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Growing Great Writers

I firmly believe that anyone can be a good writer. Writing leads to clear thinking, and reading and writing feed each other. Don't give up on yourself or your child, or think that you don't have writing "talent." Just like anything else, writing is a craft that needs to be developed and practiced.

From At-Risk to OK

Constant, intense stimulation, pressure to do more and better, media and peer pressure, and life's everyday changes bombard kids from all directions. Living in atmospheres of poverty, crime and abuse puts additional enormous stress on families and children.

Steps to Adoption

Choosing to adopt is a major decision that can reap rewarding and unfathomable benefits of giving an orphaned child a place to call home.

Hard Decisions

If you are a child with aging parents, or a caring parent with foresight for your children, here are some of the documents that will help you deal with end of life decisions. As difficult as they may be to complete, they will be a comfort during times of high stress and crisis.

Co-housing Now

The decrease in the number of Americans participating in bowling leagues since 1950 is just one example of America's movement toward isolated communities. Robert Putnam uses this example in the book "Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community" (Simon and Schuster, 2001, $10.99) to demonstrate that American's decline in social activity is detrimental to a strong democratic society.

Growing Herbs: Kid-Friendly Gardening

A handful of culinary herbs are easy to grow and useful in the kitchen—even for new gardeners with little space and for those (including kids) who are too busy to learn about "real" gardening.

How to Live in a Multi-Generational Household

The number of people living in multi-generational households has steadily increased over the last three decades, according to the Pew Research Center. As of 2008, 49 million Americans lived in households consisting of adult children living with their parents, grandchildren living with their grandparents or all three generations living under the same roof, up from 28 million in 1980.

Family Communication

Families live farther apart than ever. Several tech tools can help you keep in touch from afar. Here are some tips for staying in touch.

Groups That Support Families

Even families have hard times, and need some form of help. Thankfully, there are groups of people and organizations that are willing to help. If you don't need the help, why not help these folks out by either donating time or money (or both)?

Making An Urban Family

When Beth Kander moved to Jackson in 2003, she hardly knew anyone. Kander, an author and playwright who has also written for the Jackson Free Press, was far from her family in the Midwest and her college friends in the Northeast.

Good Ideas

Families are at the heart of everything we do. They serve as a witness to our lives, support us when we fail and remind us of where we came from. Even if you have a nontraditional family, a strong family unit is essential to a vibrant community. In this Good Ideas issue, we focus on ways to build a family-friendly community, how to raise a genius child, alternatives to traditional families and styles of parenting.

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