Today is the official debut of The Blunt. The Blunt is the newest blog to enter the Black blogosphere. It is also replacing this Real Talk blog.
The Blunt is phat and filled with information and entertainment (infotainment) that will get you high – in a good way.
Ready to puff puff pass?
Just click The Blunt and get your high on.
The Blunt – This Is Not Your Typical Blog
IF YOU LIVE in Georgia and Arkansas you have probably seen the controversial billboards that scream “Black and Unwanted” and/or “Black Babies are an Endangered Species.” These billboards are sponsored by the Radiance Foundation, Georgia’s Operation Outrage and the Arkansas Right to Life, and they are stirring up outrage and debate within the Black community.
One purpose of the billboard campaign is to raise awareness of the astounding number of abortions performed on Black women. For example, TooManyAborted.com cites that over 14 million Black babies have been aborted since 1973, Black women have 3x as many abortions as white women and 94% of abortion clinics are located in urban areas.
The site also addresses the unsavory origins of Planned Parenthood and how white elitists (Rockefeller, Ford, Kellogg, Carnegie) wanted to use abortion as a means of reducing and/or eliminating the Black population.
In any event, there are Black folks who oppose the billboards. Some say the billboards are offensive to Black women. Others say the ads are unfairly singling out and demonizing Black women. And others say abortion is a viable reproductive choice.
What do you think?
Self-esteem refers to how we see ourselves. A child with healthy self-esteem feels good and is equipped to deal with life’s challenges. Parents play a vital role in developing a child’s self-esteem. Here are some practical tips for boosting your child’s self-esteem.
CLICK HERE to read full article.
There’s a huge difference between making babies and raising children. Making babies is the easy part. But raising children is both a challenge – and a reward. What does it take to be successful parent? How can we be better parents?
Here are 10 basic tips for improving parenting skills:
1. Ask the Divine Creator for guidance and instruction
Children don’t come from us. They come through us. Our children come from a Divine Source. They are assigned to us. We are co-parents with the Creator. Any question we ask of the Divine to help us better raise our children will be answered.
2. Learn to say “no”and mean it!
Sometimes it?s hard saying “no” to our children. Instinctively we want to give them everything. We want to see them happy. It breaks our heart when they cry. Get over it! “No” establishes boundaries. It teaches them to respect authority. It gives them discipline and structure. Here’s a little secret: children and even teenagers actually like discipline and structure because it shows you care. Oh, they may hate it now, but they’ll love you for it later.
If you’re wimpy about saying “no”, try this: Tell the child you?ll think about it. This will give you time to come up with a clever way of saying “no”. Another tactic is to offer an alternative. Say, “No you’re not allowed to do A, but B is acceptable.?”
3. Discipline them
Now don’t confuse discipline with punishment. The root word for discipline is disciple. Your child is your disciple. You are a teacher. So whatever method of discipline you use should teach your child how to make better life-affirming choices. I?m from the ol’ skool. I have no problem with an old-fashioned butt whooping, but I see whoopings as a last resort. In most instances, your words are more powerful than a spanking.
4. Stop trying to be their friend
You’re children have friends. You may be cool momma or cool poppa, but you ain’t that cool. Children look to us for leadership, guidance and instruction. Children want to respect us. While it’s nice for our children to like us, it’s more important that they respect us as adults.
5. Don’t spoil them
You buy them all the clothes, the iPods, Play Stations, the latest this, the latest that. It’s not cool buying children everything they want, whenever they want. What you end up with is a materialistic, selfish egotistical little tyrant who will grow up believing they don?t have to work for anything. Speaking of work…
6. Teach them work ethic
As soon as they can walk, put them to work. Seriously, have them do little things around house. There’s nothing wrong with them getting there little fingers dirty. It teaches responsibility and self-sufficiency.
7. Tell them you love them
“I love you.” Our children need to hear those beautiful words. It edifies the soul, mind and body.
8. Show them your love
Give them hugs and kiss. Spend quality time with them. Many of our children grow up feeling unloved. So they seek love, attention and validation from others. If they don’t get it from you, they’ll likely get in all the wrong places and in all the wrong ways.
9. Affirm them
Let them know they are special, beautiful, brilliant and unique. Encourage them to do better when they falter. Applaud their successes. Let them know that you have their back.
10. Be an example
Parents are the most influential role models, not celebrities. Children watch everything we do. So if we want healthy, happy well-adjusted children, then we have to show them what that looks like in the way we live.
Disclaimer: You can do all of the above, plus some, and a child may still stray. Nevertheless, our role is to build a strong foundation for them so they’ll have something to come back to.
