Summer: Give Your Kids Some Free Time!

Summertime is upon us.  With summer comes a relaxing of the schedule – more time to lollygag and slow down the pace of life.  At least it used to be that way!  When I was a kid, I rode my bike all over town.  I spent days at the city pool.  Some days I was bored out of my mind, though.  Now that you’re a parent, do you see your kids lollygagging through summer the way you did as a kid?  Probably not. There is a growing trend in middle-class America towards structured activities and programs for children; from sports
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May 7, 2012 | by
Categories: Children, Family, Managing Media, Mental Health, and Parenting.

Managing the Media in your Home

What would your life be like if television, the internet, and computers suddenly didn’t work anymore?  The amount of uneasiness you have in reaction to that question is a good indicator of how influential electronic media is in your life.  Most of us remember the days when there was no Internet and the television offered about 12 channels.  What is more, we had to get up and change the television channels manually!  Now the choices for what to watch are overwhelming. The influence of media in the home, and especially with children, is something that concerns me very much.  How
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September 15, 2011 | by
Categories: Family, Managing Media, and Parenting.

Fooling Around on Facebook

A man in his 40s, married almost 20 years, reports the following scenario:  “I wasn’t looking for this.  She just asked me to be a friend on Facebook.  I haven’t talked to her since high school.  She looked great.  Pretty soon we start texting each other and then I talk to her on my way home from work.  I thought I could keep this thing contained.  My wife saw all the texts from an unknown number on the cell phone bill and she hacked into my Facebook account and found all the personal messages.  I can’t believe she did that! 
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July 27, 2011 | by
Categories: Managing Media and Marriage.