In the U.S., the wedding industry is a robust and popular one, and there are all sorts of ways to host a wedding big or small, indoor or outdoor, from Los Angeles to Boston to Detroit. The average first-time bride is 25 years of age, and new grooms tend to a bit older. However, statistics say that around 50.5% of…
These days spanking is widely viewed by many modern parents as an outdated and ineffective disciplinary method. Since falling out of favor with younger parents, many mistakenly assume state legislation prohibiting corporal punishment in schools also applied limitations to parental spanking. In reality, the old doctrine of spare the rod, spoil the child has not been criminalized, and spanking continues…
One of the best decisions I have made as a mom is to limit the amount of gifts I purchase for my children. When my daughter was a baby, my wife and I decided to look up some holiday traditions to start for her first Christmas in 2011. We asked our friends and neighbors on social media to share their…
We all have the responsibility to help address the literacy crisis in Michigan. The Wayne RESA GSRP team is thrilled for the opportunity to enlist everyone to become a part of the foundation of our literacy work with young children. Our momentum comes with a sense of urgency for the good of our preschoolers. All children need regular exposure to…
Being an active family is sometimes hard. Here are five fun ways to get your family moving all-year round.
Halloween is a chance for kids to put on creative costumes and pretend to be something else for the night. But whether your little one is dressing up as a pretty princess or frightening ghost, you’ll want to make sure they stay safe. And that’s where these tips come in. They’ll ensure your kids trick-or-treat without putting themselves at risk.…
Working from home is both a blessing and a curse when you’re a mom. You can save on childcare, but it can be challenging to get your work done without any distractions. So how do you make it work as a work-from-home mom? On top of everything else, it’s difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle that keeps you feeling charged…
A few months ago the “#metoo movement came to a rise. Women were sharing their stories of horrible abuse. Men using their power over them, making advances, touching them without permission, and worse. I’m sure that more women than not have experienced repeated offenses over their years. One of my first experiences with unwanted attention was in elementary school. This…
There is still time for summer fun! Do you feel overwhelmed with what to do with your child over summer break? Do you often put your child in front of the television, give them a tablet to play with, or even worse give your child boring coloring worksheets to complete? If this is you, please keep reading. Accept this challenge…
Minimalism is about living more with less. Incorporating that idea into a family dynamic can be difficult. How do you get kids – who always want the newest, best, and next – to scale down and simplify? Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, authors of the book Everything That Remains give the advice “spend half the money and twice the time with…
As families begin to prepare for children heading back to school, for some this is their child’s first time attending “the big school.” Excitement about new things can also bring anxiousness about the unknown. Ask your child how s/he is feeling about going to kindergarten. If your child seems less than excited, reassure her it is okay to feel a certain…
With summer just around the corner, more people are out and about — whether it’s kids riding their bikes alongside the road or people piling into their cars for a summer road trip, there are more people and vehicles on the roads. In fact, Americans spend about 87 minutes each and every day in their cars. This is why it’s…
According to a study by Pew Research Center, 57% of American fathers believe fatherhood is central to their identity. Fatherhood poses unique challenges for men. From raising children to keeping themselves healthy, parenting is unlike any other experience. Andy Hetzel, VP of Corporate Communications at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan sat down with other fathers to discuss the joys and struggles…
Here it is just weeks after Christmas and at my house all but few of those “must have ” toys sit abandoned under beds, in toy boxes or just in the way. My boys have very short attention spans when it comes to toys and as they get older their interest is waning. Birthdays are fast approaching which means Aunts,…
William Shakespeare asked, “What’s in a name?” Well, ask any parent that question and they just may have a few answers to share! 2012 brought us baby names like “Blue Ivy” and in 2013, we were introduced to “North West.” Just before these famous babes were dubbed, pop culture was forever transformed as Game of Thrones entered the media scene. …
