Category: parenting

  • A secret deal on my book

    My new book, co-authored with Marko, comes out next week. I’m very excited about it for two specific reasons. Parents of teenagers really need this book. The days of fighting or banning or trying to wall off kids from social media is over. Parents need to know how to help their child live a life that…

  • So here’s the deal

    In the dog days of summer, Washington D.C. is in the hottest place on earth. This morning the Supreme Court issued their ruling upholding the major points of the Affordable Healthcare Act. (read the ruling, keep up with the New York Times live blog if your heart can handle it.) By the end of the…

  • The Upside of Boredom

    “I’m bored.”  Paul, age 8, says this roughly every 30 seconds. It’s not that he’s spoiled or overly entertained or more addicted to the internet than his parents. It’s that he’s 8 and 8 year olds bug their parents by saying they are bored even when they aren’t. (Paul said he was bored during the…

  • Dear Abby on Parenting

     

  • Celebrating 11 years of parenting

    On Saturday, May 12th 2001 Megan Elisabeth McLane was born. Some fun facts: Megan came 2 weeks late. Kristen went into labor the morning after we went out to an Indian buffet with our friends Jason and Bambi. I’ve always claimed I was in labor the next day, too. It’s a girl! From the moment…

  • Let them roar(ish)

    We need to allow our kids to learn to roar. At eight and ten years old our oldest are flourishing in the elementary years. Half of their existence is in the pretend world of video games, fantasy books, and made-up games in the backyard. The other half is the real world where they help with…

  • Passing on a love of sports

    My dad took me to lots of games at Notre Dame. Later in middle and high school it became more about football than the other sports. But I have lots of fond memories of spending time with my dad at Notre Dame basketball, hockey, and football games. I even remember a couple baseball and soccer…

  • To keep them young

    Jackson is 8 months old. He crawls around on the floor. He pulls himself up on things to stand up. He coos, squeals, grunts, and makes endless raspberries. He’s the perfect size for Megan (10) and Paul (8) to pick up and play with. He loves to cuddle with mom and dad. Eight months is one of…

  • Join the Sticky Faith book club

    “Lord, make me a better dad.”  Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8 This is my daily prayer. Literally, it is my prayer every day. Why? Because there have been times when I’ve not been a good dad. Here’s a painful reality that I’ve had to…

  • We need non-digital adventure

    A couple weekends ago I told Megan and Paul to get in the car, we were going on a secret adventure. Anticipation in the car was high. Were we going for ice cream? Was dad taking us to a movie? Were we going to buy new video games? All were possibilities. But none were realities.…