Family by God&#039;s Design

An Environment for Growing

Life is filled with distractions, but not all distractions are the same. Distractions come from different sources and in all sizes. In general, distractions impact our children’s ability to focus and sustain their attention as well as their ability to grow and learn. A study published in Behavior Research Methods suggests that upsetting or unpleasant...

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September 22, 2025

When Teaching Children, There’s Efficiency in Inefficiency

Parents want their children to learn…and in this age of rush and hurry, we often seek out efficient means of helping our children grow in knowledge and skills. In fact, we can find apps, games, toys, devices, and shows that tutor our children in everything from math to reading to sports to music. That way...

Family Shepherds

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September 20, 2025

Brain Rewiring Words

We often communicate with one another by using words. Words, however, do much more than simply express our thoughts and share information. Words shape the way we think; and, spoken at the right times, words rewire our brains. For instance, positive feedback activates the reward centers in the brain and creates positive emotions, increasing the...

Family Shepherds Honor

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September 13, 2025

One Way to Increase Your Child’s Honesty

Children lie. I know it comes as no surprise to parents, but, nonetheless, children lie. (In reality, so do adults, but that’s a different blog.) Even though children lie, parents list honesty as a top priority in building their children’s character, with responsibility and respect coming in second and third (see Parent Survey). This begs...

Family Shepherds

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September 1, 2025

Yelling at Children, The Rest of the Story

Every parent will experience frustration and anger in the process of raising their children. They will likely raise their voice, even yell, on occasion. It happens to all of us. But we do not want that to be the typical interaction, the pattern. We don’t want yelling to become the norm. Why? The simple answer...

Family Shepherds Honor

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August 25, 2025

You & Your Children’s Goals

What type of goals do you want your children to have as they become adults—extrinsic goals or Intrinsic goals? Extrinsic goals are goals that center around external rewards like wealth, fame, or prestige. In general, extrinsic goals are easily measured. The number of “likes” received on a social media post is an extrinsic goal. Making...

Family Shepherds

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August 11, 2025

Nature, a Chat, & Family

I read the summaries of two studies, and I’d like to share the results with you and your family. The first study involved over 220 participants in a program of weekly “nature-based activities” for either 1 to 4 weeks, 5 to 8 weeks, or 9 to 12 weeks. The “nature-based activities” included one of three...

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communication connection emotional health family family intimacy happiness nature

August 9, 2025

5 Actions to Nurture Children’s Emotional Health in Adulthood

We all want our children to mature into adults who are generally happy but still experience a full range of healthy emotions. We nurture them so they can not only experience a full range of emotions but manage those emotions in a healthy way. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) interferes with that goal. A study published...