parents
The boundless love a parent has for their child is matched only by their capacity to embarrass them.
When Custody Should Be Removed
Any argument that emphasizes the importance of parental presence, structure, and authority becomes dangerous if it does not also specify its limits. Advocating strongly for fathers, shared custody, parental authority, or outcome-based custody standards without defining when custody should be revoked invites a fatal misunderstanding: that parental involvement is always good, regardless of behavior. No serious child-centered framework can allow that ambiguity to stand.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast4 months ago in Families
The Real Reasons Why I Don't Celebrate Mother's Day
Greetings, Vocal readers and subscribers. First and foremost, I want to wish all the mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day. You are loved and highly appreciated. It may be a thankless job, but you're the real superheroes for your children, grandchildren, and other people in your life. Unfortunately, as for yours truly, and I apologize in advance for being a Debbie Downer, my relationship with my mother was fractured for years. Social media and media in general like to portray the relationships between children and their mothers as positive. This kind of manipulative and fake portrayal of what authentic relationships look like between these two groups is the first reason why I loathe this holiday. Not every mother is worth celebrating and that's okay to acknowledge. It's not out of malicious intent. I rather not engage in meaningless arguments and debates with her. The second reason why I don't celebrate Mother's Day is because of how horrible of a person my now estranged mother was to me, which I'll get to in a moment. The third and final reason why is because I don't see the point of taking part of it. Now, you must be wondering why I heavily dislike the woman who gave birth to me and what happened between us. I'll discuss all of that right now.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard 4 months ago in Families
the mother and son
A Mother’s Love, A Son’s Strength Rain tapped softly against the broken window as twelve-year-old Adam sat beside his mother on the cold apartment floor. Their electricity had been cut off again, and the tiny candle between them flickered weakly, casting trembling shadows on the cracked walls.
By younas khan4 months ago in Families
Did You Know Your Mom Cried Alone So You Would Never Have To?
There is a woman somewhere right now folding laundry at midnight, not because she has to, but because she knows you need a clean shirt in the morning. There is a woman packing a lunch she won't eat herself, writing a little note on a napkin she hopes makes you smile, even though no one ever writes notes for her. There is a woman who cried in the car on the way home from work because she was exhausted down to her bones, but then dried her eyes before she walked through the door so you wouldn't worry.
By Ethan Blake4 months ago in Families
Mother’s Day and the Quiet Love We Often Forget
There are some people whose love becomes so constant that we stop noticing how much it carries us. A mother’s care often feels like that. It exists in small moments that slowly shape an entire life. The search for “mother’s day” is not only about gifts, flowers, or celebrations. It is about emotion, memory, and gratitude that can be difficult to express. Mother's Day reminds people to pause and think about sacrifices that were never announced loudly. A warm meal after a difficult day, late-night comfort during illness, or silent support during failure often becomes visible only with time. Mother’s Day carries emotional weight because it reminds people of love that stayed present even when life became complicated, stressful, or uncertain.
By Muqadas khan4 months ago in Families
Carlton Jama Adams and the Shift Toward Discipline That Teaches, Not Punishes in Modern Parenting. AI-Generated.
Carlton Jama Adams is a licensed clinical psychologist and psychology professor specializing in healthy parenting. His work centers on helping families understand child behavior through a developmental and emotionally informed perspective. Rather than focusing on punishment or strict control, he emphasizes approaches that support emotional growth, communication, and accountability. In his view, discipline should be a process that teaches children how to understand their actions and make better decisions over time. This perspective has become increasingly relevant as parents and educators look for more effective and compassionate ways to guide children in complex social environments.
By Carlton Adams4 months ago in Families
Mother's Day 2026:
Every year, without fail, Mother's Day takes over the United States like nothing else can. Trending on every platform, filling every florist shop, and crashing restaurant reservation systems — this one single Sunday in May becomes the heartbeat of an entire nation. And honestly? It makes perfect sense.
By @HiddenHistory4 months ago in Families
Poverty Is Expensive Because Stability Is Missing
Poverty Is Not Only the Absence of Money Poverty is often described as a shortage of income, but that description is too small. Low income matters, obviously. A family cannot pay bills with explanations. But poverty is not only the absence of money. It is also the absence of the conditions that allow money to stretch. Stable housing, storage space, reliable transportation, clean water, working appliances, sleep, time, tools, privacy, credit, and emergency margin all affect what a dollar can actually do. Without those things, the same dollar buys less, solves less, and disappears faster.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast4 months ago in Families
When Sacrifice Becomes a Claim
The Real Burden and the False Permission The deepest problem with this framing is not that it names real burdens. Many of those burdens are real. Mothers can be exhausted, under-supported, lonely, and structurally overextended. Those things should be named honestly. But the danger begins when those truths are used to justify a posture that should not be justified. The shift is subtle, which is why it is easy to miss. The message does not merely say that motherhood can be hard. It quietly suggests that anger born from that hardship is therefore morally trustworthy, that resentment born from sacrifice is therefore righteous, and that the absence of gratitude, relief, or appreciation is proof of a deeper wrong. That does not follow.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast4 months ago in Families
