Parenting

Every parish has a few families with young children. You may have seen the mom who is juggling a baby, the baby’s snacks, a restless preschooler, a diaper bag, and a few other things. Wherever the family goes, it looks like a mobile zoo…

Q. Our two teens have their own money from babysitting, part-time jobs, and birthday gifts. We’re very proud of how hard they work and how responsible they have become. Both our son and daughter have accumulated healthy savings accounts and…

I remember walking across the campus that Sunday morning, asking God to forgive me for what I was about to do. I had been wrestling with my conscience and praying for courage ever since leaving Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas chapel. But, alas,…

“Just face it; you’re going to be a blubbering wreck.” It was a summer-long mantra chanted by friends, day after day after day. And it stood to reason, really. We were headed to drop off our eldest child, Allie, at college for the first…

Q. I’m writing because I’m concerned about my 12-year-old granddaughter’s attitude and behavior. My daughter—her mother—is a single parent. The father is mostly absent and generally unreliable. Ever since my granddaughter was very young, I…

Q. The youngest of our four children is leaving for college at the end of the summer. He is counting the days until he begins this new adventure, but as the day of his departure grows closer, I can feel myself growing more anxious. I’m…

Q. This question might be filed under, “What are these people thinking?” My high school freshman got a ride home from a recent sporting event from a teammate’s parent. The conversation in the car turned to a high school party that took…

Q. I’m the mom of three children—two boys ages nine and six, and a four-year-old daughter. I wonder if I am unreasonably consumed by fear and anxiety about my kids’ safety and well-being? This issue is starting to be a source of friction…

What do you do when your kids aren’t doing what you want them to do, or worse, when they’re doing everything you’ve taught them not to do? That was the very conversation I was having with an editor from Ave Maria Press two summers ago when…

So you’ve finally done it. You’ve made family mealtimes a high priority in your household. But now you have a problem they didn’t tell you about. Cornell University found that family dinners five times a week prevent disordered…