Mi Choza De Nipa

From TODAY, Voices Thursday October 30, 2008 By Dr James Dobson Everyone who has raised a toddler has probably been confronted at some point by a full-blown temper tantrum. Usually, a firm hand will discourage such violent behaviour, but sometimes not. I knew one family that had a three-year-old boy who was still throwing the most terrible fits when he didn’t get his way. He would fall on the floor, kick, scream and cry. His parents had done everything they knew to stop him, with no success. One night, as they were each reading a newspaper, the child demanded that they do something. They didn’t move quickly enough, so he went into his violent contortion. Out of exasperation, since they didn’t know what else to do, they didn’t do anything. They just went on reading. The child, shocked by their unresponsiveness, got up and went over to his mother. He shook her arm and fell on the floor screaming again. Still, neither parent reacted. He then approached his father and hit the newspaper bef...

From TODAY, Voices Wednesday October 29, 2008 By Dr James Dobson What do you get for the child who has everything? That’s a question Mr Richard Crane faced every year on his son’s birthday. So one year, he just decided to ask him. The Crane family lived in a castle high on a hill beside a stretch of beach along the Atlantic Ocean. Across the sea lay the small town of Ipswich, Massachusetts, a city of 7,000 people living in stark contrast to the kind of life the Cranes enjoyed. When Richard asked his son, Cornelius, what he would like to have, the boy answered: “I’d like to invite all the children of Ipswich to a party on our beach.” It was a big request, but an unselfish one, so Richard granted it. Over 1,000 children spent the day on the Cranes’ beach, playing games and filling up on sandwiches and ice cream. The event became an annual tradition in Ipswich. Today, over 60 years later, the town comes together each year to celebrate Cornelius’ birthday on June 16. And it all began with ...

From TODAY, Voices Tuesday October 28, 2008 By Dr James Dobson I want to pay tribute today to a good man — who happened to be my uncle — Dr Willis B Dobson. He earned his PhD in Shakespearean English at the University of Texas and served for more than 40 years as a humble professor at a small college. He worked for peanuts compared to what he could have earned at a national university, but there was something more important to him than money. Shortly after he retired, his beloved wife Naomi succumbed to cancer, and we expected him to wither and die without her. Instead, he simply re-dedicated his life to the service of others. At 70 years of age, he began a taxi service for what he called “old people.” He set up a refreshment stand for the trash collectors in front of his house, serving hot chocolate in the winter and cold Cokes in the summer. A few years later, Dr Willis B Dobson died early one Sunday morning. He never received great acclaim or notoriety for his selfless commitment to...

From TODAY, Voices Friday October 24, 2008 By Dr Bill Maier Having a teenager in the house shouldn’t drain your finances. Teens can have a lot of expenses, but there’s no reason why they can’t help cover some of their costs themselves. It’s good for teens to learn early that money doesn’t just fall out of the sky. Somebody has to earn it. A recent survey showed that more than 70 per cent of all teens do some form of work to earn money. And more than a third hold fulltime or part-time jobs — at least through the summer. Of course, it’s important that you do not let their work interfere with school, but doing odd jobs on the weekends and throughout the summer months not only helps your budget, it also teaches your kids invaluable life lessons. And once they start earning, use the opportunity to teach them good financial management, like how to give, save and invest wisely. When they start to buy clothes with their own hard-earned money, they’re much more likely to be frugal when they sho...

From TODAY, Voices Thursday October 23, 2008 By Dr Bill Maier The only thing worse than going to the doctor is taking your toddler to the doctor! What child wouldn’t be afraid of an examination room with all those mirrors and needles and rubber gloves? Most two-year-olds don’t even have nightmares that scary. So before you go, why not take time to prepare your children? Talk to them a few days before the appointment and frame the experience as a positive one. You might say something like, “Guess what you get to do? You get to go see Dr Smith for a check up. When Sally went he gave her a special toy!” You might even buy a toy doctor kit for them to play with, and show them how the doctor is going to listen to their heart and look into their ears. Remember, how you prepare your toddler for a doctor visit makes all the difference in how they’ll react to the experience.

From TODAY, Voices Wednesday October 22, 2008 By Dr Bill Maier When it comes to living in a blended family, the key is acceptance and plenty of patience. Children don’t always accept a step-parent, and they often reject their love and discipline. Step-parents tend to take this rejection personally and usually work even harder to win the child’s love. In these situations, it’s important to focus on what the child is going through. Their rejection is really an attempt to hang on to their relationship with their biological mother or father. They may feel that accepting a new parent is a sign of disloyalty to their biological parent. The key is to make sure they understand that you are not trying to replace their parent, and that there’s no competition between the two of you. Give them permission to talk all they want about their “real” mum or dad, and help them to stay in close contact. Above all, never criticise their biological parent. Love them and give them space, and in time, you’ll ...

From TODAY, Voices Tuesday October 21, 2008 By Dr Bill Maier Hey ladies, get ready for the second instalment of “Top 10 ways to keep your husband happy”: 4 Thank him often for the way he provides for the family. Most of us guys make a lot of personal sacrifices to care for the ones we love. We don’t do it for the praise, but it’s always nice to know that someone notices. 5 Save a little energy in the evenings for your husband, instead of giving all your attention to the kids. All couples need time to connect with each other, and no man likes to be lost in the shuffle. 6 Be sensitive to his “male ego”. Even men with a high self-esteem struggle with feelings of insecurity from time to time, especially as age starts to show. It’s nice to hear that our spouses are still attracted to us — in spite of the growing love handles and thinning hairline.