The DHX: The Doughtie Houses Exchange

“Many families judge people like they are vetting a candidate for the Supreme Court. Every fault is magnified and scrutinized. There’s another way to do it — more like the way people are patted down on the way into a rock concert. As long as you’re not bringing in any handguns, knives, or alcohol, you’re [...]

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By Jill Davis Doughtie
“Why Do I Love These People?” Understanding, Surviving and Creating Your Own Family by Po Bronson
Po Bronson interviewed and visited numerous families over a period of months, looking for information about how they made their family lives work. “In Why Do I Love These People?” he told the stories of nineteen [...]

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By Jill Davis Doughtie
Aunt Pillowhead recommended a book on parenting teenagers in the comments over at Stepmother’s Milk recently. I just finished reading it and liked it very much. It’s available free online: Between Parent and Teenager by Dr. Haim G. Ginott.

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Get Out of My Life, but first could you drive me and Cheryl to the mall? by Anthony E. Wolf
“You need confidence, and not confidence that you are making the right decision — nobody can do that — or that you are always in control of the kid — nobody can even come close to [...]

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Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56 by Rafe Esquith
While it’s true kids don’t choose their stepparents, it’s also true that they also don’t choose their fifth grade teachers. That doesn’t stop Rafe Esquith.
Rafe Esquith teaches in an inner city school where the kids have rough backgrounds and lots [...]

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