The weakness of the current economy has repercussions not only in the marketplace, but in family life as well. As the nation’s belt tightens, many young people return to the nests from which they came. Once plentiful jobs are being…
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Families need rules for a variety of good reasons. Individual family members may have different opinions and values to their parents, children or siblings. While everyone should have a chance to express their views in a family, they shouldn’t behave…
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Watching a family member in an abusive relationship is a frustrating situation. Part of you wants to go after the abuser to save the day, the other part of you might be wondering why he or she stays in the…
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There are few things that are more painful than watching one of your family members struggling within an abusive relationship. You want to help, but you may feel like there is little or nothing that you can do. In many…
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It’s surprising in this day and age that many husbands and children go through day to day living totally oblivious to the fact that the clothing they are wearing has been lovingly washed, dried and ironed and that this involved…
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What do you think of when you hear the word “balance”? If you are a part of Western culture, then most likely you imagine scales with equality on both sides. However, balancing kid’s sports and the family’s schedule can be…
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Life today has become a family of people who are always busy. If there were cameras in the households of today, they would show most families so tired from their day of work and after school activities that none would feel…
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“Bailing Out”… your Boomerang! You gave them life, raised them and sent them off to college in hopes they would use the values you instilled in them along the way to lead a happy, prosperous life and now…”They’re Back!” The…
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In today’s society of economic unrest many adult children are considering the unthinkable, moving back in with mom and dad. The term “boomerang kids” used to be reserved for young adults who had just finished college and couldn’t quit make…
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Boomerang Kids vs. Move-in Parents Remember the jokes about the Boomerang Kids? They bring their laundry; they laze around without a care in the world. They are safe in the arms of Mom and Dad once again. How often have…
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What is the saying about never being able to return home again? Well, tides are changing. Youth and parents alike are finding out how untrue that is. For many moving out the first time is exhilarating. There were unexpected expenses like toilet paper and shampoo which crossed no one’s mind other than…
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Oh the shame of it all! You left home and established your own cosy and private little nest somewhere. It was freedom at last. There was nobody to give you the “look” when you left your coffee cup in the…
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From the moment my now oldest son could walk, he wanted to be independent. By the time he was 17 he was working full time and living with a group of friends. I respected his decision and knew he was…
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These are rough economic times. You don’t have to watch stock prices nosedive or lines for the local pantry grow longer to understand this. People are losing their jobs and homes and find themselves debating which bill not to pay…
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Boomerang kids; out into the real world and then back again. Stepping out into the real world can be tough and expensive. Normal living expenses, the high cost of gas, food, cell phone bills, using credit cards to help make…
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The recent economic downturn has seen a major shift in the lifestyles of people in their mid-twenties. We have left behind an era where parents become empty nesters when their children graduate high school or college. Adult children are beginning…
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We all know people who would rather live in a cardboard box than return to the parental nest. We also know people who return home easily and methodically to the home base for special purposes, saving up for a wedding,…
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Apparently returning to live with Momma is such a common trend that it has been given a name… “boomerang kids!” In CBS’s “Big Bang Theory,” the character Howard Wolowitz, a nerdy Jewish engineer who lives with his mother, is the…
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Allowance, Kids and Money It’s time, your kids are old enough to start helping around the house and you thought this would be the perfect time to start teaching them about money. Why not combine the two? Where do you…
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Family is what you make it and how you perceive it. If you accept others in your family for having their own quirks and idiosyncrasies you are more likely to have what you would call a functional family. If you…
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Were your dreams of a classy apartment decked in art deco dashed by the crashing economy coinciding with the first payment due on your student loan? Perhaps you have then joined the legions of twenty- and thirty-somethings who have had…
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There’s a new mantra that says by taking responsibility for a situation, you are taking control of it. On the flip side, by blaming others for the situation you are in, you are relinquishing control and deciding, right or wrong,…
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The freedom of moving out of the family home and finding your own feet is exhilarating for a first timer. Unfortunately it comes with the added bonus of bills and financial responsibilities (that is, paying the bill on time), but…
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A family comes with responsibilities that used to be defined by the role of the husband, role of the wife and role of the children. This is no longer the case. Today there is no line drawn defining which family…
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Why children should obey their parents? There are many reasons a child should be taught to obey their parents, and it needs to be started at a very early age. I think it is the responsibility of all parents to…
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Do you have what it takes to stay at home with the kids? It sounds great… at first. Sure, you don’t have to worry about a nasty boss making unrealistic demands on you, instead you have a two-year-old making those…
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I had just given birth to my first son and my room mate said to me, “Enjoy him while he’s little. He will grow up very fast.” I chuckled to myself and thought, “Yeah, what do you know?” Well, since…
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I once read an article about what composes a functional family, and as I read, thought “such a family is a myth.” But some of the aspects seemed vaguely familiar: humor, pulling together as a family, not a lot of…
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THE PREFACE It’s a nice, lazy Saturday afternoon. You have had a work week that would curl the hair on a bald man and it’s finally time to kick up your feet, open a book and relax (well that would…
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We would all like to believe that our children will need us throughout our lifetimes. A phone call to ask for advice, a Sunday morning drop-in for coffee and discussion of your daughter’s college major, or a long dinner with…
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