Living in the small town of Auburn, we teach our children Southern hospitality. We encourage them to say hello or ‘War Eagle’ to complete strangers, especially if they are wearing orange and blue! Sadly, even in a small town, we need to be aware of strangers and teach our children how to respond to them in a way that keeps them safe. Try these tips for teaching your children about stranger safety:

Do your children ever misbehave? Bring home a bad grade? Forget to clean their room?

If your kids are anything like mine, I’m sure your answer is yes, yes, and yes! All children behave poorly at one time or another and most do things their parents wish they wouldn’t, mine included.

Facebook is the most utilized social networking site world wide with more than 845 million users. The magic age for kids to be considered Facebook legal is 13. But of Facebook’s current users, an estimated 7.5 million are actually under the age of 13. Now more than ever parents need to arm themselves with information about how to keep their children safe on social media sites like Facebook that were designed for adults but are being used by kids. If your child (of any age) has a Facebook account, here are some tips to help keep them as safe as possible:

If you’ve followed the news over the past few months, like me, you’ve seen cases of child sexual abuse being reported at an alarming rate. Studies have shown that approximately 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused by the time they are eighteen. And sadly, the abuser is known and trusted by the child and their family in 90% of the cases. While these statistics are sobering, as a parent you can use these facts to help protect your child from being a victim of sexual abuse.

Getting ready for a baby is perhaps one of the most exciting events in the life of a family. For the first born child, all of the attention is naturally on the parents-to-be and the baby. But when that first born child has to get ready for the arrival of a new sibling, moms and dads often wonder how to help them adjust to their growing family. Try these tips to help your older child get ready for the arrival of their new baby brother or sister:

It’s that time of year again. Time to jump right into the excitement and wonder of the holiday season. We decorate. We shop. We worship. We travel. We gather. We eat. We celebrate. We stress. Wait a minute, did I just say stress? I certainly did!

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), children over the age of two should have their screen time limited to one to two hours per day. And kids under two should not have any screen time at all. That’s a pretty tall order in today’s society.
Screen time used to just include the family television set in the den. Now families have video games, handheld electronics, computers, iPods, cell phones, and portable DVD players to contend with, just to name a few.

Earlier this year I happened upon an article by a respected family psychologist and parenting expert. In it, he provided lots of ideas on how parents could improve their family life. But then I got to his recommendation about family dinners. He suggested that families today should gather around the dinner table six nights a week. Six nights? Out of seven!

Ask any parent you know if they experience stress in their day to day life, and you’ll quickly find that the answer is yes! Parenting is one of the greatest joys many of us will ever experience in our lifetimes, but it’s not for the faint of heart. The pressures and demands of juggling a marriage, home, job, and children can be both physically and emotionally exhausting. Here are some tips to keep the stress in your life under control.

It’s sad, but true. Recent research has revealed what many of us have been observing in our own homes for years. The self-esteem of our daughters takes a nosedive before they even become teenagers. As preschoolers and during the early elementary school years, girls are often full of confidence and ready to take on the world. They show off their talents, share their successes, and brag about their many friends and accomplishments.