Home & Family

What’s Lost as Handwriting Fades
- Home & Family
- June 19, 2014
Teaching children handwriting has been an accepted and integral part of early childhood education. But the Common Core Standards that many schools have now adopted no longer require that cursive handwriting be taught past kindergarten and first grade. Is that a good idea? Do we take a practice that has proved tried and true for many generations of students and dismiss it for 2nd graders? Would children benefit more in the long run by continuing to learn cursive handwriting as they’re being introduced to typing at a keyboard?
READ MORE
Voices: Talk to Dad on video for Father’s Day
- Home & Family
- June 15, 2014
USA Today columnist Jefferson Graham sat down with his dad one day and asked him to share details about his life, which he recorded on video. It was something that Graham says he had only attempted briefly one other time. But he is so grateful for what he learned that day.
READ MORE
Little Children and Already Acting Mean
- Home & Family
- June 3, 2014
It may be hard to imagine young children in pre-school or kindergarten already forming cliques and making other children feel badly by excluding them. But as Laura Landro writes in The Wall Street Journal, educators and parents are becoming more aware that it’s going on, especially among girls.
READ MORE
A Final Lesson on Character
- Home & Family
- May 23, 2014
Tom Minion’s son, Travis, chose a military career. This is what he wrote about his son in the NY Daily News: “A top student and athlete in high school, Travis could have gone to almost any college in the country, but he chose the Naval Academy to serve his country.” It was during his 2nd tour of duty in Iraq that Travis was killed by a sniper’s bullet.
READ MORE
Tell Mom you love her
- Home & Family
- May 9, 2014
Every year at this time, New York Post columnist, Cindy Adams, writes a heartfelt column to honor her late Mother, who meant the world to her. And she reminds those of us who still have our Moms around to be sure to let them know just how much we love them.
READ MORE
The Power of the Earliest Memories
- Health & Healing, Home & Family
- April 30, 2014
What is your earliest memory from childhood? Columnist Sue Shellenbarger discusses the latest research on why it’s important for parents to help kids develop early memories, instead of just focusing on sharing pictures of them on social media.
READ MORE
What Every Parent Should Know Before Introducing Their Young Child To Technology
- Home & Family
- April 30, 2014
You might want to think twice before handing your toddler your smartphone. Check out our Good for You Conversation with Dr. Gail Saltz on what you need to know about children, technology and how it impacts their development.
READ MORE
How to raise happy kids, according to science
- Health & Healing, Home & Family
- April 16, 2014
Your child’s happiness is, of course, of utmost importance to you. But what specifically can you do to ensure that you raise genuinely happy kids? Eric Barker, author of “Barking Up The Wrong Tree,” takes a look at what we can learn from scientific research. Since studies show that happier parents tend to have happier kids, he suggests doing what you can to make sure that you are happy. One way to do that is to include time in your weekly schedule for simply having fun with friends and family. Laughter is good for your well-being.
READ MORE
Grandfather’s Brilliant Final Letter To his Grandkids Offers Life Lessons For The Rest of Us
- Home & Family
- March 31, 2014
Here’s some grandfatherly advice on getting the most out of life. With one heartfelt letter to his grandchildren shortly before he died, James K. Flanagan shared valuable life lessons that have touched far more people than he could have imagined. This Irish storyteller’s letter was 1st published in 2012 by The Huffington Post and re-posted on St. Patrick’s Day 2014.
READ MORE
Dad’s letter to daughter: Forget makeup, your beauty is inside
- Home & Family
- February 17, 2014
A father’s words of wisdom can stick with a little girl for a lifetime, and this dad certainly knows a few things about making his daughter feel appreciated and beautiful, both inside and out. Dr. Kelly Flanagan, a licensed clinical psychologist, first shared this note to his little one on his blog, UnTangled. The message
READ MORE
Kindergartner’s weight strong predictor of later childhood obesity
- Home & Family
- February 8, 2014
Is your 5-year-old overweight? Kids who are obese in kindergarten are four times more likely to be obese later on in childhood. “The biggest risk of developing new obesity from ages 5 to 14 is really driven by kids entering kindergarten overweight. Those children who were born large or are overweight at age 5, something is happening very early in life which sets the pathway to obesity,” explains Dr. Venkat Narayan, lead author of a new study by Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health.
READ MORE
A Mother’s Last Gift to Her Children May Be a Legacy Video
- Home & Family
- February 6, 2014
Mom Michelle Wallace found out she had an extreme case of endometrial cancer after giving birth to her fourth child, Toby, so she created a special video to help him remember her after she’s gone. Wallace is not alone, as many terminally ill patients are turning to nonprofits like Just So You Know and Thru My Eyes to create “legacy videos” free of charge for their families.
READ MORE
Dad Is Prepping Over 800 Napkin Notes for Daughter’s Lunchbox Before He Dies
- Home & Family
- January 31, 2014
Dad W. Garth Callaghan has been including notes in his daughter’s lunchbox since she was little, but after getting diagnosed with three types of cancer, he is now writing more than 800 notes so that his daughter, Emma, will keep receiving them when he’s gone. Known as “Napkin Note Dad,” Callaghan has his own Facebook page and Kindle eBook to inspire others to write notes to their children, too.
READ MORE
Family loses 300 pounds together
- Home & Family
- January 31, 2014
Gabi Rose struggled with many health issues- from asthma attacks to broken bones- because of her weight, leading her to make healthy lifestyle changes to get her life back on track. “I didn’t realize it was affecting my entire family,” Rose says. But her efforts became a family affair, which led Gabi, her husband, David, and her 14-year-old daughter, Rachel, to lose a total of 300 pounds together!
READ MORE
Weighing the Need for a Landline in a Cellphone World
- Home & Family
- January 27, 2014
The government estimates that 38.2% of households in the U.S. don’t have a landline phone. So, what happens when there is an emergency and cell service is down? A group of emergency professionals from California brought the issue of dialing 911 from mobile phones into the spotlight after finding that a caller’s location wasn’t always readily available for emergency responders. Landline phones are better for calling 911 because they make it easier for dispatchers to locate you by providing your address.
READ MORE