By Tori Black In the first of the Harry Potter books, The Sorcerer’s Stone, the headmaster, Dumbledore, shares this bit of wisdom: “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.” JK Rowling, the author...
Contributed by Tori Black Every December for the last three years, I have participated in a community event in San Diego celebrating the season in inspired word and song. Every year is a witness of hearts and lives changed just by spending an hour and a...
This image is from the Florida Memory Project hosted at the State Archive of Florida and is released to the public domain in the United States under the terms of Section 257.35(6), Florida Statutes. By Tori Black On her first day of work, Amelia Bedelia, the main character in the Amelia Bedelia children’s...
By Tori Black Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays: a day to gather with those we love and focus on all that we have to be grateful for. It also tends to feel a little squeezed though: the four-day break that separates the costumes...
By Eleah Boyd According to statista.com, there are somewhere between 500,000 and one million newly published book titles every year in the United States. With the cost-effectiveness of small print runs and digital book publishing, self-publishing is easier than ever. Anyone with an idea and a computer...
Contributed by Tori Black United Families International: Dedicated to informing you about the issues and forces impacting the family. Author Mary Day Winn once said, “Sex is the tabasco sauce which an adolescent national palate sprinkles on every course of the menu.” Adolescents are highly responsive to...
United Families International: Dedicated to informing you about the issues and forces impacting the family. Contributed by Tori Black There are two ideologies vying for the hearts and minds of our children and families. One says that humans are sexual beings and that they should be encouraged...
A friend of mine confronted an interesting dilemma this year with her high school son. She lives in Utah which has some of this country’s most conservative sex education laws. As one of three states in the country with an “opt-in” provision, Utah teachers instructing...
United Families International: Dedicated to informing you about the issues and forces impacting the family. Contributed by Tori Black It has no teeth, but it is sending a message. In June of this year, the California Assembly passed ACR 99, a resolution that condemns so called “conversion...
United Families International: Dedicated to informing you about the issues and forces impacting the family. Contributed by Tori Black When I was little, I loved to have my mother read to me. I had two favorite stories that I requested over and over: The Little Red Hen...
United Families International: Dedicated to informing you about the issues and forces impacting the family. Contributed by Tori Black While many families were busy sending their children off to begin a new school year, I spent much of my time August 26 through 28 at the United...
United Families International: Dedicated to informing you about the issues and forces impacting the family. Contributed by Tori Black If you watched the 2019 Oscars, maybe you saw the inspiring Nike ad, “Dream Crazier,” which was part of its “Just Do It” campaign highlighting female athletes breaking...
United Families International: Dedicated to informing you about the issues and forces impacting the family. Contributed by Jenet Erickson, Sammi Trujillo and Jeff Dew We’ve all seen the headline: “Money is the leading cause of divorce.” In fact, it isn’t money itself, but disagreement about it that...
United Families International: Dedicated to informing you about the issues and forces impacting the family. Contributed by Camille Williams Recent reports that 132 villages in Northern India had not had a girl born during the previous three months appear to have been debunked. However, U.S.-based Invisible Girls...
United Families International: Dedicated to informing you about the issues and forces impacting the family. Contributed by Tori Black “We are more than you, and essentially you need to learn how to become a bit more like us.” That was the message Katlego Kai Kolanyane-Kesupile, the Religion...
By Laurel Bishop I let it happen to my kid because I didn’t recognize it. Throughout sixth grade, my son sat at his desk, the brunt of his teacher’s jokes and insults. The worst humiliation was the teacher’s direction to the other students to “not be dumb...
By Tori Black Do you remember hearing as a kid, “Well, if you don’t…then, I won’t be your friend.” There’s a term for using that tactic: relational aggression. Some people learn early in life that threatening people with exclusion is a great way to attempt to...
United Families International: Dedicated to informing you about the issues and forces impacting the family. Contributed by Tori Black Friday I opened up my newsfeed, and this is what greeted me: an account of a six year old girl traumatized by her teacher who insisted on teaching...
United Families International: Dedicated to informing you about the issues and forces impacting the family. Contributed by Jenet Erickson When findings from the World Family Map exploring links between religion and family well-being were published in The New York Times last week, a strong reaction ensued. The study found...
United Families International: Dedicated to informing you about the issues and forces impacting the family. Contributed by Dr. Timothy Rarick Last September, on a Sunday afternoon, my wife and I were walking through “Speakers Corner” in Hyde Park, London. I was amazed by the number of men...
United Families International: Dedicated to informing you about the issues and forces impacting the family. Contributed by Tori Black Like me, you probably have many friends who share their opinions on social media about the important issues our families face. Even so, the current spate of articles,...
United Families International: Dedicated to informing you about the issues and forces impacting the family. Contributed by Tori Black For the United Nations, May 15 marked 25 years of observing the International Day of Families. This day was created in 1995 to celebrate the importance of families...
United Families International: Dedicated to informing you about the issues and forces impacting the family. Contributed by Tori Black How do you define discrimination? The Merriam-Webster dictionary says that it is being prejudiced or having a prejudicial outlook, action or treatment towards a category of individuals, such...
United Families International: Dedicated to informing you about the issues and forces impacting the family. Contributed by Jenet Erickson At the recent United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women in New York City, a short but powerful film premiered. Its focus was the irreplaceable influence of...
United Families International: Dedicated to informing you about the issues and forces impacting the family. Contributed by Jenet Erickson The first article in this series focused on how societies benefit from an orientation toward nurturing children within families. As that article discussed, not only are children critical...