Raising Littles In Today's Culture

How does our brain work? What happens to our brains when we experience trauma? Can we heal? These are all great questions, but they don't scratch the surface when it comes to what we as a society knows and continues to learn. Our brain is an amazing organ in our bodies and as science improves so does our knowledge. But where do we find the information? How do we share the information? There are many research universities across the globe. Many research groups specializing on specific topics like brain development and trauma or human trafficking and so much more. Each group has to decide what it is they want to know and whats the best way to figure out that information. For some it's a quantitative studay which is all about numbers. They can then do graphs or other infographics to share the knowledge. Other cases they need to go so much deeper. Sharing qualitative data takes a different form. There can be graphs used for some of the data, but in many cases videos, blogs, or sli...

I have spent over 23 years taking college classes. Starting off first in community college and dropping out, and then going back, then transferring to university level all in business. After taking my first computer programming class I decided a degree in Management Information Systems wasn't for me, so I switched to general business. I ended up having to stop for a while and eventually went back to community college and got my Associates in General Business. I finally decided what I wanted to major in for the University level and that was Family Studies and Human Services which meant I had to almost start over. I'm now just three classes away from graduation...the two I'm currently taking and one this fall!! All that being said that I was always super picky on what classes I took. I always took something that truly interested me or that would transfer to almost any degree out there. I've taken paralegal classes, classes that made me a better parent, classes on Holocaus...

Matthew 25:45 says "He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'" That is a powerful message. As a whole society tends to walk around with blinders on pretending that someone struggling isn't our problem, but it is. We are called to serve those less fortunate. And like I said last week, we don't have to reinvent the wheel. There are plenty of organizations already in place. We may have some parenting instincts, but we are not all born ready to be perfect parents knowing all there is to know. We have to do life in community, there is great knowledge to be learned from those older and more experienced than us. But our society is quick to judge. Fear of judgement is what keeps most people from reaching out for help. And what happens when a person is surrounded by chaos? They have no positive role models in their lives. How do we break those generational curses. The military's New Parent Supp...

I think there are some benefits for being an adult student in her late thirties taking classes on adolescent development and working with parents, all part of a Family Studies and Human Services curriculum. Not only am I gaining new education I bring to the table experience. I've lived what I'm learning. I think this is exactly why some new graduates struggle particularly in this field. They come out of college all knowing and have some really great ideas...but they just aren't practical to the individuals trying to implement them. I think the same goes when a new case worker goes into a house and sees what is going on (on the surface) and wants to jump right in and start fixing things. It takes time and understanding. There are a lot of really smart people who have come before us who have accomplished some really big things by learning from the ones who went before them. Almost four years ago now I took over the leadership role of a food pantry at my home church. I had no...

In the good ol' days many young adults went out and got jobs at the age of 14 and were driving cars years before that out on the farm. Many never finished high school as they were working on the farms or got jobs working in the mines or construction or oil fields. I'm a rare breed being a third generation alumni from our local high school, and my kids will make four. I am however first generation to go to college, and God willing I will finally graduate this year after taking classes off and on for 20 years. I had my first job at 16, as well as my drivers license. I worked two jobs my junior and senior year and moved out when I was 18. I'm now raising teenagers, who are turning into young adults and things are different. They finally got their driving permit at 16. Will get their actual license at 17 and 18. Neither have had a job as I wanted them to focus on their schooling and with learning disabilities the work has been a little harder. One is planning on trade school f...

What to Expect When Expecting is a book on the market that helps soon to be parents to know what to expect as they navigate pregnancy, labor and birth, and raising a newborn. They even have a book on the first year and toddlers. It's became its own brand with books, podcasts, products and more. When I was pregnant with my first there wasn't much in the line of google searches, apps, or parenting advice online. I think it's funny that this week's lessons in both my classes are dealing with transitioning to parenthood and child development. Child Development is another one of those classes I wish I would have had in high school but wouldn't have gotten near as much out of it as I did in my mid 20's. In high school how to prevent pregnancy is talked about and how babies are made, but what about what to do when you become pregnant? I don't condone marriage out of wedlock, but it happens. It happened to me. Had it not been for my super supportive mother being wit...