ArcaMax

CHICAGO -- On his last Friday in the United States, Francisco Arellano spent the evening the same way he had spent many evenings for over 30 years: surrounded by his family, drinking some tequila and eating pambazos.

After he bought his home in Chicago, it turned into the family hub where everyone gathered for special occasions and holidays. ...Read more

The next time we have a family game night I'm going to phone in sick. They're simply too exhausting. Everyone wants to play me. Grandkids jump up and down and yell, "I want to play Grandma! I'm next to play Grandma!"

They all want to play me because they can beat me. It's the sort of popularity nobody craves.

On the upside, I have the gift of ...Read more

It’s a wonder I’m writing this column.

First I had to lift my hands. Then I had to will my fingers to move across the keyboard.

Like the rest of us, I have been suffering through the blahs of January 2022, possibly the blah-est of all Januarys ever.

Fraught with the usual post-Christmas, post-resolution letdown, to this year’s ...Read more

I often go looking for parenting ideas that illustrate the difference between so-called “parenting” and mere child-rearing. They abound. My latest find came in the form of a 2018 article on fatherly.com by parent coach Dr. Stacy Haynes titled “I Never Say ‘No” to My Kids.”

Haynes, described as offering “solutions for kid’s ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- With COVID-19 case numbers and death counts surging, many are facing a heartbreaking situation: the death of a loved one from COVID-19. If you have paid for a funeral in the last two years of someone who died from COVID-19, you may be able to get reimbursed for some of the costs.

"I believe it was one day about a week or so ...Read more

Q. The man I am dating told me that he has walked away from relationships because he felt as if he was second to the woman’s children. During discussion he asked, “Why would you ever want to get involved with someone when you knew you were not the priority? Your partner is supposed to be first!” I read your column every week and you always...Read more

CHICAGO -- After taking two unpaid weeks off when her family was home with COVID-19, Emma Branson was ready to get her toddler back to day care.

Finally, her 2-year-old could play with his friends, and she could focus on work.

But after just one day back, the day care closed for 10 days. Again.

“It really threw a wrench in things,” said ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia pediatricians are seeing substantial weight gain in many young patients due to pandemic stress and lockdowns. Those extra pounds mean that if the children get COVID-19, they're more like to get sicker than their leaner friends.

The city doesn't keep data on children's weight the way it does on COVID cases and ...Read more

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Sade Harvison was raised by a loving, prayerful grandmother who kept a closet full of church dresses just for her.

Harvison was encouraged by her third-grade teacher, Mrs. Shaw, the first instructor who told her she was smart.

And she was nurtured by her father's girlfriend, who introduced her to V.C. Andrews and other ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Florida’s doctors are seeing a surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations among children, surpassing numbers from any previous wave of the pandemic.

In January alone, more than 150,000 children under the age of 19 tested positive for COVID-19, according to a weekly report from the Florida Department of Health.

On ...Read more

As my kindergartner fumbled with his shoes, I stood at our door sifting through the mental parenting checklist newly lodged in my brain: backpack. Sweatshirt. Snacks. Sunscreen. Water bottle. KN95 mask. Vaccination card.

Jesse asked for his cloth mask, and I explained again that if he wore that one he’d need to have on a surgical mask, too, ...Read more

'THE KING'S DAUGHTER'

Rated PG for some violence, suggestive material and thematic elements.

What it’s about: In this historical fantasy epic, King Louis XIV commissions an exploratory voyage to the lost city of Atlantis to capture a mermaid for her powers of immortality, while his headstrong daughter seeks to free her new aquatic friend.

...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- When he has small slices of free time, wedged in between schoolwork and studying for academic quiz competitions, Arin Parsa scrolls through Reddit.

The 14-year-old from San Jose searches for posts about vaccines, and comments whenever he thinks he can be helpful, sometimes sharing a public health department's hotline or ...Read more

Q: My 3-year-old is fearful of trying anything new, including things other kids his age love to do such as swinging on a swing, sliding down a slide and splashing in a pool. I feel like I should begin talking to him about what to do in case of a fire in our house and "stranger danger,” but how can I make him aware of how serious these dangers ...Read more

There were three options for finding our destination in Chicago: two smartphones or the 7-year-old granddaughter in the backseat. The husband was leaning toward a smartphone, but I was leaning toward the kid.

Ordinarily, I might not be comfortable letting a child guide us through the nation's third largest city, but she's grown up here. She ...Read more

Q. Having a daughter was not planned. My child’s father and I were in college and not as careful as we should have been. Being so young, we discussed very little prior to having our child and when we broke up, agreed on very little. She is now 6 and we have both changed substantially. We both now go to church and want to instill what we ...Read more