A Brigham Young University Student Journal
Tips on Money Management Most married couples typically fight about three things: kids, sex, and money. These areas carry a lot of weight, and can cause a lot of stress if things aren’t the way you’d like them to be. Since I’m only writing a …
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, 26.6% of children and adolescents were diagnosed with a chronic condition in the United States. This means that one in five children today have a chronic illness, with chronic conditions s spreading, it’s more important than ever …
My husband and I have six children. Six!!! Who can believe it? This fact puts Dave (my husband) and I into the “experienced parents” category–especially since the youngest is now 23 years old. Parenting is not easy. Should I say that again?? Parenting is not easy. It’s not for wimps or the faint of heart. It takes commitment and effort and patience and effort and humor and effort and…….you get the idea.
The other night, Dave and I decided to each compile a list of Ten Best Parenting Tips and then compare them. Turns out we had very similar lists, so we combined them and narrowed them down to our favorite ten. As some of you other parents might be looking for advice, we decided to share our list. Each week on Stance we will discuss one of the ten tips. So sit back, relax, and try to remember how excited you were to be a parent in the first place.
Read aloud to your children: From the time our children were born, we read aloud to them. When they were babies they just enjoyed being cuddled and hearing the rhythm of our voices. As they got older, they loved the sounds of words, especially rhyming and alliteration. To this day I can pretty much quote the entire story of The Cat in the Hat (Dr. Seuss). These rhyming books were not only fun, they were vital in helping our children learn how sounds go together, which in turn helped them learn to read. Beyond that, we found that simple books teach great principles. We have a son named Sam, so of course we read him Green Eggs and Ham (Dr. Seuss). Because of that book, we were able to encourage him to try new things. It’s fun to quote to our kids “You do not like it, so you say. Try it! Try it! And you may!” This phrase helped our kids with trying new foods, new clothes, and even making new friends. When we read Horton Hatches the Egg (Dr. Seuss) we were able to mosey into principles of responsibility and promise keeping.
When the kids reached elementary school age, they still loved being cuddled, 
held, and sitting close, plus now they really enjoyed and understood the story line. Some of the first books we chose were Thornton Burgess’s books about the creatures of the forests and the meadows. In this series of books, the characters; Danny Meadow Mouse, Lightfoot the Deer, etc. are intertwined, with each book focusing on a different animal. (My oldest son, Kevin, loved them so much that for one of his birthdays, in his 20s, he asked for the complete set!) These books also taught important life lessons, like what it means to be a friend, the importance of preparation, and the wonderfulness of diversity. Charlotte’s Web (White) helped our kids learn to not judge others by their looks. Where the Red Fern Grows (Rawls) allowed us to talk about sorrow and death. Sometimes a book was so sad I had to hand it to my child to read because I couldn’t stop crying. We continued to read aloud even as the kids got older. Books that were exciting pulled them in. Hatchet (Paulsen), The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (Avi), and of course Harry Potter (Rowling) let us explore new geography, pirates, and wizardry as though we were having the experiences ourselves.
You might think that the only time to read is at bedtime. While we did read at bedtime almost daily, we found many other times to read. Taking a break from playing—or working—to relax and read was something I cherished as a young mother. Everyone needs a change of pace and I loved taking 15-20 minutes out of the day to read. Whenever we went on vacation we packed some books along. The kids liked to read their own book, but we also would choose two or three books to read aloud together.
During the summer we joined the public library reading programs. Having prizes to earn motivated the kids to try new genres and broadened their world. We liked checking out books so much that I finally had to make a rule that each child could only check out as many books as they could physically carry. (Our record for checked out in one week was 54 books!!!) We sometimes read outdoors, sitting under a tree or on the patio. We would also read by the light of the Christmas tree, choosing one Christmas story each night before bed.
So why is reading to your children so important? Why did it make the parenting list for both my husband and me? There are three main reasons:
Now that our kids are grown, do they still read? Yes, they do! I laughed when I found out that my son Stan has a public library card from every city he’s ever lived in. My kids like to recommend books to me and we enjoy discussing what we’ve read. So don’t hesitate—sit down and start reading. You don’t like it, so you say…try it, try it, and you may!
Written by Phyllis Rosen
Last fast Sunday, as I was listening to the testimonies borne over the pulpit, I noticed a pattern. Over and over people were testifying about how the gospel brings us real and lasting (even eternal) happiness. I felt something within me agree with the sentiment, …
I’ve always thought that the concept of teaching your baby sign language before he or she could talk was incredibly fascinating. I mean, to be able to communicate with your child before he or she develops oral language sounds surreal! However, before I started writing …
When I was in third grade, I started playing Jr. Jazz. I was pretty excited—I’d get a cool jersey (that fit like a dress), a trophy for participation (gold!), and treats after every game. Those were the things that initially motivated me to play. As I continued to play, however, I realized that I actually really liked basketball.
And not just because of the Rice Krispy treats after every game. I genuinely enjoyed running and shooting and dribbling and passing and defending and blocking and rebounding. Which meant I kept playing. For seven years I played competitive — okay, and non-competitive — basketball. Throughout these years I had several different coaches, all of them superb. They each had a different coaching style, but invariably they each had us work on our shot every single day.
Those of you who play sports, perform music, or practice another such hobby won’t be surprised at this: “Of course, you would practice your shot every day,” you say. “It’s a fundamental. If you can’t shoot, you can’t win.” Right you are, my friend. Shooting is a fundamental skill in basketball. It is foundational. It is critical. It is required if you are to win.
The same might be said about families.
It has been said that families are the building block of society. I must be honest — I have no expert social scientist’s exact words to back up this assertion, but in the next series of posts we’ll look at why families might be considered foundational, critical, even required for the success of society. In this particular post we’ll look at one reason why families are so important for society:
Families teach about and help you develop attributes that build society.
I remember growing up in a home where if I said I was going to do something, I had better do it. Church activities, sports practices, piano lessons, cleaning my room – if I had committed to go or do I had better do and go. I watched my siblings experience the same thing because I had parents who expected us to fulfill our commitments. They taught by example. I learned that reliability is a precious attribute.
I have a friend who remembers that her mother never just sat around. She was always doing something productive: making meals for others, weeding, cooking, cleaning. She would spend quality time with her family, but the rest of her time was used in an active, positive ways. She inspired her daughter to do the same. Because of her mother, my friend learned the value of hard work. That is a great strength to society.
Another friend of mine spent her summer vacations with her family; they traveled the world together with only each other for company. She learned the value of building strong relationships. Helping others can only contribute to a strong society.
I am sure many of you learned and developed tons of other attributes that might contribute to society. Of course, a person can gain these attributes through other avenues, but the family is ideally positioned to facilitate this growth. The family is absolutely critical for the positive growth of society.
—Jessica Neilson, Stance
Recently, my husband and I taught a Sunday School class of 10- and 11-year-olds. To enliven the lesson, we decided to ask them to act out a story from the scriptures. Their eyes lit up when they found out what we would be doing, and they …
Most people hate the feeling of being ignored. Whether in a classroom with a hand raised for a long time or at home with family who are busy doing other tasks, children may experience this feeling every day—not having a voice, that is. Giving children a …
The Harold B. Lee Library has been a part of Brigham Young University’s campus for decades. On top of providing a gateway to knowledge through its book collections, the library also has some fantastic exhibits. These exhibits change every few months, but they never fail to put some pennies in your knowledge bank.
One exhibit the library has going on right now is their Life in Happy Valley exhibit. It’s an insightful exhibit about the history of Utah County. It’s a great exhibit for a study break for students or a fun field trip for any little ones who want to know more about where they live. This particular exhibit ends this month, so make sure to check it out before they shut down.
If you don’t make it in time for this one, there are several others to check out now. You can see a list of the current exhibits here, and you can learn more about the Happy Valley exhibit here.
Happy exhibiting!
—Jazmin Cybulski, Stance
Recently, in the General Women’s Session of General Conference, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints emphasized the need to reach out to serve refugees and others who may be facing significant life challenges. These challenges may include finding employment, adjusting to a new culture, …