Killing Prince Charming and Cinderella
At the risk of incurring the wrath of Disney, and every little girl who has grown up loving Princess stories, I think it’s time we adults take a drastic step:
We need to kill off Prince Charming and Cinderella.
I’ll admit my own little girl will be growing up watching every Disney classic I can get my hands on. She’ll probably play with dolls, hold imaginary tea parties with her dad, and wear princess dresses until I have to peel them off of her.
The problem isn’t with the princess stories or the dreams and fantasies they inspire when we’re young. Those stories are meant to teach us lessons of valor, chivalry, the struggle to find a love worth fighting for, and how to discern between the real princess and the witch masked by a spell.
The problem is that while we’ve stopped playing dress-up with dolls and plastic swords, we’re still living in a land of make-believe and fantasy.
Guest Posts: Fathers & Daughters and Avoiding Teen Pregnancy
It’s a guest post round-up today! I have the privilege to be guest posting on two different blogs, both of which I highly recommend you check out. Not just my posts (though I greatly appreciate the support!) but also the rest of the sites.
The first is over at The Daily ReTORt, on one of my favorite subjects: fathers and daughters.
Dads with Daughters: Do You Know This?
The second is over at a great site for couples, One Extraordinary Marriage.
3 Ways to Keep Your Kid From Becoming a Teen Parent
Celebrate fathers with a 10% off coupon!
Father’s Day is just a few weeks away. Not to stress you out but…have you thought about what you’re giving the fathers in your life? That might mean your own dad, your spouse or another father you know who deserves to be celebrated.
I’ll admit, I’m normally pretty terrible at remembering to do anything beyond a phone call. But this year, with a soon-to-be Father in our home, I’m determined to be ahead of the game. And I want to help you do the same!
Finding the Perfect Date
Relationships are tricky business. We want them, we know we need them in varying degrees in our life, but so […]
Getting out of the Singleness Rut
In Los Angeles, a city dominated by young singles, I’m a bit of an exception – married and expecting a […]
What Have We Become?
Two recent events in the sexual health arena have been grabbing headlines, and with good reason.
In New York, a District Court judged ruled that 11-year-olds be given unrestricted access to Plan B, a pill meant to prevent pregnancy, either by preventing ovulation or the implantation of a fertilized egg. It’s commongly referred to as the morning-after pill.
The other is the trial of Kermit Gosnell, a Pennsylvania doctor accused of the death of at least one women who came to him for an abortion, in a clinic with conditions that would make some third-world countries seem first class. He is also facing charges of killing at least three babies who survived abortions and were delivered alive.
These are stories that should appall and concern any of us, regardless of our position on abortion and sexuality.
The Death of Comfortable
Today we mourn a death. The death of Comfortable.
He came into our lives uninvited, seeming to appear out of nowhere, only to become a permanent fixture.
A silver tongued easy-going intruder, he convinced us to hand over our relationships, our dreams, and our future in exchange for promises of stability, security, a life free from risk, and therefore, free from disappointment.
Whenever we flirted with the idea of stepping out, breaking free, and reaching for something more than our current reality, Comfortable would gently whisper:
You’ll fail before you’ve barely started.
Have you mastered “The Talk”?
Last week I launched my first published book, which feels a bit like sending your kid to school for the first day. As a writer, you put so much of yourself into those pages. No matter how much you fuss and edit, you eventually have to send it out. And like a parent putting their child on the bus for the first time, you’re both thrilled and terrified at what the other kids will think.
People ask why I wrote a book for parents when I’ve yet to have my first child (Yet. Give it two more months!). Through my work these past few years, interacting with thousands of teens and their parents, here is what I have found…
Pornography….and Hope?
When I wrote my response to the question of whether or not there’s anything harmful about pornography (Pornography Exposed), I expected that to be it. I’ll come back to the topic in the future, but there’s only so much porn you can handle at one time.
Then I got this email from a reader:
“I happened to read your articles about porn and totally agree with you.”
*Why thank you.*
“I think you should do another one saying that the problem can be overcome. There are a lot of decent guys out there who probably aren’t happy using it but have got into bad habits and would like to stop and probably think they can’t or that it’s too late.”
*Oh. Yes. You’re absolutely right.*
I missed a key aspect of the whole disc
Pornography Exposed
In my previous post, I asked the question:
Is there anything harmful that warrants our intervention, not just for children but possibly adults?
I got responses that ranged the spectrum from support for a total ban to concern that doing so would criminalize adults who are using it in what they deem a healthy and responsible way.
As one reader asked, “…as long as the behavior is kept in the privacy of one’s home, and is not negatively affecting others, why legislate against it?”