New study makes suggestions for getting the most out of reading with your child. “There is nothing more powerful than your voice, your tone, and the way you say the words,” said Wiles. “When I was a child, my dad read to me and while that was helpful and I enjoyed it, what we are finding is that when parents read with their children instead of to them, the children are becoming more engaged and excited to read.” Engaging the... Read more
Most of the time, we try to avoid inflicting pain on others — when we do hurt someone, we typically experience guilt, remorse, or other feelings of distress. But for some, cruelty can be pleasurable, even exciting. New research suggests that this kind of everyday sadism is real and more common than we might think.The researchers hope that these new findings will help to broaden people’s view of sadism as an aspect of personality that manifests in everyday life, helping... Read more
Patheos blogger Jennifer Fitz invited me to respond to her comments about my analysis of the so-called “Princeton modesty study.” My original post is here (and is rather cheekily titled, “Women in Bikinis May More Easily Avoid Potentially Abusive Partners, Study Says?). Jennifer’s response is here. Go read. All caught up? There’s a good fellow. I want to start by saying that I agree pretty much with everything Jennifer wrote. I agree that modesty is not just in internal disposition but... Read more
I got this funny but heartfelt message from a reader who felt some frustration after reading my post on the negative effects of yelling at kids. Dr. Popcak, you’re destroying all my parenting tactics one by one. I kind of hate you right now. (But really, can you write this post but apply it to toddlers? Because they don’t really listen that well. And also, I have no clue what to do with these small little savages. It’s like Lord of... Read more
OK, OK, the headline is a joke, but there’s a serious point behind it that I think those of us who value true purity as opposed to cheap knockoffs need to reckon with. This past Summer I’ve been reading a lot about the 2009 Princeton study that, according to some sources, found that men can’t help but view women in bikinis as objects instead of persons. I hadn’t had time to read the study before now, but I finally got around... Read more
Last week, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Michigan released the results of a study that showed that yelling at teens actually aggravated problematic behavior rather than extinguishing it. Likewise, teens who were consistently yelled at had higher incidences of depression, school problems, lying, stealing and fighting than kids who did not experience “harsh verbal punishment.” Researchers also found that the more parents yelled, the more they felt they needed to yell as the problem behaviors increased creating... Read more
To be honest, I have always struggled with the idea of spiritual parenthood. I’m ashamed to say that it never struck me to be “as good” as the “real thing.” I’ve had a few experiences lately that are changing that for me and deepening my understanding of the power and significance of spiritual motherhood and fatherhood. In my role as a member of the adjunct faculty at Franciscan University and as advisor to the men’s Theology of the Body household on... Read more
People often ask me what the biggest problem affecting marriages is. They usually expect me to say something like, “poor communication”, “infidelity”, “drugs and alcohol” and the like. All of these are important problems, of course and they are, unfortunately, common. But they are not the most common or even the most serious problem undermining marriages in my estimation. In fact, the real problem is what often causes all of these other issues. So, what is the most common marriage problem... Read more
This guy totally gets it. This is probably the best example of Theology-of-the-Body based parenting I have ever read and his son is a lucky boy. I want all you parents out there–and especially you dads out there–to read this, memorize it, and repeat it to your kids. THIS is the way to talk to your boys about girls. Someday I am going to have to have the conversation with my son. No, not the conversation all parents dread giving... Read more
This has got to be the worst app I’ve seen in a long time. Brownie Points is designed for couples to help keep track of each other’s behavior. Couples give each other points for doing things the other likes and each partner accumulates those points to earn rewards like “having a girls night out” or “getting alone time” or whatever. I appreciate that many couples work this way and I also appreciate the intention of the app to help catch... Read more
Faith on the Couch
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