This post original ran June 6, 2015. NB: This letter is fictional with regard to the particulars, but with regard to the nature of the sins described, it is unfortunately not at all fictional. Consider it a composite portrait, with no particular man in mind. At the same time, if any individual husband recognizes himself …
Smart Kids and Dumb Phones
Introduction: One of the great challenges that Christian parents have today is the challenge of figuring out what responsible parenting looks like in the middle of this technological supernova we are living in. For example, when should your teen get a smart phone? What are the parameters? Who is competent to police those parameters? Basic …
Open Letter to a Trapped Wife
Dear Jill, Thank you for your email. You describe a situation very similar to one that I recently addressed here. I am very sorry for your troubles, and hope that what I say here will be of some help. Let me begin with the most difficult part and get that over with first. I want …
An Open Letter to an Angry Husband
NB: This letter is fictional with regard to the particulars, but with regard to the nature of the sins described, it is unfortunately not at all fictional. Consider it a composite portrait, with no particular man in mind. At the same time, if any individual husband recognizes himself in the portrait and humbles himself, I …
Push Function Quit
Video games might well make your son ignorant and corrupt, but they won’t make him stupid — although I trust this might require further explanation. I have recently received some requests from parents about how to govern or regulate their sons’ taste for video games, and so here goes. But before rushing to the question …
A Garden of Grace
One of the temptations young parents face is the temptation of wanting to learn some “techniques,” some 1,2,3 tricks for sure-fire success. When you feel lost, it is easy to want to resort to easy solutions. If you already feel like you are in over your head, why would you seek out solutions that are …
A Little Rooster of a Brother
In most instances, bringing up daughters also includes bringing up sons at more or less the same time, and this means that someone has to manage the interaction. Boys and girls discover their differences early on, and in many cases, they discover that they don’t like those differences all that much. And they say so. …
Proverbs and Promises
God gives parents assurance in two ways. The first can be called proverbial assurance, and the second kind is grounded in the promises. Suppose husband and wife are talking about their daughter, now only eight-years-old, and mom is worried about whether or not she will “turn out.” As her husband tries to reassure her, they …
Caryatides and Their Glory
The process of bringing up daughters should be understood as a process of glorification. Just as manhood is where boyhood should be aimed, so also womanhood is where girlhood should be aimed. Before undertaking any task, it unreasonable to begin without knowledge of what the completion of the task ought to look like. Human life …
Ten Reasons Why Your Kids Might Think You Are No Fun
1. You believe the heel of the loaf of bread has more nutrients in it because it is browner. 2. You think that kids were made for the living room and not the living room for the kids. 3. You believe that being a disciplinarian consists of using repeated commands in a professional bossy voice. …