It Takes a Parent on National Review Online

NRO RADIO | IT TAKES A PARENT | E-MAIL RSS

Note: It Takes a Parent will be on hiatus for the summer. Podcasts will resume in the fall.

FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009
Standing By Your Man
This week’s guest is writer Megan Basham, author of Getting the Life you Want by Helping Your Husband Get Ahead. She’s got some pretty provocative things to say about the age-old husband-wife relationship. I think we’re both pretty good at taking apart the feminists, who have made things harder, not easier, for women — particularly when it comes to marriage.

FRIDAY, MAY 08, 2009
America’s Fading Spirituality? Don’t Believe the Hype!
There have been a lot of negative news reports about Americans and their drop in religious affiliation. But the news is better than those reports might indicate. I touched on this topic in this week’s column, and will talk more about it on the show. I’ll also look at whether it’s true that when it comes to men and religion, “they’re just not that into Him,” as Cathleen Falsani of the Chicago Sun-Times put it. The science is simply that men are not has “hard-wired” for religion as women are. Among other things, I’ll make the case that this is a practical argument for why women shouldn’t occupy positions of authority in the church.

FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2009
Playing the Title IX Game: Do Boys Always Lose?
Well, yes according to Christina Hoff Sommers. In a great piece last week in the Washington Post, she described how the Obama Administration is now applying Title IX regulations (those which essentially try to force women into varsity level sports, which always leads to the guys losing spots on their varsity teams) to college science programs. There is only one problem: inspite of mass recruitment efforts, only about 20 percent of hard science courses in college are made up of women.

So, once again to make things “equal” this could have the effect of fewer science spots available to men.

Please notice that the Obama administration is not trying to equalize ratios between men and women in English or education departments which are overwhelmingly female.

Here’s Christina’s piece: A Threat in Title IX

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2009
Are Folks Without Kids Really Happier?
Today on “It Takes a Parent” I have a lot to talk about in the “Hart Beat” part of the show. To start with I'll be discussing research indicating that men, too, have “biological clocks” and how the feminists are spinning that story.

And I'll look at the spate of recent studies which appear to show that people who have kids are not has happy as those who don’t have kids. Somehow that doesn't sound right.

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2009
Taste Makers, Face Makers
Hi all! We have lots of fun topics in the extended Hart Beat part of the show, including an exchange about just what it is with runway models and the nasty facial expressions they make.

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2009
Less Religion, More Hook Ups
I hope you tune in today to hear this week's guest, cultural critic Marybeth Hicks of the Washington Times. We’ll talk about everything from the hook-up culture on college campuses (a local FOX 5 report this week made me crazy!), the fact that a report showed that fewer people in the U.S. are calling themselves religious and going to church, and more.

FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2009
Your Kids, the Economy, and Internet Safety
We have a bit of a double-header today. My first guest is Jeff Zaslow of the Wall Street Journal. He notes studies — and a lot of anecdotal evidence — that the recession is making folks a lot more grateful and less grumbly. What a silver lining, right? Kids, listen up!

Then we talk internet safety with Larry Magid, founder of connectsafely.org — which you’ll definitely want to visit on behalf of your children!

FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2009
Do Young People Want to Get Married?
Well, yes. Research according to TRU, a Chicago based youth research firm, shows that while marriage rates overall are declining and the average age of first marriage is later than ever, most young people surveyed (18-30) still hold a high view of marriage. They are just a little intimidated. The feds have started a public relations program to talk about the positive benefits of marriage. What’s holding these young people back in the first place? Peter Picard of Tru provides some answers.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2009
In the Good Old Summertime
There’s lots to talk about in the Heart Beat part of the show, including people who think, in the wake of a New York Times news reports about larger families that we ought to go to a “one child” policy in the United States — give me a break!

Then my main guest will be Will Cunningham, director of K’Kaui Family Camp for Kanakuk Kamps (Branson, Missouri) who answers the question "Why camp?", and then offers his opinion on which camp might be the best fit for your kids this summer. And are parents the ones who more and more getting “homesick” for the kids at camp, not vice versa? Such were the news reports last summer — we’ll talk about that.

I love Kanakuk — which is where my kids have been “Kampers” for years — and I hope you check them out at kanakuk.com

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2009
Christian Truths, as Told By Veggies
On this week's show I talk to Mike Nawrocki, one of the co-creators of the wonderful Veggie Tales franchise. If you are a parent or if you know a kid, you know all about Bob and Larry and the Christian message of the wildly successful Veggie Tales.

We’ll talk about the several new projects the Big Idea company is working on (the first Veggie Tales Bible, for starters) why they came up with the idea for vegetables to tell Christian truths in the first place, and how they respond to the criticism that they “caved” to Hollywood in the making of their feature films Jonah and The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything.

You’ll love this discussion, especially if you are a parent - or if you know a child!

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2009
Love on the Brain
Hey friends, you're definitely going to want to tune in to today’s radio show: just in time for Valentine’s Day, it’s all about the chemistry of love. I get to talk with Dr. Helen Fisher, noted anthropologist and expert on what our brains do when we are in the middle of that dopamine high called by its street name . . . romantic love.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 06, 2009
Fighting Bill Creep (and No, That’s Not a Person)
My guest today is Karen Blumenthal, who writes the “Family Money” column for the Wall Street Journal. Karen and I discuss money-saving tips for these tough times, focusing on her latest column, “In The Fight Against Bill Creep, Every Extra Fee is the Enemy.”

FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2009
Part 2 on Your Teens and Marriage (Your Marriage!)
Dr. Paul Randolph of Insight Christian Counseling has some great wisdom on how to manage your teens and their turbulent years - and see your marriage thrive in the midst of it all.

On his website (www.insightcounsel.org) there’s a button that includes bullet points for much of what we talked about. Be sure to visit and pass it on to a friend in need.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2009
Teens & Marriage with Dr. Paul Randolph
Hey, friends - you will want to tune in today as Dr. Paul Randolph, the head of Insight Counseling in Pennsylvania, does the first of a two-part show on teens and the stress they can inflict on their parents’ marriage. What can couples do to see their marriages not just survive what are typically the most difficult years for a marriage, but thrive during them?

FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2009
A New Year's Hodge Podge
I’ll be talking about all kinds of things as we head into the new year, including the Hedonic Treadmill — why getting more stuff just makes us want more stuff — the Gardisil vaccine for nine-year-old boys (are these people nuts?) and why men don’t write advice columns, for starters.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2008
Teens & Ethics (Or the Lack Thereof)
I’ll be talking to Michael Josephson, head of the Josephson Institute for Ethics in Los Angeles, California. Among many other projects, the institute tracks teenagers and their ethics (or lack thereof) through blind surveys, and issues regular public reports every two years. It’s most recent report was, again, shocking. The vast majority of teens admit to cheating on tests in high school, and more than half of the boys says one has to lie and cheat to get ahead in life.

The reports seem to get increasingly ominous. Not a good sign.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2008
The Screwtape Letters and Redemptive Art
Today, I interview Max McLean, star of Screwtape Letters, currently playing to soldout houses at the Mercury Theater in Chicago. Based on the brilliant satire by the same name by C.S. Lewis, the story follows one of Hell’s chief tormentors, Screwtape, as he helps his nephew navigate the “hoped for” snatching of a particular soul on earth. I saw the play, it’s fantastic! Max, who is based in New York, is also the President of the Fellowship for the Performing arts, a Christian performing arts company, and has starred in or been a part of many performances typically based on great Christian literature or histories.

Today on the show we’ll talk about the Screwtape Letters, Christians and the arts (I sometimes think we Christians are too “afraid” of the arts), and for those of us who have kids who want to go into the arts how can we encourage them to go about it in a way that’s redemptive?

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2008
Is Today's Generation Taking Too Long to Get Married?
Well, according to Dr. David Popenoe, yes! He’s a professor emeritus of sociology at Rutgers University, and director of the prestigious National Marriage Project there. He has a lot to say on the matter.

For one thing? He thinks our high expectations concerning marriage today doom too many of them to failure before they start. (Think of Eharmony’s promise to help you find your “soul mate.” It may be no wonder that already, the evidence seems to be that marriages which come from Eharmony have a higher break-up rate than the culture as a whole!)

Personally, I’m beginning to think we might want to bring back arranged marriages — okay, I’m kidding but then again. . .

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2008
Do We Have a Crisis of Christless Christianity in America?
Dr. Michael Horton says “yes”! He’s the author of the new book, “Christless Christianity.” (He’s written many other books, including Putting the Amazing Back into Grace.)

Horton argues in his provocative new book that it’s not about “liberal” or “conservative” theology. It’s not even about the vigor of American evangelicalism. It’s that in churches across the board, Christ is being taken out of the gospel, and replaced with a therapeutic message that misses the cross, even in ways that sound…Christian.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2008
Religion to the Rescue!
This week, David Staal is my guest on “It Takes a Parent.” Until this summer, David was the head of the children’s ministry Promiseland at Willow Creek Community Church. He recently left that position to head a ministry in Michigan called Kids Hope USA (www.kidshopeusa.org).

What he has to share is amazing. Kids Hope pairs churches with public schools and kids at risk around the country - and the schools are glad to have the churches involved! You are going to want to hear how and why that’s possible. More public schools are asking for the ministry than there are churches available to provide it!

David will also talk about his own kids, and helping them through a difficult transition with the move which in their words “ripped them away” from their friends. With the economy the way it is and various transitions in our own homes, a lot of us may need his insights.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2008
Is Eliminating Risk Dangerous?
My first guest is Philip Howard, head of the public interest group The Common Good (commongood.org), who argues that we have become a society obsessed with eliminating risk, especially when it comes to our kids and safety, and that this approach is nothing short of dangerous. He offers some interesting strategies for changing that thinking and you’ll want to get his insights on how we might be putting our kids at risk our by keeping them “safe!”

Next, we meet Matthew Locricchio, author of The 2nd International Cookbook for Kids, a fun cook book that draws kids into cooking on their own — and for the family! As a single mom to four kids who think a regular diet of chicken nuggets would be just fine, I love his ideas and have started to implement them in my home.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2008
The Consequences of Being a “Hurried Child”
Today we talk with Dr. David Elkind, author of the block buster best-seller The Hurried Child, about what happens when we push our kids to grow up too fast. Twenty-five years after the release of the book, the trend may be worse than ever. How can we give childhood back to our kids? I also talk to Dr. Bennett Leventhal from the University of Illinois Chicago who sheds light on the news that pediatric suicides are on the rise after years of having leveled off.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 05, 2008
And Clean Up That Room!
How can we teach our kids that work is an inherently good thing? It’s not just about making money, it’s not a necessary evil one has to do to get to the other “good” stuff in life, which even some in our Christian culture teach. Rather, “work” is a wholesome thing - it was, after all, present in the garden before the fall. So on Labor Day and every day in a culture which has such a twisted understanding of work, how do we teach our children to value the creative, redemptive, and protective value of work? Oh heck, how do we just get them to do a few chores without complaining?? Writer Tony Woodlief tells us how our kids can be made to understand, adopt, and, ultimately treasure a good, old-fashioned work ethic.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 2008
Keep Your Kids Cyber Safe
On today’s show I talk internet safety with Karen Jenkins of Bsafe Online. Kids are starting school, and are more likely to plug into their network of friends online, and get onto or get back onto “Facebook” or similar sites. This is also the time when “cyber bullying” starts back up for many kids. The internet can be a wonderful tool — but it can also be dangerous to your kids in ways you as a parent might not fully appreciate. (And anyone who knows me knows that when it comes to kids I don’t frighten easily.) Tune in and out what you can do to protect your family!

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2008
God & Man on Earth
This week, Dr. Calvin Beisner of the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation and I discuss the growing seduction of many well meaning evangelicals into the global “climate change” political movement, and the devastating repercussion for the poor that could have around the world. You will not want to miss the discussion of the real story about climate change, why and how many Christians in the United States are being misled on this issue, and the principles behind rightly stewarding God’s creation.

And by the way, you may be more than a little surprised (and horrified) to find out where the money to promote much of the global warming “hype” in the Christian community is coming from (this from the Institute for Religion and Democracy).

FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 2008
Preservation Nation?
We’re going to try to get to a lot of topics, but we’ll start by talking about the mom who created an international uproar when she allowed her 9-year-old son to ride the NYC subway by himself. I say good for her, but a lot of folks think I’m crazy too. Are we overprotecting our kids? Are we denying them the lessons that would teach them to handle adversity and roll with life’s punches? I think so. Or, do we live in an age when we have no choice but to be a little overprotective if we want to be good parents?

FRIDAY, AUGUST 08, 2008
Back to School with Jeanne Allen
What can we as parents do to maximize the opportunities for our kids in the school year ahead? Jeanne Allen, head of the Center for Education Reform in Washington, D.C., has some great answers. This show, Jeanne and I talk about how parents can get the most out of their children’s schools, the state of education reform around the country, and why those “great” standardized test results aren’t all they’re chalked up to be. Got kids in school? Tune in!

FRIDAY, JULY 25, 2008
Family Debt with David Briggs
First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes crushing debt? So it seems. Today I’ll be talking about this issue with savvy financial advisor David Briggs, the former GE executive who now heads the Stewardship Ministry at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill. David has a lot of good ideas about how to think more successfully about money during tough financial times. I hope you’ll tune in!

FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2008
Where Have All the Babies Gone?
Are we just too selfish to have kids anymore? That certainly seems to be the case in many European countries, where native populations are on a dramatic decline. Italy’s population, for example, is expected to be cut in half over the next fifty years. The economic and cultural consequences of this are huge, in particular if the trend extends to the United States. But what about the ramifications for our souls? Sure, life is easier without kids. But is it worth it? Helping me sort all this out — on both the material and spiritual levels — is economist Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal editorial board. Tune in!

FRIDAY, JULY 11, 2008
Male Time!
My guests today adhere to contrasting opinions about the role of men in modern society. “In the process of fashioning a more female-friendly world we have created a culture that is hostile toward males.” That’s the opinion of my first guest, Kathleen Parker, author of the new book Save the Males. My second guest, Jessica DeGroot of the Third Path Institute, believes men’s and women’s traditional roles, at least in the home, should be blurred even more. Who’s right? Tune in and find out!

FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2008
Got a Privacy Policy?
My guest today is Neil Swidey, author of a Boston Globe Magazine cover story on kids and privacy and texting and cell phones. My question is when is too much information (for us parents) about our kids not good? (Hint: I’m definitely more for being a “parent over the shoulder” than Neil is.) We’ll also touch on the story of the mom who put her nine-year-old all alone on a New York subway and the whole world went nuts. Tune in.

FRIDAY, JUNE 06, 2008
Growing Up with Kirk Cameron
Remember Kirk Cameron, teen heartthrob and star of that ’80’s show, Growing Pains? Well he’s my guest for a discussion of Hollywood and Christianity. I know, the two don’t go together, do they? And that’s the point. Kirk became a Christian in his teens, and has been battling the secular Hollywood culture ever since. In short, Kirk’s got guts — the kind you want your kids to have, too. Tune in.

FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2008
Megan Gurdon on the "Little Lomans"
How do you feel about all those little salespeople coming to your home selling everything from chocolate bars to wrapping paper, to support everything from their sports clubs to the school? Do you know these kids sell some two billion dollars a year worth of stuff? And by the way, are they selling it — or are their parents? We talk to writer Meghan Gurdon, who penned a piece for the WSJ recently on the “Little Lomans” phenomena.

FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2008
Can We Get Our Kids Off the Hook?
The hook-up culture is thriving on college campuses. And where goes the blame? My guest Donna Freitas, author of Sex and the Soul, fingers the campuses that “do not provide an environment where acting on romantic desires, rather than sexual ones, is feasible.” In fact, Donna says “it takes a village” to set standards for dating. Moms and dads of college-age kids — or kids of any age — will want to tune in!

FRIDAY, MAY 09, 2008
Hey Moms: I’ve Got a Few Words for You
Attention mothers (and fathers) on this Mother’s Day weekend! Want to communicate the exact right message to your kids? Then you don’t want to miss today’s show. My guest — and good friend — is David Staal, the author of Words Kids Need to Hear. This is a little book with big ideas. In particular, David says there are seven statements kids need to hear regularly, audibly or otherwise, from their parents. Tune in and learn all seven.

FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2008
Liars, Cheaters, and Thieves . . . Oh My!
“I’m dishonest and proud of it.” Believe it or not, that’s what a lot of our kids think. But can this national character collapse be solved? Our public schools, with their “character counts” curriculums, seem to think so, although my guest today is skeptical. Mona Charen — a nationally syndicated columnist, bestselling author, and good friend — tells Lynne and I that this feel-goodism won’t get us very far. But is there anything wrong with our schools taking a stab at teaching “trustworthiness,” for instance? And what can we parents do to quell the dishonesty pandemic? Mona has some great answers and you’ll want to tune in.

FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2008
Divorce, in Dollars and Sense
Divorce doesn’t come cheap in America — and I’m not talking about lawyer fees. According to a new report, divorce in this country is costing taxpayers a whopping $112 billion a year. Of course, that number is not going to discourage folks who really want to split with their partners. But it might persuade our government to be a bit more pro-marriage. A worthwhile pursuit? Maggie Gallagher — columnist and author of The Case for Marriage — helps me add it all up.

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2008
Hook-Up Downturn?
A recent New York Times Magazine story actually says kids on college campuses — even the elite campuses of MIT and Harvard — are turning their backs of the hook-up culture. But are these kids setting a new standard, or are they just swimming upstream? Carol Liebau, my guest this show and author of Prude: How the Sex-Obsessed Culture Damages Girls (and America, Too!), knows her way around this topic. Have we traveled too far down the sex-soaked road to ever come back? Tune in and find out.

FRIDAY, APRIL 04, 2008
God? Science? Why Not Both?
Have you ever noticed that Christians are fine with having God and science coexist? In fact, Christians see scientific discoveries as strengthening their faith precisely because they reveal the marvel of the world. So why is it that so many scientists seem to hate the idea of God so much? Are they the ones who can’t coexist with Him? The documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed — which opens in a thousand theaters this month — asks these excellent questions. You don’t want to miss it. Nor do you want to miss today’s show. We’ve got Expelled producer Mark Mathis in the house. He’ll explain the movie, how it came to be, and why it’s so important to think correctly about creationism and evolution.

FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2008
In the Money with Dan Miller
Are economists overreacting when they say a recession is heading our way, or that we’re in one already? And how can families best deal with falling home prices, higher mortgage rates, rising food costs, and the prospect of gas at $4 a gallon? Since today’s economic questions are big, I made sure to recruit a guest with the big answers: Dan Miller. Dan, formerly of the Chicago Sun-Times and now with the Heartland Institute, is a leading Chicago business writer and economic observer. Got economy-related concerns? You’ll want to tune in.

FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2008
The Kids Are All Fight?
With nine kids between us, my producer Lynne and I are pretty familiar with sibling rivalries. But that doesn’t mean we’re experts on dealing with it. For that, we can turn to today’s guest, Adele Faber — the best-selling author of Siblings Without Rivalry and How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk. I may disagree with Adele about her emphasis on “all feelings are okay,” but so much of what she’s written has been helpful to me as a parent. Got kids who fight? You’ll want hear what Adele has to say.

FRIDAY, MARCH 07, 2008
Get Your Geek On!
You should cultivate your child's inner nerd. Or so says Marybeth Hicks, columnist and author of the forthcoming book, Bringing up Geeks: How to Protect Your Kids in a Grow-up-too-fast World. Hicks says we should redefine the word GEEK to stand for “Genuine, Enthusiastic, Empowered, Kids.” The question I’ll ask Hicks is “is it we parents who worry too much sometimes about whether our kids are cool?”

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2008
The Play Is the Thing
My guest today is Robin Henig, who recently wrote a provocative essay on the science of play for the New York Times Magazine. As I wrote in my column this week, Henig suggests that with all the research that has been done on why we play, the importance of play, and what may be the loss of play in our children’s lives, we may need no other insight than: We play because it’s fun. Wouldn’t it be great not to have to agonize over something as simple, and wonderful, as play? (Of course, I’m thinking real play — not video games!) Henig thinks so, and she let’s us parents know why.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2008
What Happened, Hillary?!
Apparently it doesn’t take a village to win a presidency! What happened, Hillary?! On today’s show I ask National Review senior editor Ramesh Ponnuru if he’s as stunned as I am —and you are, I’m sure — that Hillary Clinton’s campaign has fallen into such dire straits. Is it really over for Hillary? Where did she go wrong? And what can we learn from this amazing collapse? The ever-brilliant Ramesh has some answers.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2008
Smells Like Teen Romance
We live in a sex-driven culture that encourages our teens to be involved in very romantic relationships. But our young teens aren’t capable of handling the powerful chemical changes these relationships elicit. What are we as parents to do? Producer Lynne and I — along with “favorite mom” Anne Morton — discuss the answers.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 01, 2008
Making Conflict Work
Ken Sande is president of the international mediation group, Peacemaker Ministries, and today he talks with Lynne and me about sibling conflict. Ken points out that it’s not always smart to avoid conflict. In fact, he says conflict always produces an opportunity for positive things to happen. You know what? I agree. (This is true in every area of life.) Tune in to find out how to make conflict work!

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2008
Guess What? Pro-Life Is on a Roll
As many of you know, this week marked the commemoration of the tragic Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. But the good news is that minds and hearts continue to change in the pro-life direction. Where exactly does the nation stand in this process — legally, politically, and culturally? My dear friend Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony list (an important pro-life political action group), has the answers. You will not want to miss this show — Marjorie’s terrific!

FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 2008
Life on the Bright Side
My guest this episode is Wall Street Journal science writer Robert Lee Hotz, who’s somewhat of an expert on the science of optimism. Yeah, optimism. It seems we humans are built for it. Literally. We have optimism compartments right in our brains. (This makes a lot of sense to me and my producer, Lynne. With nine kids between us, how else could we get up in the morning?!) But the key is to tap into our optimism. Hotz offers an easy and surprising technique for building on the optimism that we were created to experience. You’ll definitely want to tune in!

FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 2008
Why Are Kids So Unhappy Today?
Today we talk to Dr. Madeline Levine, a practicing psychotherapist and author of The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids. She deals in her practice with teens who get plenty of attention from parents and school, they have a good standard of living - but they are extraordinarily unhappy, more so than teens in the past. Did you know studies show the highest rates of depression and substance abuse are in the most affluent teen communities? What’s going on?

FRIDAY, JANUARY 04, 2008
Kids Can’t Always Get What They Want!
Dr. Wendy Mogel is the author of The Blessing of a Skinned Knee — one of my favorite parenting books ever. She’s also a wonderful child psychologist who is just filled with common sense. In today’s show we talk about one of my big beefs: Ungrateful kids! As Dr. Mogel puts it, “Advertisers have brainwashed our children to think that everything they want is something they need.” Of course, kids don’t need half of what they want. Here’s how we parents can make that clear.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2007
Faith of Our Children
It’s Christmas time, so of course we’re concerned with matters of faith. But for us parents, this needs to be a consuming passion throughout the year — not just at Christmas. (In some ways I think Christmas even gets in the way of faith, but that’s for another time!) In today’s show, Daniel Darling, author of Teen People of the Bible, points out that most children and teens raised in faith will fall away from their faith in college. Why? For one, Dan argues that too many Christian parents — and churches — “dumb Christianity down.” Dan makes some great points, so be sure to tune in.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2007
Women, War, and Kate O’Beirne
National Review magazine’s Washington editor Kate O’Beirne is a former member of the President’s Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces, making her something of an expert on the subject of women and war. Do the two go together? Kate and I agree they shouldn’t. Indeed, what does it say about a culture in which men stay at home to keep the home fires burning while women go out to do the fighting? Tune in and hear what Kate has to say.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2007
It Takes a Parent . . . to Care for a Parent!
Many of us are in the sandwich generation: We’re called on to take care of our kids and our aging parents. How can we manage these challenges? And what options are available to an older generation that, blessedly, expects to live longer, fuller, and more independent lives than ever? Two great guests from a vibrant senior living facility in Chicago have some answers. They talk about the options for both independent living and senior care — all available under one roof — that are springing up around the country. I hope you’ll tune in!

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2007
A Parental Rights Amendment? Michael Farris Says Yes
I’m a skeptic when it comes to amending the Constitution for almost anything. But Michael Farris, president of the new parental-rights group ParentalRights.Org, lays out a very reasoned case for why we need a Constitutional amendment to protect the parental rights that are now implicitly, but not explicitly, laid out in the law. One big concern? A push from the left after the next election to adopt the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. This show is not about spanking, per se. It’s about government standing between parents and their children. Tune in: This is important.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2007
Dr. Carol Dweck on Self-Esteem
Dr. Carol Dweck is fascinating. A renowned researcher on self-esteem and motivation issues, she explains why it’s not a good idea to tell a child she’s “smart,” how we are raising our children to be “entitled and fragile,” and that we need to be raising kids who don’t have a “fixed” mentality, but a “growth” mentality. The difference can be life-changing. I can’t encourage you enough to listen in.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2007
Charles Sykes and “Adult Supervision”
Charlie Sykes, author of 50 Things Your Kids Won’t Learn in School, just wrote a really great piece for the Wall Street Journal called “Adult Supervision.” In it he describes a culture that seems to want to shroud our kids in bubble wrap. Take the reporters at ABC News, for instance. They recently revealed that — gasp! — many playgrounds have germs! (ABC should see my kitchen. Actually, they shouldn’t.) What’s an overprotective culture costing our children? Charlie Sykes has added it up. Tune in.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 09, 2007
Talking Pilgrims with Leland Ryken
What would Thanksgiving be without the Pilgrims? You know, big hats, dour expressions, the Mayflower, making friends with the Indians, right? Well, there’s a lot more to it. Leland Ryken, prolific writer, Puritan scholar, and professor at Wheaton college, talks with me about using Thanksgiving as an opportunity to reflect on who these Puritans really were, what they gave us, and why it matters that parents get it right.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 02, 2007
The Pushy-Parents Epidemic with Neil Swidey
Neil Swidey, who just wrote a great piece for the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine — “Rush Little Baby. . . ” — talks with me about the epidemic of parents who push their kids academically and otherwise. What is going on with the push to Harvard at age two? Are our egos tied up in our kids? And how as parents do we get off this track if we’re on it?

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2007
The Rise of the Good Girl with Wendy Shalit
In her provocative 2000 book, A Return to Modesty, the brilliant Wendy Shalit argues for the feminine virtue of keeping your clothes on. In her 2007 follow-up, Girls Gone Mild: It’s Not Bad to Be Good, Wendy puts us in touch with girls who essentially are rebelling against their mother’s generation: They’re going mild, not wild! Can we encourage our own daughters to “go mild” — and our sons to appreciate such women? Wendy and I sort it all out.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2007
What to Do About Pornification? With Chris Clapp
I, like many parents, am sickened by what Laura Ingraham rightly calls the “pornification of the culture,” particularly when it comes to our own kids and the Internet. In this show I get to the heart of the matter by talking to Cris Clapp of Enough Is Enough in Washington. The wide availability of sexual images may now be the “new normal” on the web and in society, but Clapp tells us parents that that we really can say “enough is enough.”

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2007
Talking Boys with Christina Hoff Sommers
In this show I talk to Christina Hoff Sommers, the best-selling author of The War Against Boys, about the incredible success of the new Dangerous Book For Boys. Full disclosure — I love the book. It fits right in with my belief that boys need to be civilized, not feminized.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 04, 2007
Karen Pallarito Offers Tips on Childhood Obesity
Karen Pallarito, a lifetsyles and health writer, discusses the growing trend, so to speak, of child obesity. She has some suggestions on how to tackle this problem, both in our culture and in our own homes when it’s necessary. You definitely want to tune in!

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2007
Fun with Meredith O’Brien
Meredith O’Brien is the author of A Suburban Mom: Notes from the Asylum, a complilation of her often hilarious and always very funny parenting columns and blogs. We talk about whether or not there’s a backlash against overwrought and overworried parenting. She’s terrific, and has some very sage advice from one of her own children’s teachers about homework!

© National Review Online 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Home | Search | NR / Digital | Donate | Media Kit | Contact Us