Discipline
Many Choices
Parenting has a lot to do with setting boundaries. In fact, two of parenting’s biggest challenges are figuring out where to set the boundaries for our kids and deciding what the consequences of their crossing them will be. Some of those decisions are easy. Telling our boys they shouldn’t stick dinner knives into the wall … Continue reading
Fame
Reputation is a fickle thing. A young man of good character can successfully navigate the uncertain waters of life for years, only to have a single moment of bad judgment erase all the progress he has made. The speed of the descent from “fine young man” and pats on the back, to sidelong glances and … Continue reading
Discipline
I have alluded to some of our philosophies on discipline in previous posts. Perhaps it’s time to address the issue more directly. Deciding how to discipline our children is a highly personal matter. Most of us bring a lot of what we know about the matter from our childhood experiences. Whether we decide to use … Continue reading
Wooden Spoons
Regardless of their age, men often resemble pack animals in their need to find out where they stand in the hierarchy. Boys are famous for testing themselves against their dads; it’s just a natural part of the process of growing up. One night at the dinner table, Tucker decided to demonstrate the latest “thing” going … Continue reading
Plausible Deniability
Like most folks, we were pretty excited about Tucker’s first experience with “real food” and we wanted to capture the moment for posterity. So, I set up the video camera as Karen began the process and big brother Gerrit chatted and looked on. It was a lovely family moment…until something got a hold of Gerrit … Continue reading
