Betsy’s backstory. . .

Here’s this week’s column “backstory:” Brad Pitt is all over the monthly magazines (”V,” “Details,”) talking about his life with Angelina, his former life with Jennifer, wanting a fifth child and on it goes.

What really piqued my interest wasn’t so much more information about Brad or Brad and Angelina - it was the way the writer from “Details” echoed our culture and glorified Brad as having evolved “up” in his conscience in recent years. And I just thought - wait a minute! This is really about us and it’s another symptom of the fact that there’s something askew in our culture.

Read it here - Betsy

“Brangelina” - Enough Already

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Listen today to WYLL/AM1160 Chicago. . . On “It Takes a Parent,” producer Lynne and I will be talking to Dan Gould, director of the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michicgan State University. We’ll talk about how kids (and parents) are getting way too intense about sports - and is that sapping kids of their love of the game?

Then from 3-5, I’ll be guest hosting for Sandy Rios. I’d love for you to call in. We’ll be talking about kids and college and finances - and does money buy happiness by the way? with David Briggs of the Good Sense Minsistry at Willow Creek Community Church. Then, we’ll look at kids and the growing obesity epidemic, and talk about the growing trend of kids “cutting” themselves, with the author of a new book, “Cut.” What is going on there? Tune in or listen via streaming at www.wyll.com.

Happy Parenting - Betsy Hart

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Check your cable or satellite TV programming. . .

Moms and dads, here’s a word to the wise: If you have a television in your house, no matter how sure you are that you don’t receive/have blocked out certain channels on your cable/satellite TV service, every so often flip around and make sure there’s nothing there you don’t want there. I recently switched satellite TV services, and unbeknownst to me, I received three “free months” of HBO and Cinemax. There is some good programming on these networks, and there is a lot of very explicit sexual content too. Fortunately, I was the one flipping around the first evening we had it, and I discovered - and got rid of - the problem. (Good programming from HBO you can pretty easily just get on Netflix.)

I’m told occsionally “free offers” and other promotions get through on our cable to satellite TV services, and we moms and dads just might not know. So every once in a while - just check.

Happy Parenting!

Betsy

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Letting our kids face a little adversity

Hi friends - here’s a piece I wrote which came out in Christianity Today’s on-line magazine yesterday. I thought I’d post it in today’s pareting tip in the hope you’ll find it helpful. It’s about building resliliant kids and letting them experience a little adversity!

Christianity Today - and. . . A Little Adveristy for our Kids

Happy Parenting!

Betsy

(Please continue to visit my on-line store, by clicking at the top of the page, where you can buy a signed copy of my book, “It Takes a Parent.” More fun items coming soon!)

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If I could save time in a bottle. . .

I marvel at how my children can drive me crazy, exhaust me, and yet make me cry because they are growing up way too fast - and all at the same time. As I watched my 6-year-old “scooter” ahead of me around the block this morning, eager to know when she could leave for school which doesn’t start for more than an hour, I thought of the wisdom of the sage who said, when it comes to our children. . .

The days are so long, but the years are so short.

That’s something for me to reflect upon the next time they are driving me nuts. Which I suspect will be in about 10 minutes.

Happy Parenting.

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A little encouragement

I saw a great sign today that helped me put things in persepctive as a mother:

To the world you may be one person; but to one person, you may be the world.

Happy parenting.

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Hi friends - and welcome new visitors from the Chicago Sun-Times!

Today, the Chicago Sun-Times begins running my weekly column as a feature on its Friday Lifestyles pages. So - I’m going to start posting (and doing the weekly “backstory” on) the column on Fridays too. (I’ll typically link to the Sun-Times pages, but for technical reasons today this link will take you to the column on my news bureau’s website.)

This week I wrote about kids and young adults and the self-esteem craze. Now, thanks to being told constantly as youngsters how marvelous they were for everything and nothing, today’s young adults, it turns out, need serious stroking in the workplace. What troubles me is that I see today’s youngsters subject to the self-esteem hype by the bucketload. I’ve got 4 young ones, ages 6 to 13, so I see it constantly. Moreover, few parents seem willing to offer appropriate criticism to their child for fear of disturbing a delicatge psyche. How many parents are willing to say - when it’s called for - “you should be ashamed of yourself!” Hint: I do. I call it “developing a conscience.”

On the other side, we’re constantly telling our kids how wonderful they which may make them reticent about taking on new challenges. One expert I talked to had really interesting things to say including “don’t tell your kids they are smart!” Now that’s bucking what I call the “parenting culture!”

I’m always happy to hear what my readers think - and again, if you are just getting to know me for the first time from the Sun-Times - welcome.

The Self-Delusion of the Self-Esteem Craze

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Be sure to listen today to the “It Takes a Parent” show. (AM1160/WYLL 2:00 PM Chicago, or streaming at www.wyll.com, or anytime on “www.betsysblog.com”)Today, I’ll be talking to one of our favorite guests, David Staal, director of the Promiseland Children’s Ministry at Willow Creek Community Church in So. Barrington. He always has great insights.

Today we’re talking about back to school. It can be tough having our kids around all summer, but when school starts up again, it can get really nuts! How do we handle all that, and still put family first? Then, how do we help our kids face adversity or dissapointment (two big issues that seem to especially come up at the start of the school years!) - how do we help our kids to have Christian hearts in the secular culture they face? All that and more on “It Takes a Parent” today. We hope you’ll listen!

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A super easy breakfast your kids will love

The morning rush has begun, so I’m using one of my favorite morning recipes: egg nogg. Yep, egg nogg. Buy only pasteurized eggs for this. But now that such eggs are available at most grocery stores, you can enjoy this recipe. (My mother made it for us when we were little, thereby exposing us to salmonella in the raw eggs, but oh well.)

6 large eggs
about 2 cups milk
3 tbs sugar
a dash of vanilla

mix at high spead until frothy, pour into a glass with a little cinammon on top,and your kids will love it. It goes down fast and easy and full of nutrients and protein to start the day.

Happy parenting!

Betsy

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Love the skin you’re in. . .

For kids and parents, here’s a really good article in today’s New York Times. It’s about achieving a lifetime of skin health, not just skin “good looks.” I’m all for the latter, but this piece has tips for treating our skin like the life giving organ it is!

A Supple Casing, Prone to Damage

happy parenting!

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