Jolene Roehlkepartain

Where has the year gone?! To many parents, getting ready for the holidays is like preparing for a marathon. They’re not quite sure they have enough time to get ready—or if they want to run that far.

The average family spends $11,650 to $13,530 a year to raise a child. How do you raise your kids within your means?

Whether you need—or want—to work as a parent, finding work that fits with your family life can be challenging. How do you do it?

When your family gathers around the Thanksgiving table this year, what will your kids think? Will they be excited about this holiday—or will they dread it?

This sandwich is no picnic. It’s a difficult situation to deal with— being “sandwiched” between caring for your kids and caring for your parents (or another elderly family member).

In too many families, talking about money is the equivalent of picking a fight. It can be hard to talk about money with your kids, especially when they’re always asking for it!

In our home, we talk a lot about elections, voting, and politics because we feel it’s important to be engaged citizens who take seriously the right to vote and taking a stand on what matters.

When a 16-year-old violated her curfew recently, her parents disciplined her by taking out a newspaper advertisement offering 30 hours of free baby-sitting. That discipline technique got everyone talking. In fact, the local story quickly became national news, appearing in newspapers and magazines across the country—and even on national TV news.

I—like most parents—want my kids to grow up well. The truth, however, is that it isn’t always easy to eat dinner together as a family.