As parents, we are quick to praise our children when they achieve something. We should sometimes also applaud the process, not just the product, or honor the effort, not just the result. An occasional "good job in the process" will be noticed. Here's one idea: a special treat for a child who has worked hard in his handbook this year.

Has your family taken a summer vacation? If not, plan to make it a relaxing, enjoyable excursion that also helps you grow spiritually and personally. Take time to rejuvenate your bodies and minds, have fun and grow in your relationship with God and your family.

Did you know that parents of 54 percent of the 8- to 18-year-olds surveyed in a 2005 Kaiser Family Foundation media study did not impose any TV rules or restrictions on their children? Thirty-six percent of the kids had TV rules imposed on them related to getting their homework done. One in seven was restricted in the amount of time they spent watching TV. One in eight was limited in the type of content they could watch on TV.

Preparing our kids to love God and His Word takes plenty of tender, loving care and the consistent modeling of God’s love in the home before our charges’ impressionable eyes. Here is a helpful article on the subject.

Beware of the pressure on kids to cheat academically. Eighty-two percent of high-school students lied to a parent in the last year, according to a survey of more than 24,000 students conducted by the Josephson Institute of Ethics. Sixty-two percent cheated on a test and 27 percent shoplifted, the survey also reported.

Don’t waste the opportunities to impact their lives and develop close bonds with your children. Here are  7 ideas for how parents can build lasting memories with their children.

Raising girls in our post-Christian culture is growing increasingly difficult. Here are three of 12 pointers for parenting daughters to know and follow Christ in today’s world offered in Crosswalk.com:
• Commit to investing time and energy to train them to follow God’s truths and not the culture’s lies.
• Monitor their outside influences.
• Teach them how to pray.