Jun
30
2008

Roger Butner
Independence Day is just days away for the people of our country. We celebrate the 4th of July as the day our nation officially became a free land, governing ourselves with independent sovereignty. The Boston Tea Party, The Declaration of Independence, “the shot heard round the world” at Concord, and the whole Revolutionary War were [...]
Tags: HOPE
Jun
24
2008

Roger Butner
If you know me, or read my blog with any regularity, you know I have a passion for helping families navigate the evolving sea of entertainment/media/technology in as healthy a manner as possible. One huge portion of this evolving world is the vast expanse of online “social networking” sites, with MySpace and Facebook still leading [...]
Tags: adolescence, culture, facebook, media, social networking, teens
Jun
18
2008

Roger Butner
My four year old son is really growing up so much, and I am so proud of him. We have a lot of fun together, and enjoy learning about life together. It is always so interesting to hear what will come out of his mouth. “I love you, Dad,” “I’m singing for Jesus,” “Do you [...]
Tags: adolescence, parenting, teens
Jun
12
2008

Roger Butner
My lovely wife surprised me at Christmas with a guitar. My first guitar. A very nice Martin acoustic guitar – at that! She has heard me say over the years that “one of these days I’d love to learn to play the guitar,” so she decided there was no time like the present. My Dad [...]
Tags: discipline, the journey
Jun
09
2008

Roger Butner
I haven’t stepped on the scale for a while, probably a couple months or so. No big deal. Surely I’m just holding at the same weight. Maybe even slowly shedding a pound or two along the way. After all, I really want to lose about 30 pounds, so surely that counts for something, even if [...]
Tags: discipline, freedom, screamfree, the journey
Jun
06
2008

Roger Butner
Are you facing challenges in your family this summer that could use some expert guidance? Have you discovered a wonderful experience, activity, place to go, or routine that works great for your family, and is worth sharing with others? Would it just be really cool to have YOUR topic shared on TV? If you answered [...]
Tags: community, family, parenting
Jun
06
2008

Roger Butner
Here’s a link to a terrific resource for setting the right tone for family life this summer. Make it a MediaWise Summer!
Tags: family, media, parenting
Jun
04
2008

Roger Butner
This post has a very simple message: When your child (or grandchild, niece, nephew, neighbor child, etc) wants you to join him/her to play with water balloons and sprinklers and trampolines in the backyard, and you really don’t feel like it and would rather just go inside and crash on the recliner… Go for the [...]
Tags: parenting