7 Proven Tips for a Happy Home
I love this article, published by Time, to help parents like me make the most of these short years we have with our kids: "How to Have a Happy Family – 7 Tips Backed by Research".
A Father’s Beatitude
Blessed is the father who spends time with his child, for he shall reap a garden of remembrances. Blessed is the father who gives consolation to his child's minor misfortunes, for he will be called on for great things in life. Blessed is the father who is proud of his child, for he shall have a child who is proud of his father. Blessed is the father who imparts love, for ...
Colour Me Happy
Sometimes my weekends are a maddening tussle to make the one-after-the-other events that seem to start flooding our Friday and spill into our Saturday and Sunday. Sport, birthday parties, youth group, housework, homework, school socials all back up, one against the other, to make our dad and daughters time fairly frenetic. Leading into my last weekend with Miss 7 and Miss 12, I knew that my Friday to Monday was going ...
The Best Things About Being a Single Dad
A few weeks ago, on an impulse and wanting to share a snapshot of my post-separation status, I wrote a part-whimsical, part-serious piece about the worst parts of being a single dad. By implication, if some parts are worst, then there must be some best bits, says my cerebral dialogue. Voice Number One says the best bit is simply being a dad. Voice Number One ignores the “single” tag and just ...
Stop Making Your Child Happy
OK, confession time… I’m not sure where, or how it started, but surprisingly, it was at a very young age. I’ve always loved kids. I’ve looked after kids and worked with kids, in both professional and voluntary capacities since I was about eleven. Spoilt Those who thought the whole world should revolve around them though, in all honesty, I wasn’t always as enthusiastic about looking after them. You know the ones; ...
Gratitude: The Heartbeat of Love
New research validates age-old wisdom: the simple habit of gratitude can transform a jaded marriage into a joyous encounter. By Marilyn Rodrigues A University of North Carolina study highlighted the association of gratitude with a happy marriage. Cameron Gordon, the study’s lead author, said that the goodwill generated by grateful spouses creates a “reciprocal feedback loop” of marital harmony, helping spouses to view their interactions even on bad days in a ...
Two Secrets to a Happy Home
The big question is: “How do you create a happy home?” I think a lot of people wished they had come from one. Working with young people and families with both older and younger children, I’ve noticed that a happy home can come from any race, occupation, economic status, political persuasion and any other variation you wish to throw into the mix. When you have a strong culture in a home, ...
How to Raise Generous Kids
If I wasn’t there when she said it, I wouldn’t have believed it. When my boss asked his 7-year-old daughter what she’d like for her birthday, she said she didn’t want any gifts. Could everyone make a donation to the Leukaemia Foundation instead? Excuse me? After a lengthy conversation, she convinced her parents to have a ‘gift-free’ birthday party and instead, set up an online donation form with the Leukaemia Foundation. ...
Keep It Simple – Making Happy Families
Research shows that there are some basic habits that combine to make a winning formula for families with successful, well-adjusted children who will flourish in life. “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated,” are the wise words of Confucius. Albert Einstein said it this way: “Everything should be made as simple as possible but not simpler.” And one final word of wisdom from Steve Jobs is, “Simple ...
5 Scientifically Proven Reasons to Get Outside
A recent visit to our local park turned into a day of exploring a previously undiscovered (by us) bush track along the river, complete with swimming holes, waterfalls and a ‘wibbly wobbly’ bridge. Once we started meandering, just couldn’t stop! We soon had to leave the pram wedged between bushes for this little ‘off-road’ adventure, as our curiosity kept driving us forward, the kids wildly excited at every turn. Rope swings ...
