For children to develop fully as human beings, they need love, attention, understanding and support from adults. When parents do not fulfill the essential needs of children, they are denied a solid foundation for achieving their potential. There is a great need for parent education and support. (more…)

Mothers at Home, based in Vienna, Va., aims to help women who stay at home or wish to stay at home. The group publishes a monthly journal, which includes personal essays, poems and art, as well as advice on money and ways to deal with unruly children. (more…)

My first thought when I saw Lindsey’s nose and face smashed into Linda’s neck and shoulder was, “How long have they been without a shower?” (more…)

I personally know a woman who suffered a stroke, and no other reason could be found but her heavy intake of diet sodas.

I know of another woman who, upon drinking many cans of diet sodas has had experiences with migraines and blindness. Do you think that would drive a teen over the edge? (more…)

And ethanol:

The intoxicating agent in fermented and distilled liquors; used pure or denatured as a solvent or in medicines and colognes and cleaning solutions and rocket fuel. Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University (more…)

Did you know that an average of five percent sugar is added to cigarettes? Air curing takes about three months and only traces of natural sugars are left in the tobacco, so more is added. In flue curing (which of course is faster), fires are set outside the barn and the heat is led via iron pipes or flues into the building in which the tobacco is hung fresh from the fields. Since the temperatures reach up to 170 degrees, this process speeds the cure. (more…)

Sugar comes in many disguises. It is a simple carbohydrate and may be called glucose, dextrose, fructose, maltose, lactose, corn syrup, honey, molasses, barley malt, cane and beet juice, date sugar and the latest, evaporated cane juice. (more…)

I had an acquaintance recently tell me that his son ruined his DVD player by sticking coins into it. My question here is: How does his two-year-old child have access to coins and to his DVD player? My question to him was: “So, who runs your household?” His answer: “My children.” They are two and seven years old. (more…)

Recently there has been a spate of teenage violence in and around the nation’s schools. Are guns and their availability really the cause or are they the symptom? Is there another answer outside of gun control?

A few months ago in an area near Glendale, California, two teenage boys were killed in an alleged “drug deal gone bad” — one with a rock. There were no guns involved. What is the cause of this anger and hostility perpetrated by our nation’s youth? (more…)