unnecessarywisdom
Teens
Why You Should Lie to Your Kids
I’m a big fan of honesty in relationships. I especially like to be honest with my kids because I want to have a close and genuine bond with them for life. Good relationships are built on trust and, of course, that requires honesty. But I was recently asked if it was ever appropriate to lie … Continue reading
The Ugly Truth About Depression
To this day, we still don’t like to talk about mental illness. We’ve gotten a lot better, for sure, but it’s still seen as a defect, character weakness or the potential to do harm. We are scared of it, we are scared of those with it, we don’t really want to know about it. The … Continue reading
Taking Care of You
We spend a lot time taking care of our kids, trying to be better parents, trying to run our household, trying to be good partners and good sons and daughters. We are constantly on the hunt for the next trick in shopping, cleaning, beauty, parenting, relationships, anything to make life go along just a little … Continue reading
How I Know For a Fact That Children Are Not Morons
I’m still surprised and dismayed at the many articles and discourse I see online discussing whether or not children are just immature, sneaky, manipulative little creatures who require extensive breaking to become sufficiently molded to adapt to the human world. I’ve always operated on the concept that my kids are legitimate humans with real souls … Continue reading
Why Do Fathers Matter? A Wounded Daughter’s Perspective
This weekend is Father’s Day. Today we focus on our fathers and our love for them. We focus on everything we love and appreciate about our fathers. Some of us didn’t have great fathers. I didn’t. I love my father. But he hurt me terribly. And I’m no longer married to my children’s father. That … Continue reading
How Attachment Parenting Produces Independent Kids
Children are in our care for a limited amount of time generally spanning two decades. During that time, their needs change drastically, yet gradually from year to year. I’ve always found it odd that the principles of attachment parenting are criticized as promoting dependence in children when, if you analyze the proper development of independence … Continue reading
Sexual Molestation: Don’t Let Your Child Become a Victim
I was molested as a child. Sadly, this does not make me unique. One in four women will be sexually abused in her lifetime and one in six men. This is not reassuring to any parent. But we need to understand that this is a real risk to our kids. And we need to understand … Continue reading
Kid Confessions: But Daddy Never Says “No”
I hate telling my kids, “No.” I hate to see the disappointment. I hate the arguments. I hate the frustration. But, I do it anyway. “No,” is a necessary part of life, part of my job as a mother, and one of the words I use to establish limits and boundaries. I’ve always been extremely … Continue reading
The Lie That is the American Teenager
One of the greatest lies being spread in our culture today is that of the American teenager. This is a mysterious creature who is supposed to suddenly and drastically transform from a sweet child to a horrific monster, usually overnight, on her thirteenth birthday or thereabout. She is expected to have the “best years of … Continue reading
The Difference Between Play and Entertainment and Why It Matters
Kids are born with natural curiosity about their world and the desire to explore and learn. They have a drive to touch, taste and feel everything around them. This is how they learn. This is also how they get into trouble and we often find ourselves stopping them, redirecting them or even punishing them for … Continue reading
unnecessarywisdom 
Recent Comments