characters they see on screen are young, … Continue reading →

Book Review: A Euro-American on a Korean Tour at a Thai Restaurant in China

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The uniqueness of A Euro-American on a Korean Tour at a Thai Restaurant in China is that adoptive parent Chris Winston has not only encouraged her children to feel pride in their Korean heritage, but has made connections with Koreans and Korean-Americans on a scale most adoptive parents have only dimly imagined. Winston helped to begin both Friends of Korea, a regional group (in Sacramento) for adoptive families that welcomes anyone interested in Korea, and the Korean American Adoptee/Adoptive Family Network (KAAN), a national networking organization linking groups and individuals concerned with adoption from Korea. Winston and her husband had … Continue reading →

Living The Christian Life In The Public Eye.

Living the Christian life in today’s world is never easy. It is even harder for celebrities or sportsmen and sportswomen in the public eye. I’m sure this is true for Christian athletes training and preparing for the Olympic Games. One such person is Allyson Felix. Allyson is the daughter of an ordained minister. Being the child of a minister often puts extra pressures of their offspring as friends of ours can testify. People sometimes seem to judge those whose parents are in ministry more harshly. The pressure to decide it’s all too hard living the Christian life and competing must … Continue reading →

Never Underestimate the Power of a Role Model

Our family decided to hire a college exchange student from Korea through an au pair agency. I had initially been hesitant, longing for more cultural exchange with Koreans but fearing that I would be judged on my parenting skills, or that someone from another culture might be prejudiced against adoption in some way. Meg herself told us she didn’t want us to get a Korean au pair. (We’ve had two previous au pairs from Brazil, whom Meg loved.) But we thought that having a role model of a young Korean woman would be good for Meg’s self-esteem, so we took … Continue reading →

Author Interview – Richard Dudum on the Importance of Parents and Adult Mentors

Thank you for joining us for part two of our chat with Richard Dudum, author of the book “What Your Mother Never Told You.” If you missed yesterday, click here to catch up. Richard, why do you feel that so many of our youth (and adults, too, for that matter) feel that their self-esteem will rise if they have sex? There are a multitude of physical, emotional and developmental changes taking place during the teen years, including sexual and romantic awakening. The thoughts and emotions associated with sex, romance, and sexuality, combined with all of the other changes taking place … Continue reading →

Are You Prepared for Your Kids to Do the Same Thing(s) You Do?

Many parents will admit that they want their child or children to “do better” than they have—whether it is get farther in school, or go through less struggles and trials, or, for many of us it is just a matter of hoping that our children do not pick up our bad habits or make some of the big mistakes that we have. Unfortunately, many of us “hope” that they won’t pick up bad habits or make unsavory choices—meanwhile, we are modeling the very behaviors we DON’T want our children to pick up… Not a one of us is perfect, but … Continue reading →

My Top 5 Animal Loving Role Models

For National Inspirational Role Model Month (which November is) over in Marriage I wrote about my favorite TV wives as role models from the 1950s thru the 1970s and 1980s thru the present. Here in Pets I’d like to do something similar: list those people involved with animals who influenced me to love and care for them like I do. 1. My dad, Ralph Mroch: My dad’s got to have one of the most tender hearts towards animals of anyone in my family. As I wrote about in Where My Compassion for Animals Comes From, I get my love of … Continue reading →