If_10

Family Happiness is Homemade   August 1982 • Vol. 6, No. 8

SMART DAD. I was on a plane fly­
ing to Los Angeles. In the seat behind
me sat a well-dressed young man wh"
was deeply absorbed in a magazine artiili
with illustrations on the teenagers' cin-
rent drug problem with all its awful niti
quences. When he finished the article, iln \nunji
man closed the magazine and almost hdpks5K sidKd into space. 1 mail) luigciting
those around him, he half-spoke, half-whispered what seemed to be a prayer: "Oh,
God, I wonder why. I suppose nobody knows" and then he added with resolve, "But
if a father can make the difference, I sure want to make the difference, I sure want
to make the difference." Obviously there was nothing higher on this young father's
agenda for the years ahead than to be an understanding father—a father who would
"make the 'difference'."                                                                           Charlie Shedd

A MEAL A DAY. Aim to have your family eat at least one meal a day to­
gether. Eating together on a daily basis is one of those traditions your family
will come to cherish. Don't let mealtime be a time of criticism or problem-
solving. Let it be a time of sharing good thoughts, experiences, and memorable
conversation.                                                                     Eleanor Yarborough

HOME NOISE. One of the primary areas of recent research in children's rooms
has involved the effects of overstimulation on children: noise, overcrowding, and
the lack of privacy. Studies have demonstrated the adverse effect of noise both in­
side and outside the home. One report linked the noise from a nearby highway to a
decline in children's reading abilities. Others have shown that when levels of noise
in the home are high, children's perceptions become less accurate. "Excessive noise
in the home can negatively affect cognitive development," said psychologist Ross D.
Parke.                                                                                                      Glenn Collins

THE TRUTH. A good wife is a woman of strength and dignity, and has no
fear of old age. When she speaks, her words are wise, and kindness is the rule
for everything she says. She watches carefully all that goes on throughout her
household, and is never lazy.                                              (Proverbs 31:25-27)

SINGLES. Over 50% of the U.S. adult population will be single by 1985. By 1990,
the number of households composed of unattached people—the never-marrieds,
divorced, separated or widowed—will nearly equal the number of households of
married people.                                                                                         Govt. Census

FORGIVE-FORGET. Clara Barton never was known to hold resentment against anyone. One time a friend recalled to her a cruel thing that had hap­pened to her some years previously, but Clara seemed not to remember the incident. "Don't you remember the wrong that was done to you?" the friend asked. "No," Clara answered calmly, "1 distinctly remember forgetting that."

If you never have disagreements you're not teaching each other anything.

Evelyn Petersen

TEEN ALCOHOLISM. Seventy percent of today's teenagers have used
alcoholic beverages. One in five 13 to 15 years old is a drinker. Five percent
of all teenagers get drunk at least once a week, every week. The number of
teenagers arrested for drunken driving has more than tripled in the last twenty
years.                                                                                               Pulpit Helps