New Study: "What's Love Got To Do With It"

There has been a study done recently in Australia, looking at factors that contribute to keeping a couple/marriage together. Check it out.

Turn Off The TV, and Get Outside!

It is officially Summer Time! However, sometimes it is easier to be inside than outside.
There are a lot more enticements for your children to stay inside. Like the Xbox 360, 500 Channel Digital TV, computer games, Internet, and so on.

Here are some things you can do to help get your children outside.

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Read the entire post at Notes on Parenting or Essential Fathers.

Tough Guys Sing Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden

This is a hilarious movie.

Canada Therapist to Population Ratio

I did a quick little study because I had a question. I have noticed (not just for me but for others), that finding a counselling/therapist related job is difficult in Manitoba, but have seen several people (like I did) dart off to other provinces to find employment in counselling/therapy.

I originally went to the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Assoication website to search for workers per province. However, their search engine, while useful for consumers, did not help me. TherapistLocator.com, run by the American Association of Marriage & Family Therapists, showed to be useful for my little study.

I did quick counts of how many Therapists (including affiliate, and student since they too could be employed in counselling) there are per Province in Canada.

I then went to the latest Statistics Canada population count. I then came up with these numbers.

Province	Therapists	Population	Ratio
Yukon	4	33,700	8,425
Manitoba	100	1,222,000	12,220
Northwest Territories	2	43,400	21,700
Saskatchewan	40	1,030,100	25,753
Alberta	140	3,687,700	26,341
British Columbia	150	4,455,200	29,701
Nova Scotia	20	938,200	46,910
Ontario	210	13,069,200	62,234
Quebec	110	7,828,900	71,172
Newfoundland and Labrador	4	508,900	127,225
New Brunswick	1	749,500	749,500
Nunavut	0	32,200	0
Prince Edward Island	0	141,000	0

The National Average is 1 Therapist for every 43,201 people.

So, we can see that Manitoba is, in a sense, flooded with therapists. It is probably to the credit of the University of Winnipeg program (1 of 2 in Canada recognized by AAMFT) for Marriage and Family Therapy that there is this balloon. However, not all MFT's have a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy.

Counselling is almost top heavy in the West. With all four provinces having a better therapist to population ratio than the national average. However, all of the Eastern provinces are worse than the national average.

So, for future counsellors, your best markets are Eastern Canada, well, anything besides Manitoba, where one therapist has access to roughly 12,000 people (that's a small market!). If 10,000 people did see you in one year, and your cost was $50 per session, that's $50,000. However, somewhere like Saskatchewan (the next province on the list), there could be 20,000 to see you in one year. That's $100,000.

So it looks like I might be on the move.

Column Available Online

My column can now be found online! The Battleford's News Optimist was finally allowed to establish a website. You can visit www.newsoptimist.ca to view them. They are found under Opinion, then click Columnists.

For example, here is a column.

World Cup Soccer Family Activities

It’s World Cup Soccer! It is well under way. I received this email chain letterfrom my father-in-law the other day. As humorous as it is, it is also a statement of how much this tournament singles the father out from the rest of the family.

However, World Cup Soccer can be used as a family learning and bonding experience. It is a great opportunity to learn about the world we live in.

Here are some things that you can do with your children, besides just watching the game:

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Read the rest at Notes on Parenting or Essential Fathers

What's New on HomeFamily.Net

The Buzz on Mosquitoes

Location, Location, Location

Advertising to Children

Consumer Product Recalls

The
Transition to Fatherhood
Course

Are you going to be a Father for the First Time?

Come learn about:

• What your spouse/partner is going through
• What the baby is doing
• The changes that are going to happen to your routine
• How to handle the new responsibility

First class is July 8 & 15, 6pm, at Westwood Public Library

Second class is August 12 & 19, 6pm, at TBA

Cost is $50 per person. Cost includes manual, take home materials, two two-and-a-half hour sessions, and in class materials.

All you need to bring is YOU!

To register or for more information contact Josh Lockhart

294-7448

lockinghearts@gmail.com

www.lockinghearts.com

Funded in part by:

Canadian Home Economics Foundation

Children See - Children Do

If this doesn't motivate you to be a better example infront of your children, I don't know what will.

Find more videos like this on AMCAP

Fatherhood Resources

With Fathers Day coming up, here are some Fatherhood Resources:

• National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse
• The Child Welfare Information Gateway - The Importance of Fathers in the Healthy Development of Children
• Brigham Young University - FatherWork
• Montana State University Extension - Importance of Fathers
• Essential Fathers

And here are ideas of how to celebrate Fathers Day.

Thanks to the NCFR for sharing some of these sources.

Speak Dad’s Love Language in Father’s Day Gift Giving

Father’s day is coming up this weekend. If you are a last minute shopper, don’t fall for the advertisements.

Father’s day, like most holidays, has become tremendously commercialized. “Get dad Avatar,” the latest adds go. Or get him a new BBQ, the Kindle, or iPad. Those are great gifts, for a birthday, but not for Father’s Day. Father’s Day is a day to celebrate fatherhood and to show appreciation.

As part of appreciating, it would be good to line up the gift with Dad’s love language.

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Read the complete post at Notes on Parenting or Essential Fathers.

Are You Ready To Be A Father?

Photo From: FreeDigitalDownloads.net

“How wonderful a thing is a child. How beautiful is a newborn babe. There is no greater miracle than the creation of life” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “What Are People Asking about Us?,” Ensign, Nov. 1998)

So you are going to be a father. Are you ready?

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Read the rest at Notes on Parenting or Essential Fathers.

For Health’s Sake, Marry Someone Your Age

As seen in the Battlefords News Optimist.

It has been shown study after study, that married couples live longer than their unmarried counterparts. However, a recent study shows that you may want to consider another factor before getting married, your age difference.

The recent Danish study was done on two million marital couples medical records. The study concluded that for women, the wider the age gap the greater the mortality rate.

Simply stated for women, if you have a spouse older than you, your life span is shortened. If you have a spouse younger than you, your life span is decreased even more. Marrying someone the same age is ‘safest’. As for men, they live longer if their spouse is younger.

Makes you want to change that age option when seeking for men or women online. Can you see that first date, a boy 10 years older than the girl. She responds that she doesn’t want to be with him, because she will be put at a greater risk of death compared to if she married someone closer to her age. Almost seems outrageous!

This study, while interesting, really won’t change the way we choose partners in life. Love some how always finds a way to break barriers. If we love someone and are willing to be with them, care for them, and work alongside them, that trumps out the age difference.

It makes me think of all the silly things that we study. Especially when it comes to things such as marital satisfaction, and longevity. The most random facts seem to be uncovered when we are looking for that magical ingredient to live longer.

There have been plenty of studies that claim to find that magical ingredient of living longer. So while we are at it, the following are other results to studies to increase your longevity.

Move to France, apparently they are the healthier because they buy the freshest foods.

Take the bus. It is the safest mode of transportation.

Laugh a lot, laugh like a child. They laugh 112 times a day, while adults laugh 6.

Get married, and make your marriage work.

Walk, run, and jump, exercise is always the answer.

Live in a rural community. You’re doing that.

Have lots of children. Not only do children provide exercise when they are young, they also become a great support when you age.

Play the piano. It keeps the brain cells functioning.

Be optimistic. You are more pleasant to be around, therefore improving your support system.

Be close to your mother. The closer you are, the least likely you are to develop a disease.

Keep learning. Same as playing the piano, it keeps your brain working.

Enjoy chocolate, in moderation.

Be religious. It helps manage your stress and emotional problems.

Get a pet. Any pet has a positive result in increasing longevity, they make you feel optimistic and relaxed.

Watch your weight. Overeating causes a lot of diseases, so if you don’t, you decrease your risk.

Don’t smoke. The earlier you stop smoking the better.

Have sex with your spouse. A healthy sexual relationship can increase life by seven years!

Relax. Such as meditation or yoga, they help reduce stress.

Have a sleep pattern. Having an established routine makes it easier to optimize your sleep.

Be a woman. On average, women live loner than men.

Of course, most of all, if you want to live longer, you need to marry someone close to yourage, for health’s sake!

Is Your Daughter Ready to Date? Part Three

Photo From FreeDigitalDownloads.com

The previous two times we have talked about the signs of whether your daughter is ready to date. We looked at Emotional Maturity, and whether she was Personally Responsible, Empathetic, and Self-Controlling. If she was, she is ready to date. (Click here to read part one, click here to read part two)

But Dad’s, just cause your daughter is ready to date, doesn’t mean she is prepared. As you may know from your own experience, some people you have gone on dates with probably should not have been dating. Your daughter needs to have a plan if she is to be kept safe while dating. You need to prepare her so that she doesn’t end up in an abusive or manipulative relationship.

How could your angel end up in such a relationship? Well, those who have the potential to be abusive or manipulative are very cunning. They wear a mask, and charm. They seem like such a catch. But once in the net, your daughter could be stuck in a relationship she doesn’t want to be in, but the abusive or manipulative individual will twist your daughter to keep her in a relationship.

Read the rest at Essential Fathers or Notes on Parenting.