Some of our grandkids are so young they will not remember this time of social distancing and isolation amid a global pandemic. Others are old enough that they will remember schools closing, playgrounds off-limits, no visits with their friends, cousins or grandparents.

My father-in-law, Hub, had a phenomenal memory. He often told of the time his...Read more

At home with the kids? If we can't travel to a favorite hotel, resort, restaurant or ranch, we can always pretend. Here are five ways to create a virtual vacation in your own home.

1. Go Camping

Whether you set up a tent in the backyard or the bedroom, with a little imagination you can enjoy all the fun of a real camping trip without spending ...Read more

Per the old Chinese saying, "May you live in interesting times," it may be that the most interesting of times are those when people do not want to hear the truth – as in the present, or so it would seem.

I did not intend to write a follow-up to my recent column on Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), but the feedback has been ...Read more

I was going to write a column about finding joy in the simple things, about the importance of staying calm during the Age of Coronavirus, about how when you can't do anything else, you can sing.

And then the kitchen looked like Goodwill after a cyclone.

And my son came in with more groceries that needed sanitizing. And we didn't have any more ...Read more

The hardest part of social distancing during a pandemic has been ignoring the little table and chairs in the living room that periodically heave deep sighs of loneliness.

Then there is the basket of children's books I step over each morning when I raise the shades. They've grown surly. Some days "The Hungry Caterpillar" nips at my legs.

On ...Read more

Vital to a child's sense of well-being are parents who act competent to provide adequate provision and protection under any and all circumstances.

I often refer to that obligation as "acting like a superior being." It requires, under the most trying circumstances, keeping one's cool, projecting a sense of having it all together, not letting ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Bright and early on a recent morning, as Chicago resident Beth Bond took a conference call with international colleagues, her husband was nearby washing slime out of their daughters' hair.

The scene represented the Bond family's new normal during the outbreak of COVID-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus. With schools and day ...Read more

I recently read "Things Successful People Do Before 8 a.m." It was 9:30 a.m. at the time. Successful people were already ahead of me by an hour and a half.

Successful people get up early, work out, eat a healthy breakfast, survey the morning headlines, overview what needs to be done for the day and make To Do lists.

If success were measured by...Read more

Time's about to get reeeeeal heavy on our hands, especially with restless, bored kids -- from infants on up to college students -- suddenly home from day care, school and pretty much every extracurricular activity, in an unprecedented attempt to curb the spread of a global coronavirus pandemic.

Are play dates OK to pass the time?

It depends ...Read more

While most of us may not be traveling any time soon, that doesn't mean we can't plan for the future. While many schools are out and we're spending more time at home, consider creating a family travel bucket list for future use.

Here are five ideas to consider:

1. Reflect your values.

Your travel choices will be a thoughtful and deliberate ...Read more

Blaise Pascal (1623 – 1662) said there is no idea so bizarre that a philosopher has not advanced it. These days, the philosophers in question are psychologists and the bizarre ideas are their explanations of human behavior. Said explanations are bizarre because (trust me on this, I am one) psychologists wear, as a rule, ideological blinders ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- They call themselves "Connor's Crew" at West Vincent Elementary School near Philadelphia: BFFs who can't get enough of the one pal who, at just 11 years old, may be gone before any of them graduate from high school.

To see them in action is like watching a rainbow cross a clouded sky.

Elle Greco holds Connor Dobbyn's hand ...Read more

I've learned a new word! My daughter informs me that according to some mothers I am guilty of "mom-shaming" and should be ashamed of myself. I am a unashamed mom-shamer because I happen to believe that just as there is one proper way to go about training a dog (of any species), there is one proper way to go about raising a human being to ...Read more

I help run a writing club at my son's school, and late last week we took a slight departure from our regularly scheduled programming.

"Has anybody noticed any teasing or bullying about coronavirus?" I asked the group of mostly fourth and fifth graders.

Chicago Public Schools has been sending email updates about COVID-19 risk factors and safety...Read more

When federal health official Nancy Messonnier announced that Americans should begin preparing for "significant disruption" to their routines due to spreading coronavirus infections, the news spread instantly across the internet and television. And that "significant disruption," she explained in the Feb. 25 news conference, could include closing ...Read more

Take a hike -- and take the whole family with you.

Here are five scenic destinations where you'll find fresh air and fun.

1. Shenandoah National Park, Va.

More than 500 miles of trails snake through this national park in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, just 75 miles from Washington, D.C. Access family-friendly trails via Skyline Drive, a ...Read more

Q: We homeschooled our son through the sixth grade. This past fall, per his wishes, we sent him to a public school for the seventh grade. Last week, he was attacked by the class bully. This other child pushed our son to the ground, called him vile names, and threatened him with further bullying. The principal has decided that both boys were ...Read more

Q: Our daughter, our first and only, is just short of 3 1/2. She has recently started coming into our room in the middle of the night and making a request of one sort or another. She wants one of us to accompany her to the bathroom, get her a drink of water, listen to something she's thought up or something she has apparently dreamed, read to ...Read more

If you're hoping to replicate the family you grew up in that was mostly girls or all boys, genetics won't be on your side. According to a new study, the probability of you having children of the same gender is totally up to chance.

Researchers from the University of Queensland have conducted a study published in the scientific journal ...Read more