August 18, 2010USA Today highlights the problems displaced workers are encountering when their COBRA subsidy ends or they do not qualify.
Note: At the time of a divorce, an employee’s former spouse is eligible for COBRA coverage for 36 months, but someone needs to pay the full premium plus the 2% administrative fee. In contrast, [...]
Posted in Divorce Grand Rapids, Families/Children, Finances/Tax 
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August 2, 2010The New York Times highlights the “Un-Divorced” who choose to stay separated.
Pamela Paul writes (excerpt):
“Many people I’ve worked with over time enjoy the benefits of being married: the financial perks, the tax breaks, the health care coverage,” said Toni Coleman, a couples therapist in McLean, Va. “They maintain a friendship, they co-parent their kids, they [...]
Posted in Families/Children, Finances/Tax, Relationships No Comments »
July 21, 2010USA Today highlights the rise in people–especially teens but also adults–who send text messages with sexual content or nude pictures of themselves.
Stephanie Steinberg writes (excerpt):
To combat the problem, Sophy says, schools should incorporate lessons about appropriate texting in sex education classes. LG Mobile Phones also launched an initiative called LG Text Ed in which parents [...]
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June 16, 2010USA Today shows how “non-resident” dads who don’t live with their children are staying involved with them. Half of all children will spend part of their lives living apart from their fathers.
Sharon Jayson writes (excerpt):
“The point isn’t what fathers do; it’s whether the kid thinks or believes the father cares about them,” says Philip Cowan, [...]
Posted in Families/Children, General, Relationships No Comments »
June 11, 2010The Love and Logic Institute issued its weekly email newsletter with help for stepparents feeling the need to discipline stepchildren. The four tips flow from the Love and Logic consultant style of parenting (fully documented in the many resources available at and through the website).
Dr. Charles Fay writes (excerpt) that consultant parents and [...]
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March 3, 2010Common Ground sheds light on four myths about marriage.
Claire Maisonneuve writes (excerpt):
Myth #1: Resolving your conflicts is the key to a happy marriage.
[The key is that partners need to feel like they are accepted for who they are and have a fundamental sense of fondness and admiration for each other.]
Myth #2: Problems of sexual desire [...]
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November 8, 2009The New York Times shows how children of same-sex couples are doing just fine, highlighting research by Abbie E. Goldberg, an assistant professor in the department of psychology at Clark University and author of “Lesbian and Gay Parents and Their Children.”
Lisa Belkin writes (excerpt):
More enlightening than the similarities, however, are the differences, the most striking [...]
Posted in Families/Children, Relationships, Something Different 1 Comment »
November 4, 2009The New York Timesdiscusses a study about involving fathers, as well as the benefits of co-parenting or parallel parenting.
Laurie Tarkan writes (excerpt):
. . . [T]he critical difference was not greater involvement by the fathers in child-rearing but greater emotional support between couples.
“The study emphasizes the importance of couples’ figuring parenting out together and accepting [...]
Posted in Divorce Grand Rapids, Families/Children 1 Comment »
October 22, 2009USAToday shares some of Uma Thurman’s reflection on motherhood and “Motherhood,” including struggling to balance home and work lives, and being caught outside in her nightgown.
Olivia Barker writes (excerpt):
So, then, what does motherhood mean to her?
“It’s an invitation to love. It’s the most expansive, loving experience I have ever had … humbling, beautiful” — nightgown-as-streetwear [...]
Posted in Families/Children, Relationships, Something Different No Comments »
October 9, 2009I am alarmed that we’ve heard very little outrage at the normalization of an adult woman having sex with an adolescent boy as seen in the academy award winning movie The Reader. This lack of anger speaks to the gender constructed sexuality in our culture. For adolescent boys, it is considered titillating and complimentary to [...]
Posted in Families/Children 1 Comment »
September 29, 2009Richard Forrest Gould-Saltman posted a summary of how a non-custodial parent can maximize parenting time. The summary was written with California in mind, but many of the principles are equally applicable across the country.
Mr. Gould-Saltman writes:
The things you need to do to maximize your success as a parent with custodial time, and the chances [...]
Posted in Families/Children 2 Comments »
September 15, 2009The New York Times summarizes the research showing how TV guru Phil McGraw and Supernanny Jo Frost have it all wrong: using “I Love You” to control behavior harms children.
Alfie Kohn writes (excerpt):
In practice, according to an impressive collection of data by Dr. Deci and others, unconditional acceptance by parents as well as teachers should [...]
Posted in Families/Children, Something Different No Comments »
July 30, 2009CNN and Parenting.com gives us 11 tips on how to save your marriage from your kids
Teri Cettina’s list includes (excerpt):
Create warm welcomes
Try 20-minute reconnects
Set early bedtimes
Share the load
Encourage your kids’ independence
Revive your past
Put sex on your schedules
Fight as if the neighbors can hear you
Remember: Dad’s way works, too
Be a cheap date
Understand the stages of marriage
Posted in Families/Children, Relationships No Comments »
June 23, 2009CNN & CareerBuilder offer tips for mixing family and career.
Jason Ferrara writes (excerpt):
1. Communicate
Don’t reserve your open dialogues only for your boss. Make sure you’re talking to your family about what’s happening at work . . . .
2. Keep a master family calendar
Have one calendar that lists every family member’s schedule to prevent double-booking [...]
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June 22, 2009The Wall Street Journal shows how “gatekeeper” mothers can help or hinder the involvement of fathers.
Sue Shellenbarger writes (excerpt):
Some ideas on avoiding the gatekeeping trap:
Skills training. . . . In the hospital after childbirth, Mr. Edwards already knew how to soothe his baby to sleep while his wife recuperated, a good start toward being “a [...]
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June 21, 2009Parade Magazine shares some fatherly advice from our President.
President Barack Obama writes (excerpt):
. . . When we work hard, treat others with respect, spend within our means, and contribute to our communities, those are the lessons our children learn. And that is what so many fathers are doing every day—coaching soccer and Little League, [...]
Posted in Families/Children, General 1 Comment »
June 17, 2009Attorney Mike Mastracci shares Dr. Paul Wanio’s tips for understanding guilt in divorce:
Nobody’s perfect and that’s OK.
Everyone makes mistakes, even when they’re doing their best.
Divorce is like death in that you and your children need to grieve for the losses divorce entails. Be there for your children, listen to them and try to [...]
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June 13, 2009Dr. Deborah Hecker.com/ published tips for living together separately after the divorce; many suggestions would work well for that time period when a divorce is filed or imminent but neither spouse has relocated:
Be civil and respectful at all times.
Both parties and their children must be clear that the arrangement is temporary. There can be no [...]
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June 10, 2009Attorney Mike Mastracci shared 6 principles for putting your children first:
Avoid playing the blame game. Don’t blame your ex for the divorce, for lack of money, or for the loss of your home or possessions. Your problems with your spouse are adult issues that shouldn’t be aired in front of the children. Don’t use the [...]
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June 6, 2009Dr. Deborah Hecker provides these suggestions for understanding and meeting the needs of their children:
The “best interests of the children” does not mean the immediate gratification of the client and his/her need for me-me-me. Over and over again, the focus should be pro-child and centered on building a safety net for the children.
Children must be [...]
Posted in Families/Children 1 Comment »
