There’s a new reason to visit Washington, D.C. – one of biblical proportions. In November 2017, the Museum of the Bible opened its towering Gutenberg Gates to welcome a world of visitors. Visionaries converted a former refrigeration warehouse, circa 1922, into an architectural showcase that’s as impressive outside as in.…

Imagine the problems of a typical suburban teen: Calculus test? Girlfriend issues? Not sure what to wear to prom? Most people don’t picture heroin addiction. I would say that we’re just a normal family,” said Henrico County mom Jenny Derr. “I was room parent for my kids, on the PTA…

Sawyer Perkins breezes into the Chick-fil-A on Brook Road with the energy of any vibrant 7-year-old. The silver bursts on her black velveteen dress and the black sequined cat-eared headband framing her pixie hairdo sparkle as the sun hits them. Looking at Sawyer, you would never know she has an…

While weight loss tops most New Year’s resolutions, one Richmond-area family of five is kicking off 2018 with an incredible head start: They’ve already lost a combined total of 398 pounds. “We’ve lost [the equivalent of] a whole person, as each one of us used to weigh almost that much,” says Vern Phelps, a Prince George County employee who shed 152 pounds by…

Parenting is not a competition. No one gets a trophy for the most kids. Everyone has a number in mind for their family, and sometimes that number grows larger than even the mom and dad imagined. Twenty years ago, I never imagined I would be the mother of five children,…

It seems every day now, the news brings word of another man accused of using his power to abuse and harass women. Women you know (or you yourself) have probably made a #MeToo post on social media sharing experiences of harassment (or worse). To men who’ve been living in the…

I can hardly believe the holidays are over and a shiny new year has arrived, full of possibilities. There are words in our gloriously quirky English language that only come out for special occasions, like hunker and batten during stormy weather, and resolution for the new year. It’s that time…

The other day, as I watched my 8-year-old son make his own breakfast on a Sunday morning – without asking for any help – I found myself thinking, “Wow. I’m so proud of him.” And then, thankfully, I had enough presence of mind to hit pause and correct myself by saying,…

Butter is a delicious treat we enjoy on a variety of foods, from biscuits to popcorn. But where does butter come from? How is it made? You can do the science at home, explore changes in matter, and discover how a few simple ingredients can come together to produce the…

No parent of young children wants to think her marriage could end in divorce. Yet, the statistics are there, and everybody knows that for a variety of reasons, many families are faced with separation and divorce. If you have any uneasiness about your own situation, or if a separation is…

Over the holidays, my mother was appalled that my almost 3-year-old son was not potty-trained yet. I told her it wasn’t a battle I wanted to have, and that I was waiting for the right time. Are parents these days waiting longer for this, or am I behind the curve? For a variety of reasons, parents…

“People think about homeless people being on the street,” Taliah tells her fellow college students. “They don’t know that there are people living in shelters. It doesn’t mean you’re dirty, you’re dumb, or you’re a drug addict.” Taliah knows from experience. Now a student at Old Dominion University, she spent…

You’ve got cavities! Just hearing the phrase induces anxiety in many adults. Children are no different. In fact, the different sounds and sights of the dental office can be quite overwhelming for young children. That is why many parents are now hearing about sedation as an option for treating their…

This Year, Resolve to Eat: • Better • Right • Healthy No matter how you say it, lots of us have a resolution that has something to do with eating. When you’re a parent struggling to shop for food, put meals on the table, and pack healthy lunches, living up…

More and more employers are offering health savings accounts (HSAs) as part of their employee benefits package. This savings account allows you to set aside money to pay for qualified medical expenses incurred during the year income tax-free. The Upside to an HSA Two big benefits of an HSA are…

There are approximately 180 million pets in the United States, and in many cases, they are treated as members of the family. However, unlike other family members, only about 1 percent of those pets have insurance for medical care. Although that 1 percent (or 1.8 million pets) is a relatively…

Chances are, you know someone living with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD. Children, teens, and adults suffer from this serious, and sometimes debilitating, mental health problem. There is good evidence to suggest OCD runs in families to some extent, or at least the genetic vulnerability to developing OCD. The disorder affects…

As long as Richmonders have commemorated their past, disagreement has shaped how that past should be memorialized – if at all. The effort to build the Robert E. Lee equestrian statue, the first of the monuments on Monument Avenue, was no different. On the day of Lee’s death, in 1870,…

If you have resolved to get organized in the new year, you are not alone. Along with eating better and exercising, getting organized is a perennial favorite on the resolution list. We know that better habits make us healthier and happier, but following through can be hard. Forming new habits…

As we start a new year, many of us make resolutions about negative habits we want to break or positive habits we want to establish. What if we all resolved to break the habit of sitting on the sidelines of civic engagement, and instead, we decided to establish the habit…

When our parents raised us, their concerns were centered around three pillars: the birds and the bees, driving, and drugs and alcohol. These topics addressed potentially life-altering challenges young people encountered.  Today, as parents, we want to guide our children the best we can, just like our parents did. Why?…