Every parent knows the well rehearsed reasons why it’s important to give a routine for small children as they go to bed. Rest of course is very important for health. Most parents know firsthand what it’s like to deal with a young one the next day when they don’t get...
As a Catholic Family Trust Attorney in California, I see firsthand how families navigate life’s major transitions. For aging parents, their later years can be filled with joy, reflection, and deep faith, but they can also bring changes, challenges, and a longing for...
Watching my son arrange dinosaurs during Mass—his way of staying regulated—reminds me how far our Catholic family has come on our autism journey. What once felt impossible has become a chance to witness the Church embracing all her members, including those on the...
Do you ever wonder why your children behave differently than you did as a child? Is one of your children well-behaved while another seems extremely difficult? A study of temperaments can help us parent more effectively, especially if we look to the examples of the...
Saint John Bosco is well known for his work with disadvantaged youth and his innovative educational methods. In a time when teachers used corporal punishment and public shaming, John Bosco’s methods were seen as hugely controversial. Influenced by his first...
We all know that a great story can be one of the most effective ways to build up a child’s faith and strengthen their relationship with our Lord and His church. Many Catholic authors I know, including myself, strive to tell stories that will echo in your child’s heart...
Passing on your family’s traditions and rituals is of immense importance. From the way birthdays and name days are celebrated to the particular foods that are served at great feasts, traditions include all “the ways things are done in our house.” These small things...
For some reason, family prayer can be difficult. Carving out time in a day and gathering everyone into the same room seems particularly hard. It was hard when my wife Ashley and I had only three kids. It seems perfectly impossible now with sixteen. But even in the...
Years ago, I said something to my 11-year-old son which he found to be unsympathetic. His response? “I don’t think that is what a real parent would say to her child.” I have no idea how he came up with his frequent one-liners, but perhaps all 11-year-olds have this...
Occasionally, when I am feeling particularly adventurous, I load up the minivan and bring my five kids (eight and under) to the nearby Benedictine monastery for one of their hours of sung prayer. It is a little monastery, and when we go, we outnumber the nuns...
After a career change, I had the privilege of beginning my teaching career this past year at St. John Paul II High School in Avondale, AZ which is run by the Sisters of St. Cecilia, better known as the “Nashville Dominicans.” I was blown away by the fidelity of the...
Our baby is graduating from college this year. Gulp. I’m not sure how we got here so quickly, but like it or not, it’s happening. Actually, I love it. Watching our kids become who they were meant to be has been the greatest honor. They don’t have it all figured out,...
Here are 3 ways in particular that I rely on the Holy Spirit to parent: The Holy Spirit sanctifies me and fills me with God’s love when I am empty, He comes through on his scriptural promises, and He gives practical gifts which bear fruit. Let’s dive into these one at...
The beauty of the beast. “Sixteen is the terrible twos times eight plus a driver’s license.”—One mother in speaking for many. “Just enjoy them now; those teen years are coming.”—a forewarning from veteran parents to the beginners. Poll one hundred...
Advent: the season most Catholics would like to honor more appropriately but find it difficult to do so with the commercial Christmas creeping in all around. But when we do celebrate Advent it is totally worth it— both for the value in the season in and of itself, but...
As a sociologist who has taught college classes on the family, and as one who has written extensively on the subject, it is my considered judgment that strong families are not built on luck or happenstance: it takes work. Moreover, the right prescriptions must be...
The act of thinking is in a bit of a predicament these days. American culture has never cared less about what has been known for millennia as "objective truth." Despite the apathy, an objective truth still guides and directs reality, whether I or anyone else cares...
I saw struggles with sin unravel before my eyes, I found clarity in my vocation and decided to marry the man I now call my husband. I watched anxieties and worries, wounds, and difficulties dissipate as Our Lady brought me peace and interior quiet I had not known...
Sitting around the dinner table, my young son asked me a seemingly simple question, “How can I know that God exists?” He wasn’t asking about prayer or the Bible, but about logic. Why does our belief in God make sense? This was one of those rare parenting instances...
When I was posed this question, I didn’t understand it at first. Not because I didn’t know what gentle parenting was. Before my baby was even old enough to have a tantrum, I had over-read and over-researched and exhausted myself reading the least scary parenting...
Summer is coming on fast and that means more time with your kids, more time outside, more family time…basically more time! More time together is great in theory, but when we come to it without planning, we can find ourselves sitting around watching a show or listening...
A lot happens between the ages of 12 and 14. I call it the magical age, the ethereal age, the age of heroes and anything’s-possible. We’ve all passed through that moment. For some of us it was just another year, for others it was the turning point that made every...
As Millennial parents, my husband and I have grappled with the issue of moderating screen time for ourselves and our children. Whether we want to admit it or not, the technology is inescapable, but that’s all the more reason to take seriously our responsibility to...
Saint Teresa of Calcutta was known for spending countless hours attending to the dying, the sick, and the poor. This flowed from her rich prayer life: Daily Mass and a daily holy hour. Where did Mother Teresa learn to sacrifice herself for others? Her first teacher in...
Looking for the best and most unique Catholic gifts this Christmas? We're beyond excited to present to you an amazing list of Catholic products that will definitely put a smile on the face of every recipient. We have searched the internet to find these incredible...