Dear Mama Bear

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“How can I tell my child I love him?”

From the mailbag: "Dear MamaBear, I love my son, I really do. But I was raised never to talk of love. I try to tell him but I just can't. How can I get over this? Anonymous" Dear A, How about this mental image? Your son is dead. Bet you wish you had told him, […]

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“My teen wants to get lip piercings”

From the mailbag: "Dear MamaBear, My 13 year old wants to get her lip pierced. I say no. She's very mad at me. What do you think? Anne in Jamestown" Dear AiJ, Piercings. Ugh. MamaBear hates these. Then again, I don't even have earring holes meself. While I totally disagree with piercings, I'd first want […]

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“How can I get my 11 year old to clean her room?”

From the mailbag: "Dear Mama Bear, My 11 year old is a slob.  If I let her, her room would be declared a disaster area by local news stations. How can I motivate her to clean it? Sincerely, Frustrated" Dear Frustrated, Oh wow, does MamaBear hear you!! It's been MamaBear's experience that unless: Your child […]

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“How can I teach my kids about healthy eating?”

From the mailbag. "Dear MamaBear, I want my kids to learn how to eat right from an early age. Tell me…how do I do that? Sincerely, Darlene in Ft. Washington" Dear DiFT, Eating right is a very important thing indeed. And here's one surefire way to contribute towards that. Walk the walk you talk yourself. […]

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“Where can I find happy stories?”

From the mailbag: "Dear MamaBear, I'd like to offer my 5 year old some inspirational stories.  Do you know where the best are? Anonymous" Dear A, Indeed I do!  There are lots of great free inspirational story places online – some of my favs include: Thoughtful and Inspirational Stories Inspirational Words of Wisdom Inspirational Short […]

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“My teen hangs out with the wrong crowd.”

From the mailbag: "Dear MamaBear, My 16 year old son is hanging out with a bunch of jerks who don't care about school, don't care about success, don't really care about anything that requires time and effort. Unfortunately, my son is hanging out with them.  I tried to forbid him to see them but he […]

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“Is Jesus real?”

From the mailbag: "Dear MamaBear, I'm a God-fearing Christian and my youngest child stunned me yesterday; she asked me if Jesus was real! Am I a horrible mother for raising a child who has doubts? Anonymous" Dear A, Ah. Organized religion. The bane of MamaBear's existence. I confess; whenever asked about God or Jesus or […]

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“How can I get my kids to exercise in this heat?”

From the mailbag: "Dear MamaBear, My town is in a heat wave, and all my kids want to do is stay inside and marinate. How can I get them to exercise in all this heat? Sincerely, Tim in Delaware" Dear TiD, You're having a heatwave too? Over here in MamaBearLand, it's beyond brutal, so I […]

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“My child promises too much!”

From the mailbag: "Dear MamaBear, My child always tells his friends that he'll be there for them if they have problems, or if they need help with homework, or what have you. The problem is, after he promises, he often forgets!  It's not intentional but it's starting to cause his friends to get mad at […]

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“Where can I find mental math stuff?”

From the mailbag: "Dear MamaBear, I've heard that there are resources online that can teach kids mental math.  Do you know where they are? Sincerely, Patrick from St. Louis" Dear PfSL, Ah, mental math! The stuff that makes MamaBear sing in perfect harmony! Here's some of me favorite resources, enjoy! Beat the Calculator Mental Math […]

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