Hi Friends – I hope you’ll join producer Lynne and me today at 2:00 PM central time when we talk to Robin Henig, author of the New York Times piece, “The Business of Play.” A lot of you have responded to my column on the piece, so I think you’ll really like the show. Lynne and I will also be talking to one of sponsors, Christina Steil, dermatologist of Hinsdale and my own family dermatologist, about winter skin care. You will want to tune in!

Listen to “It Takes a Parent” at 2:00 central on WYLL/AM1160, streaming at WYLL.com, or afterward here on my blog or tomorrow on NationalReview.com, where you can now download the podcast!

As always, thanks for listening!

Betsy

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Hi friends – here’s this week’s column (also to be the subject of this week’s radio show!)

The New York Times Magazine asks “why do we play?” Even writer Robin Henig thinks we may be overanalyzing the answer!

My Column

Enjoy – and happy parenting.

Betsy

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Hi Friends – I hope you get a chance to listen the radio show today via webcast if you didn’t get a chance to tune in yesterday. Producer Lynne and I talked to Ramesh Ponnuru, Senior Editor of National Review Magazine, about the political scene. What happened to Hillary, what does the future hold for Barack Obama, and just why are some conservatives beating up on John McCain? If you know Ramesh, you know he is brilliant. I hope you’ll tune in here.

Next week, Lynne and I will talk to Robin Henig, author of the NYT cover story “Why We Play.” You’ll definitely want to hear what she has to say.

As always, you can download the podcast onto your MP3 player from NationalReview.com

Thanks for listening – and have a great weekend!

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Hi friends – here’s a great piece from the New York Times magazine on Sunday about the importance of “play” – for all of us! I know that when it comes to our kids, it’s easy to forget how important fun is. (The author will be guest on the radio show this week, more on that later.)

The Business of Play

Happy Parenting!

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Hi friends – Here’s this week column. I hope you have fun reading it!

My Column

Have a great weekend!

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Happy Valentine’s Day. Be sure to tune into “It Takes a Parent” today when producer Lynne and “favorite mom” Anne Morton and I talk about teens and romance and the “chemistry of love.” We’ll look at the findings from recent studies that love really is a lot like, well, drugs.

So then, is romance, even apart from sex, something our teens should be encouraged to engage in, as our culture wants them to?

You can listen live on WYLL/AM1160 Chicago at 2:00 central, or here after the show.

Thanks for tuning in! And happy Valentine’s Day.

Betsy

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Hi friends – hey, this week is Valentine’s Day (who could forget?)

I wrote about all the research that shows that love may be just as much science. . . as art.

I say, “better living through chemistry!”

Enjoy.

My Column

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Hi friends – don’t miss the show today! I’ll be talking live with Paul David Tripp, author of “Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens. I can’t wait to delve in. If you’ve got teens, or know anyone with teens, you’ll want to listen in. That’s 2:00 central time on AM1160/WYLL, or here or on nationalreview.com after the show.

And great news – you can now download “It Takes a Parent” from the National Review Website, nationalreview.com.

(Thanks to the folks who made me make that happen.)

Stay tuned for more announcements – and thanks for listening.

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Here’s an interesting piece from the NYT on “Coping with the caveman in the crib.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/health/05well.html?ex=1202878800&en=29bdb50fdcc2fa76&ei=5070&emc=eta1

I’ve always said that kids need to be “civilized.”

Enjoy

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Hi Friends – I’ve come across a great book that many of you may already know about.  “Age of Opportunity:  A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens” by Paul David Tripp.

Tripp is a renowned author and speaker, and on the pastoral staff at 10th Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.

In Age of Opportunity, which came out in 2001, Tripp speaks to the need to see the hearts of our teens, to parent them thoughtfully and deliberately.  He says that parents of kids that age are worn out because they focus too much on the wrong things,  and not enough on the right ones – spiritually shepherding, and reaching the hearts of, their kids.

I’ve had it recommended to me many times by parents of teens.  (I loved “Shepherding a Child’s Heart” by Paul’s brother Tedd Tripp.)  Now that my oldest children are entering their teen years, I decided it was time to delve into it myself.

This book is different than almost any other book on teens you will read – and might even make you glad you have teenagers!

You can of course find it on Amazon.com

I hope to have Paul Tripp on my radio show soon – stay tuned!

Happy Parenting – Betsy Hart

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