jpadgett

Are our children spoiled rotten?  This past summer, a thought provoking article written by Elizabeth Kolbert came out in The New Yorker (here's a link to the article) stating that American children are spoiled rotten and asking why our kids rule the roost.  That is a great question in light of the »

Taking moments to notice the positive During the Civil War, at the Battle of Fredericksburg, in what was one of the most one sided victories for the Confederacy, the Union Army marched across open ground to face an entrenched Confederate Army. The Union’s losses were massive and what they had »

To explain what I feel a good father should be, I must first point out some negative things and hope that they will not only alarm you who are reading this text but also give you a better idea of what we are up against.  In other words, to tell »

We all feel sad, down, blue or discouraged at times.  That's pretty normal.  Sadness, disappointment, and pessimism are natural reactions to the hassles of life.  I regularly feel a bit blue during football season as I watch my beloved Oakland Raiders lose each week.  The reality is that, in the »

Nathan was changing. He was becoming increasingly irritable, bored, sad, and just plain angry. When his mother would ask what was wrong, he'd snap, "I'm just having a bad day." For a few months Nathan's mother assumed that the pressures of school and just being a young teen were the cause of »

What difference does it make who I choose as a friend? Some time ago, I realized that the people I spend my time with directly impact my capacity for success. It is a simple principle in life: you become like the people you spend your time with. There’s no getting »

How easy is it for teens to get drugs?  It's a lot easier than parents think.  For a number of years now, teens have been reporting that it is easier to get a bunch of prescription pills than to get alcohol.  With the emergence of new synthetic drugs like Spice, K2 and »

In writing this, I do not want to come off like a prude. Certainly, I would never describe myself in that way but given how people dress, adorn themselves, and talk these days, I am, without a doubt, no longer hip. Of course, that would assume that I once was, »

I tell this to my son often…watch what I do! The challenge for me as a parent, a father, and a man is that if my son is going to watch what I do, then is it not critical how I act? Defining the role of the family has become »

  Can the ability to pay attention predict the future success of your child?  A recent article (here is a link to the article) in Education Week suggests just that.  The study from Oregon State concludes that youth who can pay attention and are able to stick with a task have a better chance »

Can playing video games make you sick?  Apparently, they can if you play for hours on end ignoring all other needs for sustaining life.  A teenager was recently hospitalized after playing video games for 4 straight days. I know this is an anomaly and not happening everyday but it has »

Pornography has been around for awhile.  The ancient Greeks and Romans created public sculptures that depicted sex acts you cannot see in R-rated movies still today.  Shortly after photography was invented in 1826, photos of nude women surfaced.  From magazines to DVD'S to the the Internet, pornography is available everywhere. »