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Tag Archives: Gavin
The importance of empathy
Empathy has to be among the most important lessons we parents teach our children. After all, if children cannot understand and share the feelings of others, they will grow into adults who do little for others and care only about … Continue reading
How stubborn can a 5-year-old boy be?
Stubbornness can be a wonderful trait in a person. After all, were it not for a stubborn inventor in the late 1800s, we might all still be reading at night by candlelight. But does it have to be innate? Parenthood … Continue reading
How do you talk with your children about kids and alcohol?
I’ve always known the day would come when I’d have one of those awkward talks with my children. You know the ones. Whether it’s kids and alcohol, drugs, alcohol or sex, these conversations never come easy. But I didn’t expect … Continue reading
Kids can handle bad news … if their parents can
Children learn to respond to the world around them largely from their parents. If they consistently see Dad scream at drivers who cut him off in traffic, they too will yell at children who butt in front of them on … Continue reading
A few words from my son remind me of growing up fatherless
I love listening to Hair Nation on SiriusXM. I realize none of the music is original and the bands that fill its airwaves are better known for breaking laws and hotel lamps than musical barriers, but that’s not the point. … Continue reading
Striking out is just part of the game
I love watching my children change as they grow. While I’m as wistful as the next dad to see my kids’ former favorite toys languishing in the back of the closet, and I wish they could wear their shoes … Continue reading
Scary is in the eye of the fearful
I clearly remember waiting in long lines to see “Star Wars” in the summer of ’77. Only 8 at the time, I watched the silver screen in awe as the androids, aliens and humans told a story that ignited my … Continue reading
Healthy fear of guns leads to a wrongful fear of police
I don’t understand the attraction some young boys have to playing, or pretending to play, with toy guns. I never played with them as a child, and Karen and I do not allow our children to play with them. In … Continue reading
A 14-cent lesson in honesty
Fourteen pennies, that’s all it was. Stack them together, and the tower of coins wouldn’t rise an inch off the kitchen table. It’s hardly worth the time thinking about, let alone scrounging around the house with a measuring tape to … Continue reading
Gavin keeps his eyes on the prize: Two-wheeled freedom
I love the symbolism of children learning how to ride a bike. They go slow at first, unsure of their own balance and fearful of the pain they will feel when they fall, not if they fall. They know they … Continue reading