list
Not your average family planner; lists that feature famous families, sibling truths and advice on how to bond and reconcile with your flesh and blood.
When Validation Replaces Maturity
(Credit for Inspiration: Emily W. King) --- Validation Is Not the Same as Truth Validation has a proper place. People need to know they are heard. A person who is overwhelmed, hurt, afraid, ashamed, confused, or emotionally flooded often cannot immediately process correction, logic, or accountability. In those moments, validation can slow the room down. It can communicate presence. It can say, “Your pain is being noticed,” without requiring the person to defend every emotion before the conversation can continue. Used rightly, validation is not weakness. It is a relational tool that helps people stay connected long enough to face what is real.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast6 months ago in Families
The Difference Between Cruelty and Correction
Credit for Inspiration: Emily W. King) --- Pain Is Not Always Proof of Wrongdoing One of the most damaging confusions in modern relationships is the confusion between cruelty and correction. Cruelty is an act of contempt. Correction is an act of truth. Cruelty aims to belittle, punish, control, shame, or wound. Correction aims to bring reality back into view. The problem is that both can hurt. A cruel statement can hurt because it is vicious. A true correction can hurt because it exposes something that pride, comfort, denial, or fear would rather leave untouched. If the only standard is whether someone felt pain, then cruelty and correction become almost impossible to separate.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast6 months ago in Families
Men Are Not Afraid of Communication, Though They Are Tired of Punished Honesty
(Credit for inspiration: Emily W King) --- The Silence Is Not Always the Starting Point A common accusation in relationships is that men do not communicate. The complaint is familiar enough that it has become almost automatic. Men shut down. Men avoid hard conversations. Men refuse to open up. Men need to learn how to express themselves. There is truth inside that accusation when a man is careless, passive, immature, or emotionally absent. But the accusation often skips the more important question. What happened the last time he did communicate? What happened the last time he answered honestly, named the real issue, corrected the false assumption, admitted the painful truth, or said plainly what he had been trying not to say?
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast6 months ago in Families
When Truth Has to Protect Her Feelings
(Credit for Inspiration: Emily W. King) --- The Unequal Permission to Be Right There is a quiet double standard inside many modern conversations about relationships. Women are increasingly encouraged to stand on what they know, trust their discernment, speak their truth, hold their boundary, and stop shrinking themselves to keep peace. Men, however, are often given a different command. A man may also be right, but he is expected to find a way to be right that does not make the woman feel hurt, exposed, corrected, dismissed, insecure, embarrassed, or emotionally unsafe. The result is not equality. It is a conditional form of honesty where one person’s truth is allowed to stand directly, while the other person’s truth must first pass through the emotional response of the person receiving it.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast6 months ago in Families
Things Liberian Parents Say and Do to Their Children . Content Warning.
We all know that parents aren't perfect. They're definitely not saints either. However, whenever they do things that are unbecoming, we need to call them out on it. I was born to two Liberian parents, who I've been estranged from for nearly 15 years and yes, I was born here. The following entries on this list will go over some of the things I've noticed growing up were not only ridiculous, but outlandish. Since I'm estranged from the two people who were supposed to love and support me, I don't care if they get their feelings hurt if they were to run into their story. This story will stay up and if they were to run into this story and are offended by the things I've said, again, I don't care. Other than that, let's get on to the list.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard 6 months ago in Families
Why Good Intentions Make a Bad Legal Standard
Why Law Reaches for Intent in the First Place Legal systems lean toward intent because it feels humane. Motive appears to reveal character, and character feels like a stable guide for judgment. In emotionally charged domains like parenting and custody, intent offers something comforting: the belief that outcomes can be understood, and even forgiven, by examining what someone meant to do. Courts frequently ask whether a parent acted out of love, fear, confusion, or malice, as though the answer to that question can reliably predict what the child will experience over time.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast7 months ago in Families
Love That Acts, Not Love That Speaks
When Love Became a Language Instead of a Practice In modern parenting culture, love is increasingly defined by what is said rather than what is done. Emotional affirmation, verbal reassurance, and constant validation are treated as the primary evidence of care, while less expressive forms of love are often overlooked or misunderstood. A parent who says “I love you” frequently and validates feelings consistently is assumed to be providing something essential, while a parent who demonstrates care through sacrifice, consistency, and enforcement may be perceived as distant or emotionally limited.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast8 months ago in Families
Designing the Dream Barn: Where Style Meets Safety
Barns come in various designs and types, including monitor and pole.Large windows and skylights are essential in maximizing natural lighting in your barn.For a better grip, consider installing rubber flooring.
By Andrew Lemieux8 months ago in Families
The Power of Presence
When “Good Parenting” Became a Feeling In modern parenting conversations, “good” has increasingly come to mean emotionally warm, verbally affirming, and immediately comforting. A good parent is expected to soothe distress quickly, validate feelings consistently, and minimize discomfort whenever possible. These traits are treated as obvious indicators of healthy parenting, reinforced by cultural messaging, therapeutic language, and social reward structures. When a child feels better in the moment, the parenting decision is assumed to have been correct, and when discomfort persists, the decision is often framed as a failure of care rather than a necessary part of development.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast8 months ago in Families
