Hal Young's Blog, page 48

Purposeful Planning: A Review

I think most of us get reflective this time of year. A lot of us make resolutions with good intentions. A lot fewer do it with a real sense of purpose, aiming not only to resolve but to actually set things in place to make it happen.

About sixteen years ago, Phyllis Sather's husband came to her and suggested the two of them take a few days off "and set some goals" for their family. Phyllis admits she wasn't enthusiastic. With three young children, a major home rennovation planned, and a four year old just diagnosed with leukemia,

the thought of that sounded appalling to me.  Setting goals meant you had to meet them, didn't it? I was in "survival" mode, barely making it through each day. The thought of all that failure was just too much for me at that time of my life.

Against her fears, she agreed to the idea. Much to her surprise, the exercise was so beneficial and enjoyable, she suggested they do it again the next year and bring the kids along. Since then the "Annual Planning Weekend" has become an anticipated family event, coming a mid-winter vacation with time for personal reflection, dreaming, and relationship building. How do you make this happen? You can start by reading her newly revised e-book Purposeful Planning.

The timing couldn't be better for us. We set aside a few hours every New Year to discuss what the Lord's done for us the past twelve months, and where we should be heading for the next twelve (we wrote about it here). We don't leave home to do it, so I was curious if the Sathers' experience would adapt to our own family's practice.

In short, it does, and Purposeful Planning offers a lot more.

Phyllis acknowledges our tendency to be overwhelmed by things which are urgent rather than preparing and completing the things which are most important. To get a better handle on their family life, she and her husband Dan developed a list of areas where they wanted to focus attention and resources. Phyllis shares several lists of questions they consider about their relationship as a couple, the personal and spiritual growth of both parents and children; the state of their homeschooling, and their financial health.

A couple of interesting insights is their discussion about their house. Rather than asking how to make their home more comfortable for themselves or build up resale value, they consider it as a place for ministry, and ask what changes will make it more useful for hospitality and other outreach.  That recognizes our house shouldn't be a temple to our prosperity but a gift of God's provision, and a tool for use in His kingdom.

There doesn't seem to be significant mention of Dan's career planning outside the home. I expect he deals with that elsewhere, and reserves this time for family matters. I've come to realize myself, though, that outside employment for the most part is the thing we do to provide for the truly important ministry God gives us in our family and other relationships.

Purposeful Planning is a great collection of ideas which will help you really think about where you're heading as a family, rather than bouncing from one crisis to another and hoping for the best. You'll also find useful ideas about family vacations, ways to improve your leisure time, and encouragement to have celebrations  which really make a difference in your family life.

Plus if you order it now, you have time to start planning while the New Year is fresh!

Phyllis Sather's Purposeful Planning is available direct from the author (the best way!), right here.

RELATED POSTS:

Toward A More Godly, Family-Building New Year - how we celebrate with purpose

Counting Our Days - the value of keeping a journal, and some ways to make it easy

 

Who to Believe?

This morning I went into the hospital for a medical procedure.

"Who will be driving you home?"

Our 16 year old had brought me because they hadn't mentioned someone 18 or older would need to sign the discharge paperwork, so he'd headed home.

"I don't know. My son went to trade with one of his older brothers."

The nurse seemed non-plussed, "How many children do you have?"

"Eight and they are all home! We are having a wonderful time. That's why I don't know who will come."

Quite often when we share that we have eight children, folks at first feel sorry for me, though I soon disabuse them of that notion, then worry about the world, "But, what about overpopulation?" so I was delighted to see the topic of the Jeub Family's blog post today, Global Problems Concerning Fertility. The Jeub Family blog is one of the very few that I have on rss feed and regularly read. It's worth it.

My background is in the hard sciences, so I have been very interested to see how very far the popular conception of issues like global warming and overpopulation differs from the science available. Today the Jeubs link to and discuss a fascinating and timely article by Mark Steyn, Elizabeth's Barrenness and Ours. If you have any concerns at all about whether you ought to listen to that still small voice encouraging you to welcome another child, you need to read this article! If you have ever asked a large family, "Well, what about overpopulation?" you need to read this article. If you think I'm crazy, you really need to read this article!

I love the sciences. One thing I have found, though, is that contrary to the post-modern constructivists, truth is not what the current community of scientists agree that it is. If it were, why did the new Ice Age we were threatened with in the 70s so readily morph into the Global Warming of the 2000s? Instead scientists "see through a glass darkly, but then face to face." Our tools are imperfect, as we are, so our science is only our best understanding of the moment. And our understanding of overpopulation is drastically misunderstood by the majority. Check out Overpopulation is a Myth for short, fun videos explaining the science. Unfortunately much of what we "understand" by listening to the mainstream media is more sensational than science.

How much more reliable is the Word of God that never changes? So, we read "the lack of  people is the downfall of a prince," and we see it happening around us. We hear,

3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

So are the children of one's youth.

5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;

They shall not be ashamed,

But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

and believe it and act on it and see it proved true. God's Word is like that.

Twelve Days of Deals

 

Twelve Days of Christmas – December 26, 2011 through January 6, 2012. Celebrate Celebrate with us by receiving a gift for the season!

We are partnering with Homeschooling Today magazine to bring you a special gift and discount on  December 27th!

Go to www.HomeschoolingToday.com now to sign up on the home page for the Homeschooling Helper e-newsletter to receive our offer via e-mail on the above date. Homeschooling Today will send a special discount or gift from a different vendor each day of the Twelve Days of Christmas, but only to their readers. So don't miss some wonderful offers to get your new year off right! Sign-up now so you don't miss a thing!

Has It Come to This?

"We'd like for you to sing traditional carols at the Tree Lighting."

"Wonderful, that is just what we love to do."

Our homeschool history club advisor was glad when the organizers of our town's tree lighting ceremony finally called. It was someone different this year and we needed to know how long they wanted us to sing. For years, our group had gone caroling in historical costume to the businesses downtown, ending up at the Tree Lighting where we sang favorite Christ-honoring carols. It was a nice contrast to the groups from the local public schools that sang bland and irrelevant songs, like "Winter Nights, Winter Lights," as if a mention that the lights were actually about celebrating Christmas would cause a Constitutional crisis.

"Do you have any favorites you'd like us to do? "Hark the Herald Angels Sing"? "Joy to the World"?" our dear advisor asked.

"Huh? No, we wanted you to sing traditional carols! Don't you know any? You know, like "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman."

We weren't interested. There were any number of groups that could "celebrate" Christmas without reference to the birth of a Savior.

Has it really come to that? Have we let things slide to the point that Frosty and Rudolph are traditional carols and Joy to the World isn't? May it never be! Here's an excerpt from our newly released (which you can download), Christ-Centered Christmas, that shares how we preserve the tradition of trolling ancient carols…

Caroling Parties

Christmas is the only time of year that it is not only socially acceptable, but considered a gift to knock on stranger's doors and sing hymns full of gospel truth to them! We don't want this tradition to ever die out, so every year we invite like minded families to come caroling with us.

We invite a few families to come each time just after supper and we meet in our front yard so folks don't have to remove their wraps. We try to have hymnals or the words to the carols we plan to sing copied for everyone. We walk around the neighborhood, knocking wherever we see lights. When people come to the door, we just begin singing. We do sing more than one verse of the carols because it's often the middle verses that contain the most truth! We keep it to one or two carols per house, though, unless they seem really excited about us singing more. We end with "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and shout, "Merry Christmas!" and leave.

What a blessing to be able to share the words of life with our neighbors so easily! When our voices give out, we return to our house for refreshments. We usually put on a spread like we do for Christmas Eve, but perhaps a little lighter, since folks have already had supper. This is one of our favorite times of the season!

Our local homeschool history club goes caroling downtown every year in historical costumes. Our whole town looks forward to it and talks about it. The past several years, they've been asked to do it on the eve of the town's Christmas tree lighting and to come early and sing at the town's ceremony and to perform at the Festival of Trees. What a delight to fill the air with praises to our Savior and in the form of songs that people associate with joy and happiness.

Take a look at those old Christmas hymns and read the words of those middle verses. What a privilege to share that with the world!

 

To find out more about Christ-Centered Christmas: The Ultimate Guide to Celebrating a Christmas Your Family Will Never Forget, click here, or just order below.

A New Look at War

"Can I talk to you privately?"

It wasn't an unusual request, so I stepped aside with her. "I need to ask you about my son. I think he may be…I'm afraid he might be…showing some tendencies toward being…Oh, I think something's wrong with him! Maybe he's a psychopath or something!"

My eyebrows went up. "What would make you think that?" I replied, wondering if she was going to tell me he was torturing small animals or being a firebug.

"Well, he plays war all the time! And that means he's pretending to kill people! And sometimes he pretends like he's been shot and he pretends to die! That's not normal is it?"

I relaxed. "Let me explain something to you. You are a girl, a mother. When you think of war, you think of orphans and widows, POWs and disabled veterans. You imagine your son coming home bloodied and beaten. It's scary and brutal, right?"

"Yes, of course! Doesn't everyone think that way?"

"No! When your son thinks of war, he is thinking of valiant deeds, courage, and bravery. He's imagining standing up to the evil to protect the weak and innocent. When he pretends to be shot, he's picturing nobly laying down his life for his brothers in arms. To him, it's all about testing his strength and showing himself mighty when it counts, it's about manliness and honor."

Hope dawned in her eyes. "Really? I never thought about it that way! Is that really why he's obsessed with war and battle?"

"Yes, certainly. Of course, the explosions don't hurt the attraction any," I smiled at her.

Yesterday, on the 67th anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Bulge, Life Magazine released some never before seen shots of the Ardennes during the Battle. They are really quite remarkable, some even in full color. Gather your children around and take a look at them. Take time to tell them about the great, glorious fight against one of the most evil leaders the world has seen — and don't be worried when they are fascinated with war!

 

For manly, historical and inspiring gifts for boys fascinated with war, from King Arthur swords to rubberband machine guns, click here!

For inspiring stories of the heroes of American History that teach virtue and character, get our Hero Tales from American History dramatized audiobooks by Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge. Order by midnight, Monday, December 20th for Christmas delivery.

 

Review: How Do You Do It All?

I don't know about you, but I'm dropping so many balls, I'm in danger of getting a concussion!

Ancient Egyptian Wall Painting

So, I was delighted when Mary Jo Tate offered me the opportunity to review her teleseminar course, How Do You Do It All?

Let me tell you, I need to figure this one out! Our friends call us dynamos, but we feel more like broken down lawnmowers coughing and choking through the day and constantly having to be restarted. Or like somebody trying to put a forest fire with a wet cloth napkin. One of us, me or the fire, is going to get beat to death! By bedtime, I'm always thinking of a quote from The Little Engine that Could, "I must rest my weary wheels…"

Enter Mary Jo's program. Now, I know what you are thinking, because I had the same reaction: How can she tell me how to manage? She doesn't know my situation. There are things I can't change. I work from home, it's harder to balance. It's probably worldly advice anyway. Nope.

That's what I love about Mary Jo. She loves the Lord. She loves her children and homeschools them. She gets non-negotiables. She works out of her home and isn't willing to change that. She understands having extreme challenges, she lives it. See, that's where we are and why I just write off most of the self-help and business management advice I hear. They don't get it, but Mary Jo does.

I haven't finished the program yet, in fact, I'm just in the second of five weeks, but I can tell you some things I love already:

There is an audio download for each lesson AND there is a written transcript. A transcript, not a summary or outline or handout. I live in a very noisy house with a bunch of loud boys and little girls who want to be right next to me. I have a choice between "listening" on my computer speakers and missing most of it or using ear buds and missing the disaster in the next room. Besides, I just learn better by reading. Mary Jo caters to both kinds of learners!

I love that she doesn't make you feel like a wretch for having things you won't cave on – or – hopeless because you have tough things to deal with. She is very personable, warm and friendly. She makes it doable.

I love the forms and examples and I love that they are in Word and Excel, so that I can adapt them to my family.

This teleseminar is just what we have been looking for – something to help us balance our family and our business without sacrificing either. If you are working from home and feeling overwhelmed, this is what you need.

Mary Jo Tate has great ideas because she has lived them. She's been like us, juggling madly just to survive and she figured out she had to manage better or she wouldn't. This teleseminar is the result. It works because it's real. You have got to go check it out!

The great news is that Mary Jo is having a fantastic sale through tomorrow only!!!

When you purchase How Do You Do It All: Proven Strategies for Balancing Family Life and Home Business in the Real World at the discounted price of $37 during their sale (Dec. 5-8), you'll also receive 17 FREE bonuses with a total value of over $135 AND you'll automatically be entered in the random drawing for 23 door prizes with a total value of over $660! These valuable bonuses and door prizes include information about home business, homeschooling, and family life, as well as Christmas crafts, activities, stories, and music! Details here.

Read this too late for the big sale? That's okay, it is still a great deal! Head over to How Do You Do It All? and get rid of the stress!

Congratulations to the Winners in our Facebook Party Giveaways!

The Winners…

Amanda P + Ambre S + Angela W + April P + Barrett + Beth M + Bethany U + Bobbi B + Carisue C + Caroline A + Charlene + Charlene M + Christine S + Connie M + Cristi S + Dawn W + Dell F + Dicka + Elizabeth T + Erynn S + Gabreial W + Holly P + Holly S + Jamie C + Jatina C + Jen + Jennifer + Jennifer F + Jennifer T + JoAnna P + Julia S + Julie B + Kat M + Kendra M + Kim + Laura B + Lindsay + Lisa F + Lisa M + Lori R + Malia R + Marijo T + Melissa P + Michelle O + Monique H + Peggy B + Rhonda J + Roxanne M + Sage D + Sara G + Sarah + Sarah A + Sarah K + Shannon R + Shannon W + Sharon F + Sharon M + Sonita L + Steph + Vanessa G + Vicki M + Vickie W + Wendy G + Wendy I+ HarvestSchool + Hugabug + Lady Aramina + LearnDailyMom + Mad Hatter+  Thumb Happy Moms + Well-luved + a few more …

And thanks to all these great companies

who donated gifts and prizes

for our epic 11/15 Facebook party!

Apologia Educational Ministries + Art of Eloquence + Beloved Books

Bright Ideas Press + The Busy Homeschool Mom + Christian Logic

 Circle C Adventures + Classical Composers Monthly + Doorposts + Fourth Day Press

Gentle Shepherd + Grace and Truth Books + Grapevine Studies

Griffin Family Publishing + Heritage History

Home Educating Family + Homemaking 911 + Home School Adventure Co.

Home School Legal Defense Association + Jim Hodges Audio Books

A Journey Through Learning + Joyce Herzog's EDUcational Products + Joyous Home

Knight's Book Knook + Knowledge Quest + Lilla Rose (Caroline Allen Consultant)

Me & My House Ministries + Media Angels + Micro Business for Teens

My Audio School + The Modest Mom + New Millenium Girl Books 

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine + The Pilgrim Institute + Savory Favors

The Shorter Word Press + Stephen Bautista Music

Supermom's Health and Wellness + Teach Them Diligently Conference

Timberdoodle + Trivium Pursuit + Vintage Remedies + Warrior Prayers

WriteShop + Youthful Homemaker

 

Wondering how to use social media like this for your company? Click here.

 

Announcing… Christ-Centered Christmas!

We are delighted to announce the release of our newest book, Christ-Centered Christmas!

Are you feeling torn about Christmas? Loving the sights and smells, but hating the thought of the stress and commercialism? Want to make sure the Lord is glorified in your family, but wondering if you'll get sidetracked by all the busy-ness?

You are in good company!

That's why we've put together a new book that will:

Save you money on gifts — and help you give presents that will be remembered forever.

Help you make your house look like Williamsburg at Christmas — while spending almost nothing to do it!

Save you time by giving you menus, a shopping list and plans to fix the best Christmas goodies ever with tried and true secret recipes.

Inspire you to host a Caroling Party and take the gospel to your neighbors in a way they will love. And make it easy, too.

Encourage you to introduce new traditions that will focus your family's hearts on home — and Christ!

Equip you to make this Christmas a Christ-centered one, full of happy memories for your children.

Just Released! Buy it now!

Christ-Centered Christmas

The Ultimate Guide to Celebrating a Christmas Your Family Will Never Forget

by Hal & Melanie Young

Authors of the CSPA 2011 Book of the Year, Raising Real Men

 

eBook download $15 Just $6 to celebrate the release! That's 60% off!

Buy Christ-Centered Christmas now!

One of the most important things we did when we were a young couple was to establish our own family traditions. It helped us to realize that we were a family and it created bonds of memories that have strengthened our marriage and blessed our children over the years. Now the parents of eight children, some grown, we're thankful we can share Christ-centered Christmas with you!

Praise for our holiday books:

"…a wonderful full color compilation of all kinds of important things about having a "family Christmas celebration." Things like: recipes, gift ideas, traditions, ornaments, caroling, decorating, history and menu planning. Once again (like their Thanksgiving ebook, you can read my review HERE) this is a wonderful resource to prepare your hearts and minds for the TRUE meaning of CHRISTmas." Dawn Winter of Guiding Light Homeschool

"This is one resource that you will want to keep handy to use year after year. Having all this information in one book will make your ongoing teaching and training of how to celebrate Thanksgiving easier than you ever thought possible."        Phyllis Sather

"History, Real LIFE, Yummy Food and a great way to celebrate as a family – what more could you ask for?  This is simply beautiful! Your Becoming a Great Cook section is wonderful for me – but even more so for my girls! I can't wait to print this out and put it in their Home Economics/Cookbook Binder. A family treasure for sure!" – Lynn McInnis of This Day Has Great Potential, about We Gather Together

Download this gorgeous 80 page, full color book now for $15 our introductory price of $6!!

An email will be sent to you with a link for any downloadable items. Thank you for your business!

Hero Tales: Really Authentic

We all love the director's commentary and the extra "How We Made It" sequences on DVDs. We're not quite there yet for our own Great Waters Press productions, but we thought you might be interested in what is going into our Hero Tales audiobook CDs.

The newest disc in our series, Volume 3, brings the collection up to the War Between the States. One track tells the story of the 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads, between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia (often called the Merrimac), the first clash of ironclad warships.

This was an interesting story to produce. We've used the sounds of waves, seagulls, and ship's bells before to give the basic nautical flavor to the background. But the Monitor and the Virginia offer unique problems. To start with, what did they sound like when they were underway?

We try to be as authentic as possible with the sound effects in these stories, but sometimes you just have to make your best educated estimate. For instance, we know both these ships were propeller driven, so we can't use sternwheel riverboat sounds. They were steam powered vessels with engines peculiar to maritime uses. While there's information online about the different styles of engine they used, I couldn't find any recordings of that exact machinery. I opted to use the sound of two different narrow gauge steam locomotives, one a little deeper and slower than the other, edited to give the steady beat you would have heard on board.

One of the remarkable features of the battle was the sight of cannonballs bouncing off the ironclad vessels. Did that make a distinctive sound? I think so, and I think it would have been distinct for the two warships. The armor on the two vessels was radically different. The Virginia had four inches of iron on top of 24 inches of solid oak and pine. The Monitor, on the other hand, was all metal – the most exposed thing, the gun turret, had eight 1-inch layers of iron bolted together, with another layer of 1-inch plates bolted inside the turret to dampen the sound of a direct hit (yeah, right). I chose a deep metallic sound for ricochets off the Virginia, sort of a "bong," and a higher note ("clank") for hits on the Monitor.

Their guns were different, too. The Monitor had two big 11-inch naval guns, while the Virginia was described as a floating battery – smaller guns, but lots of them. I found a recording of an actual Civil War cannon shot, likely a smaller bore field piece, which I used for the Virginia's rifled armaments. A deeper "boom" stands in for the Monitor's big Dahlgrens..

If you listen carefully to the battle sequences, you might be able to track who's shooting what at whom—and watching it bounce harmlessly off which.

Maybe the best thing is the celebration on the southern shore after the Virginia's initial success. My son John Calvin found a recording (a film, actually) made at a reunion of Civil War veterans in the 1930's. The three cheers you hear echoing over Chesapeake Bay on our CD are the genuine Rebel yell – performed by actual Confederate soldiers. How authentic is that?

Sometimes you just can't find what you need. I've already mentioned the creepy Deguello bugle call Santa Anna used to announce "No prisoners" to the defenders of the Alamo. Our army never had need of it, and I couldn't find another recording suitable for use. Roosevelt didn't mention the bugle, so I just let that historical detail pass. The shots from Jim Travis' pistol are a period black-powder revolver, though, and the ticking clock on Gouveneur Morris' wall in revolutionary Paris is an 18th-century, Scottish antique  – and the angry mob in the street is shouting in French. That's in volume 2, by the way.

If you have enjoyed our rendition of Hero Tales, we'll be glad to answer any questions we can. If you haven't heard them yet, why not download a sample and try one out? We think you'll like them!

Bibliography Note:  When the book Hero Tales from American History was first published in 1895, Henry Cabot Lodge got top billing over co-author Theodore Roosevelt. Although both men were Harvard graduates with established records of historical and biographical books, at that time Lodge was the more prominent of the two—a Ph.D serving in the U.S. Senate after three terms in the House. Roosevelt had served short terms in the New York General Assembly and the federal Civil Service Commission, but his meteoric rise from the New York governor's office to the White House (with a brief visit to San Juan Hill, Puerto Rico) were still in his future. So in 1895, Senator Lodge is credited first.

ADHD: Maybe–But Maybe Not

G[image error]uest post by parenting columnist and psychologist John Rosemond

    A mother asks why I don't believe in ADHD. Her son has ADHD. After administering a battery of tests, a psychologist said so. According to the mother, the psychologist also said the boy probably inherited the disorder—a biochemical imbalance—from his father, who admitted to having been bored, inattentive, and fidgety in school. ADHD must have something to do with biochemistry, she said, because her son is now taking medication and it has helped a lot. (Note: I am not able to speak directly with the psychologist in question; therefore, I am assuming that the mother has represented him accurately. Regardless, I have heard very similar stories pertaining to psychologists from lots and lots of parents.)

   I asked if the psychologist had ordered a brain scan, blood test, or genetic testing. After a moment's reflection, and with a puzzled look, she told me that he had not.

"Psychologists are not medical doctors," I said. "They are not qualified to make statements concerning a person's physical condition without consultation with a physician or physicians who have made the determinations in question."

"Then why did he tell me that?" she asked.

That's what he believes, I told her, and I do not question his sincerity. She asked what I believed, so I told her that no physiological anomaly has been reliably found in children diagnosed with ADHD. Said differently, there is no compelling evidence that ADHD is caused by faulty biology. Furthermore, the idea that brain chemistry is "out of balance" supposes that one can determine the proper state of balance. Brain chemistry is in a state of constant flux. According to experts with whom I have spoken, it varies according to mood, situation, prior history, and other factors too numerous to mention. Brain chemistry in "balance" is whimsy.

As for ADHD being genetic, that too has not been proven. Furthermore, it fascinates me that whenever I have heard a story of this sort—and I have heard hundreds—the parent who supposedly passed the gene to the child in question is almost always the father (I estimate the preponderance to be above 90 percent). Yet girls are diagnosed with ADHD, so one is prompted to ask, "If girls possess the gene, how is it that they seem to pass it on so rarely?"

The criteria that define ADHD are found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.* Those criteria are subjective, which means the diagnosis rests on no objective standards. Furthermore, they are replete with such unscientific words as "usually" and "often," as in, the child "often has problems finishing tasks." In other words, children diagnosed with ADHD sometimes act like they have it and sometimes act like they do not have it. The only rational conclusion to draw is that they do not "have" anything at all.

It is worth noting that none of the criteria are test-based; therefore, a psychologist who administers an battery of tests under the pretense that tests are a diagnostic essential or claims to have made the diagnosis based on test results is misrepresenting the nature of the tests. If one believes a diagnosis of ADHD is appropriate, there is value to knowing the IQ of the child in question, but an IQ test is not a valid diagnostic tool.

Last but not least, the medications in question are stimulants that have the predictable effect of lengthening attention span and increasing ability to focus…in everyone. It is not true that certain people (those "with" ADHD) have one reaction to these drugs and certain other people (those "without") have an opposite reaction. This canard is put forth to support the unproven claim that the ADHD nervous system is substantially different from the non-ADHD nervous system. As for the oft-observed fact that when highly active children take these drugs they become less active: an increase in attention span results in a decrease in activity level.

   "So," I asked the boy's mother. "What are your thoughts now?"

   She told me she was going back to the diagnosing psychologist prepared to ask some tough questions and insist upon clear answers. More parents should do the same.

(Author's note: "Before I published this column, it was reviewed and approved by two psychologists, one of whom has published extensively on the subject of ADHD, the other of whom is skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, and two pediatricians, one of whom specializes in treating children who exhibit ADHD symptoms.")

* The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatic Association.



Family psychologist John Rosemond answers parents' questions on his website at www.rosemond.com.


Is your son's inattention and fidgeting driving you both to distraction? Whether your son is taught at home or "sitting" in a classroom, you can find helpful ideas in our popular workshop, Ballistic Homeschooling! (And if your son is bouncing off the walls, you know why we gave it that title!)

One hour workshop recording – CD $5.00

Shipping charge is a flat $2.50 for orders under $15.