About a year and a half ago, Michele and Bill Jones of Davie gathered their three youngest children around the kitchen table and served up a big dose of reality:
BOOKS
Dudley Clendinen was writing editorials for The New York Times in 1994, commuting from Baltimore, when his mother finally agreed to sell her house in Tampa and move to an assisted living high-rise overlooking Tampa Bay.
From politicians like Dennis Kucinich and John McCain, to businessmen like Larry Ellison and Donald Trump, to entertainers like Woody Allen and Larry King, there's no shortage of rich, successful men marrying much younger women.
MAGAZINE
Has your relationship become stale? As Mary Poppins would say, all you need is ''a spoonful of sugar.'' Being sweet to each other can add positive energy to your relationship according to the June issue of Redbook.
The Summer Youth Program at the Miami Art Museum kicks off with a free family event this weekend. Children and their families can take part in hands-on art activities. Guided tours, live music and refreshments will also be available. The event theme relates to MAM's exhibition, Shadows, Disappearances and Illusions, opening June 6, so the activities will include scratch art, photograms and visual tricks.
As many as 350,000 households are not getting the $300 per child refund owed as part of economic stimulus rebate payments, the Internal Revenue Service said Thursday.
Retail may be in a funk, but designer Phillip Lim has a new angle on cinched waists and jagged-edged trim. This season, the Neiman Marcus darling introduced a sophisticated two-tone shift for $325 and orange tea dress for $225 -- both in girls' size 6 or smaller.
"52: Travel Activity Kit"
Lisa Simone knew her son was different, but she didn't know why.
My husband and I believe communication is one of the keys to a successful marriage. Which is why we haiku.
Q: Our almost 4-year-old son has taken to saying nasty things to us. Last night, for example, when my husband was reading him a bedtime story, he said, "I don't love you anymore Daddy, and I want you to move out of our house". We don't know where he is picking this stuff up or why he's doing this. We've explained that comments of that sort hurt people's feelings, but it seems to make no difference. Lately, we've been sending him to his room for about 20 minutes for his "nasty talk". Upon release he promises to say "nice things" yet the nasty comments keep coming. Should we continue to punish, or just ignore this?
Q: Why would my stepson, age 9, feed his mother lies about my husband?
Dear Mr. Dad: My 2-month-old wants to be held all day long. Everyone I know is telling me that she'll grow up spoiled if I don't put her down. Am I spoiling her?
Today's drug of choice among teens may be caffeine, perfectly legal and packaged in an aluminum can with a catchy name like Bawls or Amp or Hype.
The question: Are youngsters who are not physically active more likely to face health problems as they grow up? This study analyzed data on 389 children ages 7 to 10 at the start of the study. They were measured for height, weight, body fat percentage, cholesterol levels and blood pressure, tested for aerobic fitness and questioned about physical activity. Seven years later, as teens, about 5 percent of them were found to have metabolic syndrome, a collection of five conditions (hypertension, high...
If you like Method's Earth-friendly home cleaning products, you will love the new Methodbaby and Methodkid bath products. Method products are nontoxic, biodegradable and animal byproducts-free, which makes this mom feel good about using them in her home and on her children.
Moms Forum spotlights useful discussion taking place on the parenting forums of newspapers around the country.
A weekly glimpse of what moms are saying on the Web.
My snuffle-snore-filled dreams were invaded. Did someone just call my name? Smack, squinch, swipe: I rubbed the crust off my eyes and looked at the light-up baby monitor.
There are many days that I wonder whether it's worth it to work. Generally, they are the days where my e-mail is silent as my 3-year-old is in school and my son naps, only to start beeping like crazy as I get e-mail after e-mail from editors demanding instant changes - once my son is awake and only wants to be held and my daughter is begging me to play chase, of course. They are the days when it is beautiful out, and my part-time babysitter gets to take my kids to the park while I sit up in my home office trying to finish an article. And then there's tax time, when a year's worth of untaxed paychecks come back to haunt me. Some days, it really doesn't seem worth it.
The following is an excerpt from "What Every 21st-Century Parent Needs To Know," by Debra W. Haffner (copyright 2008 by Debra W. Haffner). Reprinted by permission from Newmarket Press, www.newmarketpress.com.
I was watching Oprah the other day when Barbara Walters, of all people (I can't stand her), says something that just struck me to my core. She was talking about her special needs sister and how hard it is for parents of children with autism and that, although they love their children and would do anything for them, sometimes they think "it's just too much."
Before you know it, it'll be summer - and that means your kids will have lots of time to play. If you want to avoid the inevitable "I'm boooored," kick off the summer with one of these bestselling toys.
Forget the image of angels who flit about in froofy gowns.
Michael Sherrod, along with Matthew Rayback, stumbled across some weird, hilarious and just plain wrong names on U.S. federal censuses from 1790 to 1930, and they share them with you in their new book, "Bad Baby Names."
Any wine connoisseur can tell you the age, quality and history of a bottle of wine. The elegance of how the aroma fills the glass; the smell of the cork, freshly popped out of the bottle; the type of glassware best suited for different varieties; the degree of dryness, sweetness, everything. While a child's "whine" is far from this civilized or tasteful, there are ways to manage it so it doesn't permanently stain the tablecloth of life! So, consider this the "art of fine-tuning the whine."
Raising a teen? Here's some advice on your teen's internet usage from the book "How to Survive Your Teenager" (Hundreds of Heads Books, www.hundredsofheads.com, $13.95), straight from people who've done it:
Vindication! For years I tried to convince my younger sister that she had it easier. Mom and Dad let her slide, I was sure of it. Now, a study by a Johns Hopkins University sociology professor has my back. The study has found that first-born children are subjected to stricter parenting, more discipline and higher expectations and that they receive less money from their parents than younger siblings when they dropped out of school or teenage girls got pregnant.
I grew up in Miami - aka the capital of Latin America - where being from a Spanish-speaking family is the norm, not the exception. It's not the kind of city that followers of Lou Dobbs would feel welcome in ... Spanish is the dominant language in many neighborhoods, and the Latino community is quite powerful. I never felt like a "minority." In fact, of the 800-plus seniors in my high school's graduating class, at least half of the top 2 percent were Latinos, including the valedictorian, whose family had arrived in Miami during the Mariel boatlift.
After 20 years as a mortgage banker in Miami, Belkys Suarez wants a new career. But where to start?
