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My Writing: Single parent genie gives you three wishes

http://peterehrlichmywriting.blogspot.com/2008/02/single-parent-genie-gives-you-three.html

Single parent genie gives you three wishes. Have you brought home two or three love interests to seriously meet and hang out with your child? If "yes," read on, because your child's developmental well-being will likely start to be compromised after they meet your next. A study out of Johns Hopkins University has shown "that a child who had experienced more than three transitions had more behavioural problems than those who had no transitions.". Many times I have encouraged you (and myself) to go out and ...

peterehrlichmywriting.blogspot.com

My Writing: Teens and the 'home haven' hypocrisy

http://peterehrlichmywriting.blogspot.com/2008/02/teens-and-home-haven-hypocrisy.html

Teens and the 'home haven' hypocrisy. Are teens truly welcome to use our homes as safe havens? Most parents offer the same adage to their teenage children, that “their” home is their unconditional safe haven, the one and only place in the whole big wide world where they’re always welcome. But if that time-worn homage was turned into a legal document for a parent and child to sign off on, I would suggest the child read the fine print first. Plan to bring their girlfriend or boyfriend home with them. Don&#...

peterehrlichmywriting.blogspot.com

My Writing: Father's role has evolved

http://peterehrlichmywriting.blogspot.com/2007/11/fathers-role-has-evolved.html

Father's role has evolved. Like most Baby Boomers I occasionally like to reminisce about my childhood when Sunday night meant Walt Disney and Ed Sullivan, a time when I wasn't yet a slave to my testosterone. When I want to time-travel, I use YouTube.com. It quickly puts me back in front of my old plain brown TV set, the one with three channels. I watch those dad now, with their starched shirts and approach to being loving and demonstrative, and wonder: were dads really that way and if so, why? Personally...

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My Writing: It takes a dad in the village to raise a child too

http://peterehrlichmywriting.blogspot.com/2007/11/it-takes-dad-in-village-to-raise-child.html

It takes a dad in the village to raise a child too. They say it takes a village to raise a child. That is true, but fifty per cent any village is made up of men and a good percentage of those guys are daddies. I don’t think anyone would disagree with the primal assumption that fathers need to play a part in raising their children. If they all got up and left their children alone in the village, it would create a river of tears. Research is unequivocal that few fathers abandon their children voluntarily&#...

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My Writing: The importance of family meals

http://peterehrlichmywriting.blogspot.com/2008/02/importance-of-family-meals.html

The importance of family meals. On occasion, when I was growing up, a teenage buddy or I would dead-stop our ball hockey game or hang session by announcing, “I have to go home for dinner.”. First there was silence, then the reactions. Reaction to this moment of teen blasphemy was divided into two camps; those of who came from “normal, caring families” and those who came from scattered, less caring families. We “wussies” never refuted the accusation. Maybe those tough guys were right. ...Once when I was d...

peterehrlichmywriting.blogspot.com

My Writing: White Teeth and School

http://peterehrlichmywriting.blogspot.com/2008/01/white-teeth-and-school.html

White Teeth and School. Even in war, there are rules of civilized engagement. Men in suits gave these rules a great brand – the Geneva Conventions. They represent the bottom line on how people should behave in war. No matter where you and your ex are at this moment, there are non-negotiable child-related issues that you must immediately come to terms with, regardless of your relationship, politics or court agreement. Teeth are an ultimate physical bottom line. You can be the Hunchback of Notre Dame a...

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My Writing: Telling your child that you've met someone

http://peterehrlichmywriting.blogspot.com/2007/11/telling-your-child-that-youve-met.html

Telling your child that you've met someone. I can recall the moment in crystalline clarity: I was pushing my grocery cart at my local supermarket and I was heading to the single-parent broccoli section. And I remember mumbling these exact words: "I'll never kiss another woman again. I'll never make love to a woman ever again." I might as well have been telling that I could not foresee any situation where I'd ever be with a woman again. All swords are double-edged. And if we do suddenly meet someone n...

peterehrlichmywriting.blogspot.com

My Writing: Good men step in to become dads

http://peterehrlichmywriting.blogspot.com/2008/01/good-men-step-in-to-become-dads.html

Good men step in to become dads. My single mother collected bottles on Miami Beach for money. I know because she told me. I was on Google Earth recently to learn more about that "beach-bottle" time. I had a frayed document with the Miami address. After I punched it in, I was beamed down to float right above our Miami apartment. When I was 5 years old, I told my mother, "I want a daddy" and a year later I was sitting on Gunther Ehrlich's lap. She asked, "How would you like Gunther to be your father? When ...