There are “Mommy blogs” and other trends that can confuse parents.

It sometimes seems that “Common Sense” is not so common.

I observe one worrying trend that will not prepare kids for life.

Today, we don’t want our kids to be disappointed!

So, we reward all kids win or lose.

These kids will be unprepared to deal with the many disappointments that are part of every life.

Other traits not being consistently addressed by parents:

   DISCIPLINE-There must be rules and discipline for breaking those rules.

   RIGHT & WRONG-There must be constant reinforcement of what is right & wrong.

   POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT-Good behavior should be acknowledged.

   PUNISHMENT-Punishment should be proportional to the offense.

   HONESTY-You must tell the truth in order to set the right example for your kids.

   STAND UP FOR YOUR VALUES-Don’t allow poor parenting by others influence you.

   ALWAYS LOVE YOUR KIDS!-Your kids must always know you love them!

Of course, we use the expression, “Thank God”, on a joyful occasion or when we are so relieved that a positive event has taken place.

Which raises the quesstion, Are you in the habit of thanking God?

The only time we usually turn to God is when we want something.

I once read of a man who had a terrible time falling asleep at night. Even though he was not a “Pray er,” he decided to try to pray himself to sleep.

At first he had a hard time finding the words and thoughts but it grew easier the more he practiced it.

As the nights went on, he had less and less trouble falling asleep.

Why not make the last thing you do at night a “thank you” prayer for all the blessings in your life.

If not today, when?

The Odyssey Ai-One (Callaway owns Odyssey).

It comes with a softer urethane face or a milled steel version and in seven head shapes (everything from a pure blade to a winged mallet), designed so that the heel and toe produce results that can compare to sweet spot strikes.

How similar?

In-house testing with a robot hitting 32-foot putts showed that off-center hits with the urethane version of the Ai-One left the ball up to 21% closer to the hole than off-center putts with a comparable model. (CNN)

AI seems to have a future in golf club design.

What’s next?

Washington, DC (CNN) 

Buying a family-sized home with three or more bedrooms used to be manageable for young people with children..

Meanwhile, Baby Boomers are staying in their larger homes for longer, preferring to age in place and stay active in a neighborhood that’s familiar to them.

And even if they sold, where would they go?

There is a shortage of smaller homes in those neighborhoods

The report defines age groups in the 2022 Census data as: adult Gen Zers were 19 to 25 years old, Millennials were aged 26 to 41, Gen Xers were 42 to 57, and Baby Boomers were 58 to 76.

.As a result, empty-nest Baby Boomers own 28% of large homes.

Ten years ago young families were just as likely as empty nesters to own large homes.

Even though Millennials with kids own half as many large homes as empty nesters, Millennials make up roughly 28% of the country’s adult population, the largest share of any generation.

As you can see, there are unique factors at work that are affecting the market for existing homes.

(CNN) Almost 40% of jobs around the world could be affected by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), a trend that is likely to deepen inequality, according to the International Monetary Fund.

In a Sunday blog post, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva called for governments to establish social safety nets and offer retraining programs to counter the impact of AI.

“In most scenarios, AI will likely worsen overall inequality, a troubling trend that policymakers must proactively address to prevent the technology from further stoking social tensions,” she wrote ahead of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, where the topic is set to be high on the agenda. (CNN-Hong Kong)

You must do some homework in order to learn how vulnerable your livelihood will be.

It’s obvious that the trades provide an insulated future and there are tradeschools in most cities which do not require college.

It appears many high tech jobs will be eliminated.

DO YOUR INVESTIGATION NOW!

They are mentally ill?

Abandoned by family?

Living with memories of combat?

There are 653,000 homeless people in America.

88,000 in New York/71,000 in L.A./14,000 in Seattle/10,000 in San Diego

Many of us feel that homeless people are lazy.

There’s so much more to their stories!

In order to learn about how your child is surviving outside your home, you MUST TALK to the teacher.

Your child’s interaction with you won’t give you all the information you need.

The teacher spends much more time with your child than you do.

The teacher can give you a perspective that you do not have.

The teacher observes how your child interacts with peers.

The teacher can assess how confident your child is.

Don’t try to parent without learning how your child is coping with the classroom!

If not today, when?

Hertz, which has made a big push into electric vehicles in recent years, has decided it’s time to cut back.

The company will sell off a third of its electric fleet, totaling roughly 20,000 vehicles, and use the money they bring to purchase more gasoline powered vehicles.

Electric vehicles have been hurting Hertz’s financials.

Despite costing less to maintain, they have higher damage-repair costs and, also, higher depreciation.

“Collision and damage repairs on an EV can often run about twice that associated with a comparable combustion engine vehicle.” (CNN)

(Photo from the Seattle Times of Washington Football Players after the championship game)

I had to use this photo to demonstrate what a team looks like even in defeat.

You’ll notice all of them are crying with an arm around their teammate.

Like Michigan, the Washington football team entered the game with a 14-0 record.

These young men began the championship game having only known VICTORY!

They ended the game tasting DEFEAT for the first time!

What a bitter taste it is.

I admire these young men who cling to one another for consolation.

That’s what a REAL TEAM does!

They stick together even in the agony of defeat!

Each person offers something the other lacks.

This makes the relationship feel more complete.

This hot-meets-cold dynamic can add excitement and balance to the relationship.

Hopefully, “one is the words, the other is the tune.”  (Neil Diamond)

As good as this all sounds, opposites come at issues that arise with a different perspective.

“And therein lies the rub.”

Simple advice: When you differ with your mate, BE NICE!

If not today, when?