Family Edge

Why Sensible, Well-balanced Parents are Superior

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:40:06 GMT

I can hardly wait to publish my new parenting book, the thesis of which will run something thus: "German-Swiss-Slovak-Canadian Catholic” parents are demonstrably superior at raising children..." Read more...

Daycare must focus on child, not adult needs, says new report

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:45:55 GMT

British psychologist and author Aric Sigman, draws on research indicating that attending daycare for an extended period of time is a significant source of stress for many young children. Read more...

About gender

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:17:58 GMT

"A species whose young are as vulnerable as human children needs both organised defence and serious home building if it is to reproduce itself. And on those granite foundations has been built the romantic castle of sexual difference." Read more...

More time online = less happiness among girls

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:04:17 GMT

Girls who spend a lot of time using multimedia seem to be less happy and socially comfortable than peers who spend less time on screens, a study from Stanford University suggests. Read more...

Changing the way teens think

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:14:33 GMT

Teenagers are at odds with the real world because they spend too much time being schooled in abstract knowledge and very little time getting involved in the everyday realities, says an American psychologist. Read more...

Enslavement of children, right under our noses

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:58:22 GMT

Human trafficking is on the rise and in the US, roughly half the victims are children. Where's the big campaign to stop this? Read more...

Should we desire happiness for our children?

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:28:02 GMT

A British media personality has pricked the country’s happiness bubble by declaring that she does not want her kids to be “happy”. Read more...

How divorce ruins children’s lives

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:10:15 GMT

Divorce puts some children on a “downward trajectory from which they might never fully recover”, says a new study. Read more...

Unstable homes lead to “lost gains” in education

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:28:11 GMT

There are some social disadvantages that undermine even the best educational efforts. Read more...

Mastering the art of French parenting

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:26:39 GMT

After The Tiger Mom, maintenant, voici la mere Napoleon. Read more...

Abortion research initiative aims at better understanding and information

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:11:11 GMT

If you have ever wanted to get a fully professional, reliable angle on abortion research a new initiative by Priscilla Kari Coleman (interviewed by MercatorNet in November) should interest you. Read more...

The new praise: “Show me your struggle”

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:07:11 GMT

We’ve been a bit sceptical about the self-esteem movement on this site in the past but now it seems we are in respectable company. Read more...

Evangelicals, birth control and the US elections

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 04:09:30 GMT

It is clear to even the most distant observer that family values are a big issue in United States politics. Read more...

Open marriage? A terrible idea for kids

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:35:07 GMT

The New York Times has rounded up some experts to discuss the merits of open marriage. Brad Wilcox of the National Marriage Project, provides common sense and objectivity. Read more...

“Angry Brides” game whacks Indian dowry system

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:44:16 GMT

This time it's internet to the rescue: an online anti-dowry game may assist the cause of marriage in India. Read more...

Are we free to speak about parenting research?

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:17:34 GMT

It’s difficult today to say anything in favour of the intact, married family without putting somebody’s nose out of joint. Read more...

Religious freedom at risk in same-sex marriage push

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:24:22 GMT

Leaders of some of the largest religious communities in the country voice their concern that religious freedom is at risk in America because of the campaign to change the definition and meaning of marriage. Read more...

If parents can divorce one another…

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:13:14 GMT

Greeks are abandoning their children because of poverty. Isn't there a better way? Read more...

What’s in a baby’s name?

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:48:00 GMT

The regulation of children’s names is in the news again after New Zealand authorities published a list of names rejected over the past decade. Read more...

Marriage and AIDS in Africa

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:09:36 GMT

Here’s a question of special relevance to regions where there is a high incidence of HIV/AIDS -- in particular, sub-Saharan Africa: Does marriage protect a person against the disease? Read more...

Asian Tiger Moms at work?

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 01:39:24 GMT

This is 23-month-old Howard Wong on the drums. This YouTube video has some interesting comments beneath it. A sampling... Read more...

“Please don’t call me a foster kid”

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:57:19 GMT

I am proud to be a foster parent but I find myself sort of dancing around the word when I refer to Tony as my foster kid. Read more...

Bad and good news for parents on drugs

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 05:10:04 GMT

Although developed countries are leading the world in illegal drug use, parental attitudes can have an impact. Read more...

Baby doodle

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 00:15:32 GMT

Winning Google doodle from Japan will surprise you...maybe. Read more...

Alive to the World: a character education programme that works

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:34:36 GMT

Here’s a Christmas present for parents who want a really good model of character education to propose to their school or higher educational authorities. Read more...

Only 51 per cent of Americans are married

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:22:07 GMT

We know that marriage has been losing “market share” in the sexual culture of the developed world so the news that barely half of American adults today are married comes as not much of a surprise. Read more...

“Women - no fat talk!”

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:16:22 GMT

While we are on the topic of obesity, a word of caution from Selena Ewing of Women’s Forum Australia might be in order: “Women, and especially mothers: no fat talk! Be counter-cultural! ‘Fat talk’ has become a cultural norm and it harms women.” Read more...

Without dad, girls at more risk of obesity

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:33:18 GMT

The large percentages of children in developed countries who are overweight or obese continues to worry public health experts. “Eating too much” is not a sufficient answer. Sedentary habits -- hours spent on telly or other screen-based pastimes -- are contributing factors. But family structure matters too. Read more...

Does raising kids decrease marital happiness?

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 03:20:03 GMT

In the last post on the new State of Our Unions (SOU) report from the National Marriage Project we read that “the benefits of generosity were particularly pronounced among couples with children.” Parents who were very generous with each other were more likely to be very happy as well. But there’s more. Generosity in having children is also part of the happiness equation. Read more...

Cheerful givers make a go of marriage

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 02:01:02 GMT

An item about generosity in marriage is getting some play on the New York Times Well blog today. Tara Parker- Pope reports on the 2011 State of Our Unions report just out from the National Marriage Project. Read more...

Sex-ed survey shows three Anglo countries disagree

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 04:53:04 GMT

Canada comes out as the least inhibited country when it comes to sex education, an international survey shows. But even there, the majority of adults think that the job belongs first and foremost to parents. Read more...

Poverty and family structure: new data

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:42:36 GMT

Although the recession and factors such as the age of parents or their children have a bearing on poverty, the outstanding indicator is family structure. A report from Child Trends. Read more...

A weighty problem

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:54:16 GMT

It has already happened a few times already and now 8-year-old American boy has been taken from his family and placed in foster care because his mother cannot control his weight. Read more...

Naming baby in the age of Google

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 03:18:01 GMT

Besides the quest for novelty (which can go to truly bizarre lengths) there is now a new set of considerations in choosing a name for baby. Read more...

Random acts of kindness

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 01:12:29 GMT

On Tuesday evening, on the Tube, I realised I had lost my wallet - a nightmare as of course it has my cheque-card etc in it, and I was due to travel to the West Country for a speaking engagement... Read more...

No such thing as “good polygamy”

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 21:25:18 GMT

Marriage and family advocacy groups have greeted with enthusiasm a Canadian court decision upholding the country’s ban on polygamy, published yesterday. Read more...

A touching story about marriage

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:40:30 GMT

Here’s something to be thankful for on America’s Thanksgiving Day: an Iowa couple who shared 72 years of married life and died holding hands. Read more...

Anonymous Father’s Day

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 02:39:30 GMT

It's Father's Day again -- that is, Anonymous Father's Day, a time to become aware of what the children of donor dads think of their absent, unknown progenitors. Read more...

To help kids, help their parents

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 07:42:07 GMT

A leading British headmistress is worried that it is not just today's schoolchildren who lack values and good standards of behaviour but also their parents. Read more...

So this is what they mean by “comprehensive sex education”?

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 04:11:04 GMT

The New York Times yesterday published a preview of a weekend magazine article called “Teaching Good Sex” -- a long and detailed account of how one teacher, with full support from his elite school, is promoting sexual pleasure as a goal for 17-year-olds and even younger teenagers. Read more...

Cartoonist captured “family moments” fondly

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:58:07 GMT

Not living in America, I had never heard of family values cartoonist Bil Keane until this week, when someone alerted me to his death. Seems like I have been missing a great tradition all these years. Read more...

Love and nationality

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:16:54 GMT

There can be few extended families today where someone has not married a spouse of a different nationality. In a globalised world, where people go abroad to study, find work, take holidays or to settle, international marriages are increasingly common and are drawing countries closer together. Read more...

Shops you can drop

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:06:48 GMT

Here's a pre Christmas shopping heads-up, especially for folks Down Under. It's a warning from Australian group Collective Shout, a grassroots campaigning movement challenging the sexualisation and objectification of women and girls, about brands that do precisely that. Read more...

Another (much nicer) family portrait from Quebec

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:40:04 GMT

In response to my post, A Quebec Family Portrait, Quebecer Georges Allaire writes, "Not all Quebec families fit present standards." Read more...

Is time at university time well spent?

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 01:13:05 GMT

"Is the higher education bubble about to pop? I don’t know," writes Anthony Grafton in the New York Review of Books. He is reviewing eight books on the American university system -- most of them rather doomful. Read more...

Fatherhood makes the man

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:29:20 GMT

There is an increasing amount of fatherhood research going on, which is a good thing. A new study finds that, after men become fathers for the first time, they show significant decreases in crime, tobacco and alcohol use. Read more...

A Quebec Family Portrait

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 03:30:33 GMT

There is a very important cautionary tale in a report from the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada this week. The report, A Quebec Family Portrait, shows that, although the province has broken new ground in family and social policy, it faces severe challenges in the areas of economics, and demographics and social capital. Read more...

Why ‘splitting’ motherhood is against the rights of the child

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:20:43 GMT

Austria, Germany and Italy, among other countries, ban the use of donated eggs because they believe it is wrong to split motherhood between a biological mother, a genetic mother, and possibly a social mother as well. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled they are entitled to such a ban. Read more...

Mme Curie and the second shift

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 04:15:27 GMT

Today I went to a public hospital for an x-ray, an appointment that happened to fall on the 144th birthday of Marie Curie (as Google’s doodle reminds us) a pioneer of the technology -- for which we can all be thankful. Read more...

Contraceptive shot linked with memory loss

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:01:27 GMT

Days after posting an article on the probable role of an injectable birth control hormone in spreading AIDS, I read this week that the same stuff may be causing memory loss in middle-aged woman. As if we didn’t have enough trouble remembering things already! Read more...