Ducklings

When my children were little, my wife took them a lot of places. She always got compliments from people about their behavior. They trailed along like good little ducklings, keeping close to their mother. It’s what she taught them and expected from them.  She didn’t have to rush around when one of them wandered off. She didn’t have to plead with them to be quiet.  (more…)

Copyright 2025, Inner Vessel Productions.

The Golden Rule, known by most Christians as originating with Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, is also found in various forms in all of the world’s religions. The idea of reciprocity in behavior is the foundation of morality. It is, simply stated and paraprhased, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you,” or, “Don’t do to others what you don’t want others to do to you.”

I think this has very much to do with parenting, but with the warning that it doesn’t completely work with young children. It should, however, be the guiding principal of parenting adult children. (more…)

Copyright 2025, Inner Vessel Productions.

I am pleased and proud to announce an addition to www.voxfamilia.org. My daughter has agreed to do a blog about her struggles with Attention Deficit Disorder as she raises her family. You can view it here.

Copyright 2025, Inner Vessel Productions.

Just like you have to learn how to both say and hear a No, you have to hear and respond to a Yes. As valuable as No is, in both saying it and hearing it, hearing a Yes is probably the most important thing in parenting vocabulary development.

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Language is naturally a two-way street. It would be very difficult to be able to speak a language, but not understand it when someone else speaks it. There may perhaps be a disability like that, but it would be a very useless thing if everyone could speak a language but not understand it.

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Susan Boyle

Now that you’ve got “No” firmly installed in your vocabulary, let’s not forget its all-important, in fact more important, counterpart. No other word is perhaps more vital to parenting than a simple little word. It works wonders,  as long as it is used at the right times. (more…)

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Me Up Against a Wall

Do you like learning new and rare words with which to impress your friends and family? I’ve got a great word to teach you. It’s not something all that strange and unusual like fustian, bucolic, or temerarious. In fact, it’s something we say daily.

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I agree with whomever said that insanity is when you do the same things the same way and expect different results. It is hard to get anywhere if you won’t bend. Family life is not a straight corridor with smooth walls, floor, and ceiling. If you can’t turn the corner now and then, you’ll end up with a very flat nose. (more…)

Copyright 2025, Inner Vessel Productions.

It is an inescapable fact that children need discipline. Too many times I’ve seen families fall apart because one parent or another thinks it is hurtful to a child to say “No.”

You’ve seen those children. They are raising hell while their parents, pie-eyed with the intoxication of adoration for every little misdeed the little tyke perpetrates on the public, do nothing. (more…)

Copyright 2025, Inner Vessel Productions.

Osprey Nest Atop Power Pole

When I was a boy, like every other boy, I tried to get out of work. One of my favorite tactics for getting out of work was to try it for a few minutes, make a half-hearted effort, and then declare in frustration, “I can’t!”

My mother never varied her answer. “Can’t never did anything,” she would say. (more…)

Copyright 2025, Inner Vessel Productions.