Can A Bad Marriage Kill You? Study Says, “Yes, and A Good Marriage May Heal.”

Last updated on: June 25, 2014 at 4:12 pm By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

From Science Daily The affairs of the heart may actually affect the affairs of the heart in ways previously not understood.”Growing evidence suggests that the quality and patterns of one’s social relationships may be linked with a variety of health outcomes, including heart disease,” says Thomas Kamarck, professor of psychology and Biological and Health Program Chair in the University of Pittsburgh Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. He is an author of a new study that correlates unhappy... Read more

Kids with Strong Bonds to Parents Have Better Relationships with Peers & Are More Adaptable

Last updated on: June 24, 2014 at 12:28 pm By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

From Science Daily-Mind/Brain News. What social skills does a three-year-old bring to interactions with a new peer partner? If he has strong bonds to his parents, the child is likely to be a positive, responsive playmate, and he’ll be able to adapt to a difficult peer by asserting his needs, according to a new University of Illinois study published in Developmental Psychology. “Securely attached children are more responsive to suggestions or requests made by a new peer partner. A child who... Read more

Putting Faith to Work Linked to Job Satisfaction.

Last updated on: June 23, 2014 at 8:20 am By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

(H/T PsychCentral) Regular attendance in a church that stresses faith as a component of work is associated with high job satisfaction and employment commitment. Baylor University sociologists discovered the influence depends in part on how involved that person is in the congregation, not merely on occasional attendance. “We already knew that about 60 percent of American adults are affiliated with congregations, but we wanted to delve into whether that carries over from weekend worship services to the work day,” said... Read more

Marriage After Baby: Simcha Fisher Interviews Dr. Greg

Last updated on: June 18, 2014 at 10:20 am By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

Simcha Fisher, blogger extraordinaire and author of The Sinners Guide to Natural Family Planning is working on a piece for Our Sunday Visitor Newsmagazine on the marital changes that occur once a baby arrives on the scene. She emailed to ask for an interview. By happy coincidence, Lisa and I just turned in our upcoming book, Then Comes Baby: The Catholic Guide to Surviving & Thriving in the First 3 Years of Parenthood to Ave Maria Press. Between that and... Read more

Yeah! The Summer Issue of Tender Tidings E-Magazine is Out!

Last updated on: June 17, 2014 at 2:11 pm By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

Check out this terrific (and free!) Catholic parenting e-magazine from More2Life Radio contributor, Kim Cameron-Smith! It’s chock full of practical, inspiring and interesting ideas to make your Summer more grace-filled and enjoyable! Check it out! Oh, and my Q&A column starts on page 25 if you want to skip to the extra good bits 😉 Seriously, Kim does a great job and Tender Tidings is a real treasure! Go forth and be inspired! In this issue: FAMILY GAMES (playing our favorite... Read more

Both Controlling & Indulgent Parents Have Higher Risk of Chemical-Abusing Kids

Last updated on: June 12, 2014 at 12:44 pm By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

Remember that the other day I noted that neither children from more authoritarian homes nor children from indulgent homes really feel that their parents really care about them? This study really drives this point home. (The original study was in Spanish and the translation isn’t great so I’m cleaning it up a bit. Hence the brackets). A scientific study in six European countries has analyzed the role that parents play in the risk of their children consuming alcohol, tobacco... Read more

The Four Components of Wisdom

Last updated on: June 11, 2014 at 1:32 pm By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

I think most of us would like to be wise, or at least hope to become wise one day. But I wonder how many of us could articulate what wisdom really looks like. I suspect most of us know wisdom when we see it, but how many of us would be able to articulate the skills or abilities make up wisdom? Wisdom: 4 Keys to Getting Unstuck Today on More2Life Radio, we discussed “getting unstuck.” When we encounter situations that... Read more

Enough with the Naysaying–You CAN Make Your Marriage Last A Lifetime

Last updated on: June 11, 2014 at 12:19 pm By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

Sociology professor, Pepper Schwartz, has a rather depressing piece in CNN titled, Lifetime Marriage a Crapshoot. It reflects on the fact the the biggest percentage increase in divorces is among people over 50. It used to be that people felt that if you made it to 25 years, you were home free. Not any more. Althought the divorce rate is significantly lower among longer-marrieds than among those married fewer than 10 years, it isn’t unusual for couples to divorce after 25,... Read more

Is It Time for a Catholic “Tenderness Revolution” In Parenting?–Updated

Last updated on: June 10, 2014 at 4:02 pm By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

Disturbing new research suggests that by the time they reach age 18, about 12 percent of American children are maltreated: neglected, or abused physically, sexually, or emotionally. Researchers at Yale University say the numbers are even more sobering for black and Native American children, with one in five black children and one in seven Native American children experiencing maltreatment during the time period studied. The results are published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. The authors estimated the cumulative prevalence of confirmed childhood... Read more

Corporal Punishment. Morally Problematic for Catholics?

Last updated on: June 6, 2014 at 2:20 pm By Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak

Most readers know I certainly think so, but fellow Catholic Patheosi, Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry has an outstanding piece laying out some points every Catholic parent should consider on his blog, Inebriate Me. Here’s a sample: The facts are in, and extrinsic motivation just does not work. Period. And Christians should know that, since we know that is not how God made us. God made us to be free, that is to say to do what is right because of our own... Read more