*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on USA Today. Family doctors should screen teens for suicide risks in the wake of new information that shows suicide is the second leading cause of death among teens, an American Academy of Pediatrics report said Monday. In the report, the academy provides pediatricians with guidelines on how to…
I’m the first to admit it. We’re quirky. We have family meatloaf challenges and think finding a good parking spot is a competitive sport. The name Bob makes us laugh (I’m not exactly sure why but I laugh anyway). We make up names for each other, i.e. The Hair Monster (you know who you are),…
Splink 1: Do Your Part Stage a little competition to see how long family members can keep a balloon in the air (without it touching the ground). Give each family member a balloon. Blow up and tie each balloon. Time them to see who can keep it in the air longest. Then pair up…
Have you ever felt like your kids aren’t listening to what you say? Do you sometimes struggle with finding time to talk with your kids about something more than what time they need to be wherever they need to be and how they need to clean their room before they go? I have. And this…
The news is heartbreaking enough to take in as a parent. Terrorist attacks. Mass killings. Planes blowing up. Beheadings. I know…please just stop right there. Add to that the political chaos that seems to dominate the headlines, climate change, job losses and more. It’s just too much to take some days, even for us adults….
Father’s Day always reminds me of my first day as a father. It was a crisp fall; the leaves were turning a heavenly gold as the squirrels gathered the last nuts before winter. Finally, the anticipation was over, and this would be the day I would become a dad. After a brief time in labor,…
Several nights ago our daughter came to us with a curious look in her eyes, almost as if she was embarrassed or did something wrong and on the verge of tears. We dropped what we were doing and asked what was wrong, but she was hesitant to let whatever was bubbling below the surface come…
Often parents feel like kids are tethered to their phones, constantly glancing or full-on staring into a screen. It’s unnerving. But before we judge kids or insist they “put that thing down,” we need to understand what motivates them to check social media so frequently. At the Fuller Youth Institute, we’re fans of the adage,…