PARENTING FREEDOM

carol | August 11, 2010

Rush & Kathryn’s Wedding
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=30710&id=136264019722601&ref=mf

Category: Marriage, Media Bias Exposed | No Comments »
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carol | April 21, 2010

Say sorry to your wife – it may help her live longer, according to scientists
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1266898/Say-sorry-wife–help-live-longer-according-scientists.html

“Researchers have discovered that women who receive an apology for hurtful behaviour suffer less stress and potential damage to their heart than those who don’t…”

“Unfortunately for men, a male heartbeat takes longer to recover after an apology than without, according to the research, suggesting that men become irritated when there is an admission of guilt.”

Category: Health, Marriage | No Comments »
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carol | March 25, 2010

Men and affairs? It’s all nanny’s fault
According to the psychiatrist Dr Dennis Friedman, entrusting your son to a nanny could turn him into a womaniser
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/relationships/article7071735.ece

“The idea that there can be one female to meet one set of needs and another to meet different ones…”

“‘It creates a division in his mind between the woman he knows to be his natural mother and the woman with whom he has real hands-on relationship: the woman who bathes him and takes him to the park and with whom he feels completely at one”, Friedman says. “As a result, he grows up with the idea that although he will one day go through all the social and sexual formalities of marriage, he will have at the back of his mind the notion of this other woman, who not only knows, but caters for, all his needs…’”

“If you interfere with the close bond that exists between a mother and child there will eventually be a reaction to it. This can be in a huge way such as abuse — and here he cites the killers of Jamie Bulger — but there can be much smaller, less serious ‘interruptions’ that could have an effect.”

“A newborn baby is totally dependent on its mother, Friedman says. The baby recognises that it has certain ‘rights’ — such as to be loved and comforted by his mother when he needs her. ‘If he is denied these human rights he may grow up to deny somebody else their human rights,’ he says. ‘And with this the seed of antisocial behaviour starts to grow.’”

“Girls are also susceptible to this ‘vacuum of need’, he says, but perhaps less so because the little girls have a different relationship with their mother than little boys do…”

The author “believes that the best place for a baby is with its mother.”

Talk to your baby (using real words)… it boosts their brain
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1260502/Talk-baby-using-real-words—boosts-brain.html

I think there is room for some “baby talk” in addition though.

Gender-bender chemicals ‘putting everyone at risk’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1260479/Gender-bender-chemicals-putting-risk.html

Category: Health, Marriage, Parenting Attachment, Parenting General, Parenting Stay-at-Home | No Comments »
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carol | March 17, 2010

75% of Canadians Say “Abortion is Morally Wrong”: Poll
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10031605.html

“A large majority of Canadians are increasingly embracing conservative values, including opposing abortion and supporting the true definition of marriage.”

Category: Abortion, Canadian, Marriage | No Comments »
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carol | March 5, 2010

Study: Cohabitation Linked to Exponential Increase in Relationship Failure Risk
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10030411.html

“Children born to cohabiting versus married parents have over five times the risk of experiencing their parents’ separation, showing an exponential increase in relationship failure for couples currently or ever cohabiting…”

Category: Marriage, Parenting General | No Comments »
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carol | February 19, 2010

Married parents ‘ten times more likely to stay together’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1252068/Married-parents-provide-stable-family-background-couples-living-together.html#ixzz0fxCWX5sW

“Married parents are ten times more likely to stay together than cohabiting couples with children…”

Category: Marriage, Parenting General | No Comments »
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carol | February 10, 2010

The pitfalls of compassion ~ Mgr Michel Schooyans
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010_docs/Compassion.pdf

Excellent essay.

Category: Abortion, Christianity, Family Planning, Homosexuality, Marriage, Sex Education | 1 Comment »
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carol | December 21, 2009

Sean Stephenson addresses a crowd about an interesting date!

“What other people say and think about you is none of your business. It’s not even about you. It’s about them and what they’re comfortable with.” Sean Stephenson

Category: Christianity, Depression, Health, Inspiration, Marriage | No Comments »
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carol | November 6, 2009

Married With Children Paves Way to Happiness
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20091104/hl_hsn/marriedwithchildrenpaveswaytohappiness

“A new study found that having children boosts happiness. And the more, literally, the merrier.“

“The study found that life satisfaction for married people — women especially — goes up the more kids they have. Single, separated and co-habiting people, by contrast, report negative experiences.”

Category: Children, Family Planning, Marriage, Parenting General, Parenting Pregnancy | 1 Comment »
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carol | November 6, 2009

The Case for Early Marriage
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/article_print.html?id=84286

Category: Marriage, Sex Education | 1 Comment »
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carol | October 19, 2009

Divorce, cohabitation ruin the lives of many children, pope says
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0904281.htm

“More and more couples build their unions on the fragility and impermanence of cohabitation, which is merely based on an ‘individual’s feeling or subjectivity,’ he said.”

“He said as divorces increase and cohabitation is on the rise, the children in these situations are ‘deprived of their parents’ support and become victims of malaise and abandonment, thus spreading social disorder.’”

“Children need concrete fixed points of reference such as having one set of parents who will always be united as a family, the pope said.”

“He said divorce is sabotaging the traditional sense of an extended family by creating too many ‘parents,’ such as stepmothers and stepfathers.”

“In fact, the majority of children today ‘who feel like they are orphans are not children without parents, but children who have too many parents,’ he said.”

“This situation of a child caught between the different expectations and mixed messages of too many stepparents ‘cannot help but create inner conflicts and confusion’ within the child, he said.”

I am reminded of children with too many teachers as well.

Category: Marriage, Parenting Attachment, Parenting General, Parenting Stay-at-Home, Public School | No Comments »
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carol | October 8, 2009

Taking the pill for past 40 years ‘has put women off masculine men’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1218808/Contraceptive-pill-women-attracted-masculine-men–interested-boyish-looks.html?ITO=1490

Also related: an article from last year
The Pill and Finding the Wrong Guy
http://parentingfreedom.com/2008/08/26/the-pill-and-finding-the-wrong-guy/

Category: Family Planning, Marriage | No Comments »
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carol | July 16, 2009

Ikea – Dubbed Husband

IKEA kitchen ad with dubbed husband

Category: Marriage | No Comments »
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carol | June 24, 2009

Sanford’s wife told him to leave “to maintain my dignity”
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/70632.html

“I believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity, dignity and importance of the institution of marriage. I believe that has been consistently reflected in my actions. When I found out about my husband’s infidelity I worked immediately to first seek reconciliation through forgiveness, and then to work diligently to repair our marriage. We reached a point where I felt it was important to look my sons in the eyes and maintain my dignity, self-respect, and my basic sense of right and wrong. I therefore asked my husband to leave two weeks ago…”

“I believe enduring love is primarily a commitment and an act of will, and for a marriage to be successful, that commitment must be reciprocal…”

“Psalm 127 states that sons are a gift from the Lord and children a reward from Him. I will continue to pour my energy into raising our sons to be honorable young men. I remain willing to forgive Mark completely for his indiscretions and to welcome him back, in time, if he continues to work toward reconciliation with a true spirit of humility and repentance.”

“This is a very painful time for us and I would humbly request now that members of the media respect the privacy of my boys and me as we struggle together to continue on with our lives and as I seek the wisdom of Solomon, the strength and patience of Job and the grace of God in helping to heal my family.”

So sad. God bless her and her boys.

Category: Marriage, Politics | No Comments »
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carol | June 24, 2009

Unlike most people who have “had their say” lately, I have watched every single episode of Jon and Kate Plus Eight at least twice.

In this day and age, Jon and Kate deserve a lot of credit for choosing life for their sextuplets in a society where selective reduction is the norm for multiples resulting from certain fertility treatments. If Kate had not been pro-life, at least three of those precious children would have likely been killed before birth.

No matter how much you love your children, the stress of multiples must be very difficult – with or without the cameras. It is true that children are gifts and blessings, but parenting is still hard work. And having multiples is not like having several stairstep children.

I never felt like criticizing Jon and Kate for their parenting decisions or for the choices they have made on their journey of life, although I wish I could have helped (but I didn’t try to help). For the most part, I have heard very negative comments about Jon and Kate, especially in regard to their parenting and relationship. Perhaps all you perfect parents out there in the perfect marriages with the perfect children can stop judging and start sharing your perfect advice.

It is just my opinion, but I believe Kate was honest in her behavior in front of the cameras over the years. I believe Jon mostly controlled his reactions in front of the cameras, but was much worse when the cameras were not taping. I recall Kate saying that more than once. Some men seem to be able to control their behavior in front of other people, but if you take away those outsiders, they “let go” on their family. I suspect that is the true reason why Kate wanted to tape their lives. I think it gave Kate and the children an element of emotional protection if Jon was under the spotlight. In almost every show, we saw Kate’s reactions from tremendous frustration and deep sadness while struggling to give joy to her children. This was noticeable even during the first season of taping.

While the rest of the world continues to judge and criticize Kate for everything she says and does, I feel empathy and sadness for her situation. Like most people, I feel very sorry for her children who have lost stability, normalcy, and married parents. This loss will be felt in their family for generations.

At the end of the last season, it was obvious that Jon needed an outside job, and they needed to end taping. Unfortunately, they were already in over their heads, and they needed the financial income from the show for protection and security from the media and paparazzi, never mind the cost of raising eight children.

I think Jon was greatly influenced by the viewers/media who tended to see Kate as the nagging wife and him as the poor 32-year-old victim with too much responsibility. I heard him say such things quite a few times. I think he started to see himself as a victim who didn’t stand up for himself. Now he thinks he is standing up for himself. And shame on his “female friends” who quickly jumped in to take Kate’s place. It seems that Jon has “moved on” and will not even communicate with Kate to work on their issues. I think this could have been different if they had been given the right guidance and help.

I don’t believe Kate ever dreamed she would ever be divorced, even though she ended up filing for divorce herself. I suspect she truly did need to do this for her children, even though most people seem to disagree.

Jon said about the divorce, “I’m excited and hurt at the same time.” Yep. Sounds like someone who really cares about his family. Kate is obviously not excited. The kids are definitely not excited. But Jon is excited to be free. After all, he says, he is only 32.

Category: Abortion, Books, Movies, Television, Marriage, Parenting General | Comments Off
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carol | June 22, 2009

On the weekend, the six of us went to the movie UP in 3-D. It was the first time we saw a full-length movie in 3D. (We had seen a half-hour racing show.) It was a little tricky keeping the glasses on L4, but it was cool having things in the movie seem to come so close to us. Toy Story 3 will be out in a year’s time in 3-D.

We weren’t very far into the movie when Derek leaned over and said, “This is the saddest movie ever. A real tear jerker.” It was true. Now, I sometimes get sad during movies, but rarely do I sob.

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t seen the movie, stop reading now…

The movie started with the back story of a little boy and a little girl who met and grew up and got married. I liked how he liked to “listen” to her talk. At one point, they were happily decorating the nursery for a baby, but then ended up at the doctor’s with a miscarriage. (I had one a couple months ago.)

Then, they grew old together… (The husband, Karl, looked exactly like my grandfather.) The wife got sick and died… (Just like my grandmother did last year.) It showed the man at the front of the church at the funeral. (It was just like last fall during my grandmother’s funeral. My grandparents had been married 65 years.) And there were little triggers throughout the movie that also made me sad. Like the two chairs. (My grandparents always had a set of chairs.) And so on… L4 cried when the house went away at the end.

Karl              Grampie

Everything I mentioned is just the background for the movie. The main part is about the little boy scout, the old man, the house, some dogs and a rare bird… but I don’t care about that part of the cartoon.

Here is a heart-touching story about the movie, UP:
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/06/19/a-10-year-old-girls-wish-before-dying/

Category: Books, Movies, Television, Journal 2009, Marriage, Miscarriage | 1 Comment »
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carol | June 14, 2009

Letterman: Where’s the Line?
http://thenewagenda.net/2009/06/14/letterman-wheres-the-line/

“Our media has a terrible bias against the women of this country.”

WARNING: NOT FOR CHILDREN
Where’s The Line?

Hat Tip: http://www.conservatives4palin.com/2009/06/anti-letterman-protest-in-nyc-this.html

“There is neither… male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28

SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW
Somewhere over the rainbow- way
up high
in the land
that I heard of once
Once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow- skies
are blue
and the dreams
that you dare to dream
really do come true

Someday I’ll wish upon a star
and wake up
where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
away above the chimney tops
that’s where you’ll find me

Someday I’ll wish upon a star
and wake up
where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
away above the chimney tops
that’s where you’ll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow
skies are blue
and the dreams…that you dare to dream
really do come true
If happy little bluebirds fly
above the rainbow, why
Oh, why can’t I?

Eva Cassidy – over the rainbow

Category: Christianity, Feminism, Marriage, Music, Politics Sarah Palin, Quotes | No Comments »
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carol | June 5, 2009

Long working hours ‘good for marriages’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/5452168/Long-working-hours-good-for-marriages.html

Category: Marriage | No Comments »
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