Blog - First Things First

Raising Successful Children

Sometimes, experience can be the best teacher.

Before school starts, you can’t go into a store without seeing school supplies. Kids are cramming in their summer reading and some parents are relieved that summer is almost over.The new school year seems like a natural time to think about your child's future. Parents often say they want health, happiness and success for their children, but do their actions actually help or hurt when it comes to preparing their kids for these things?“Many parents micromanage their children's …

Marriage Benefits Children

Stability in the home impacts a child's wellbeing.

In an article published by the Brookings Institute, Richard Reeves wrote about the fact that Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton became a father on Christmas Eve 2015.So what’s the big deal, you ask? Cam is single. He and his girlfriend, along with many others, didn't see the importance of tying the knot before having a child.Before you stop reading in disgust and think this is just old-fashioned rhetoric, please take a deep breath and try to read all the way to the end.There is n…

How to Prevent Bullying

Everyone can make a difference when they speak out against bullying.

Paul Coughlin’s passion to prevent bullying comes from his own bullying experience while in elementary school. He understands how a campaign of cruelty can damage a person’s emotional and psychological well-being, not just in childhood, but often for life.This knowledge, along with his passion, led him to start an anti-bullying effort called The Protectors, whose primary focus is on the potential strength, heroic desire and rescuing capacity of bystanders. Studies show that bystander…