Family Matters

It's not every day that you see Dad doing the school run, after school activities, homework, and preparing dinner, but in some cases, this is the role Dads are finding themselves in.

In modern society, it has become increasingly common for both moms and dads to work outside of the home, and it’s overwhelmingly evident that busyness has become the norm for so many families. The words: ‘Oh, we’ve just been so busy!’ are almost everybody’s mantra. And with parents adopting this kind of lifestyle it’s often the Grandparents that get assigned the duties of fetching and carrying and taking care of the children. This arrangement can be extremely helpful for the family, but not when the Grandparents feel as though they’re being taken advantage of, or are enabling an over-busy lifestyle.

The subject of discipline is a hot topic among most parents, and it’s an area where parents can feel overwhelmed and underqualified. What a lot of Moms and Dads don’t realize is that effective discipline takes effort and follow-through, and when there’s inconsistency, children end up feeling unsure of their boundaries.

A relationship that ends because of unfaithfulness is always a serious blow, but when there are children involved it makes the situation so much more difficult and devastating.

As a Christian, how do I sort out the difference between my obligation to family on the one hand and to the work of the gospel on the other? And what's my responsibility to my extended family as compared with my obligation to my immediate, nuclear family? Is there any distinction between the two? My feeling is that many believers are too quick to try to save the rest of the world when what we really need is to become more effective missionaries at home and to create stronger, godlier extended families. What do you think?

Pursuing a serious relationship with someone who you feel is a potential marriage partner is always a big decision. This is because marriage is a lifetime commitment that doesn’t only involve you and your spouse but your respective families too.

Blended families take extra effort when it comes to relationship and discipline with stepchildren.

Does the fact that I'm not ready to sleep in the same bed with my husband since learning of his affair mean that I haven't forgiven him? Several months ago I discovered that he had been involved with another woman for more than four years. He's sorry about it now and has cut off the relationship, but for some reason I'm still not at a place where I feel comfortable getting close to him or being intimate with him. He's frustrated by this and says that I obviously haven't forgiven him. He has also suggested that it might be best if he sleeps at a friend's house (of the same sex) until I'm ready to come back to bed with him. What should I do?

Very often an addict is slow to realize the severity of their problem, and will become defensive if the word addict is even mentioned. Now, you may think I’m referring to substance abuse and addiction, but today I’m referring to an addiction that’s catching a lot of people off guard: that of Computer Game Addiction.

Have you ever heard yourself say something a little like this: “You are not leaving the dining table until you have eaten your dinner”, or, “Why didn’t you eat the school lunch I packed for you?, or, “No, you cannot have a sweetie, it’s 9 in the morning and you still haven’t eaten your breakfast!” I’m sure many parents can relate to at least one of these scenarios, and even more so if your child happens to be a particularly picky eater. As parents we can often become panicked about our child not eating, and conflict between spouses sometimes arises as a result of different opinions on the matter.