Welcome to The Lions Den

My overall philosophy on life with kids

Recently I had a death in the family, my nan. I have just been blessed with a new son, Kevin, who was born on Tuesday, April 23rd. He was overdue about 10 days and during this time I had some thoughts on life as it relates to our kids.

It seems that life is always giving and taking. We all go through trials and triumphs through the years. Things are always renewing themselves. When someone dies, another is born. My nan meant a great deal to me. She was fairly old, 82, and had a leg removed to try to save her life. In the end it was to much for her. The one comfort my mom and I have is the birth of Kevin.

In the hustle and bustle of the modern world we often don't take the time to appreciate special moments with the kids, our wives or friends. Only when we are old or have failing health do we consider the COULDAA, WOUDAA, SHOULDAAthings that we missed and can never get back.

I urge all of us as parents to take the time with our kids, to get to know them, and give them a solid foundation on how to live. The best way to do this is lead by example. It is harder than ever to bring children up in the world that we live in. So much violence and evil exist out there, that it's hard sometimes to show your children the good things in life. Many of us are so busy in our careers and jobs that we don't have time for the kids. This should not be an excuse. The modern family can't live on one wage earner alone. Two income families are a must in the 90's.

Admittedly things have been very busy of late for me and my family. Taxes were due April 15th and again, we owed the IRS. Next year will be better with one more deduction. This is my second son and I am not sure what to expect as my first son, Laurence, is at an age where he can be very awkward sometimes. I can say that I am better prepared for this child than Laurence. One thing that I know I need to do better is to help my wife more. I spend to much time on the computer and this can sometimes put more of a burden on her than she should have to deal with.

She runs a Day Care Business from our home in Rohnert Park and has been doing this for nearly 2 years. As fathers, we need to be more proactive with our children. To motivate and enhance all of our moments with our kids. There is so much negativety in the real world that it sometimes bogs us down. We need to rise above this and to instill a positive attitude in our children so that they will grow up with good self esteem.

Finally, we need to talk with our spouses, daily, about our children. They need to know that we are thinking about the children and that we care about the family as a whole.

If you have any comments on statements I've made here or have tips on parenting as a whole, please send me mail.

markur@sonic.net

page last revised 5/15/96