Tom Watson knows what it’s like not to have time to spend with your kids.

"It used to sting me when I was working hard at building my business and I’d hear my kids talking about me," he said.  "One would ask the other to see if I had time to play with them, and the other would tell him not to bother, because he knew I’d be too busy.  It was like a knife in my heart.  With the economy as tight as it is, I know that I’m not the only father with the same issue.

These days, many fathers are either unemployed and working hard to find work or they are working two jobs or more just to make ends meet.  Either they don’t have much time for family, or they just aren’t in the mood for family because they are despondent or feeling helpless as a provider."

But, it doesn’t have to be that way, according to Watson, author of the autobiographical Man Shoes: The Journey to Becoming a Better Man, Husband & Father (www.manshoes.net).  Watson’s tips for dads in a tough economy include:

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Every year, 1 million U.S. women with high-risk pregnancies are placed on bed rest to protect their developing babies. Despite that, every year, about 500,000 newborns – one of every eight – arrive too early, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Enduring a high-risk pregnancy can be an overwhelming experience of stress, fear and unknowns, leading to more questions than answers. Many of these moms adhere to strict regimes of bed rest; face major changes in lifestyle and relationships; and are subject to dozens of doctor visits and even surgery or medications to protect their unborn children. For them, birth may not be the joy-filled event most families expect.

Knowing those feelings all too well, research scientist Kelly Whitehead wrote High-Risk Pregnancy: Why Me? Understanding and Managing a Potential Preterm Pregnancy (www.hrpwhyme.com), which is backed by fetal and maternal medicine specialist Dr. Vincenzo Berghella, a top pre-term birth researcher. Whitehead’s first child died following his premature birth. During her next pregnancy, she spent 4½ months in bed worrying over and trying to protect her daughter.

The book is both a medical reference and provides emotional support for mothers-to-be, with Whitehead providing answers in layman’s terms to the myriad medical questions families have. Whitehead also shares coping strategies she discovered, along with what she’s learned through benefit of hindsight, and insights from other mothers.

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More than 10 million American children attend a camp each summer. Because these children often spend weeks – and sometimes months – away from parental supervision, Eating Recovery Center, an international center for eating disorders recovery, urges parents to be aware of summer camp triggers that may contribute to the development of an eating disorder in their camp-going children.
 
“Every year, Eating Recovery Center sees many young patients who cite summer camp as the place where their disordered eating behaviors either began or intensified,” said Jamie Manwaring, PhD, primary therapist at Eating Recovery Center’s Behavioral Hospital for Children and Adolescents. “It is important to recognize that summer camps do not ‘cause’ eating disorders; however, camps’ environments can often be triggering for a child with the genetic or temperamental predisposition for an eating disorder.”
 
The onset of puberty, typically occurring between the ages of 10 and 14 for girls and 12 and 16 for boys, is one of the two most common times when eating disorders develop. Children in this age range who have a family history of eating disorders, who have previously engaged in disordered eating or who have highly sensitive, perfectionistic temperaments may be more likely to be triggered by camp activities or situations.

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Family Vacation Critic -- the comprehensive family travel review site -- has just announced its annual list of the "Best U.S. Beaches for Families."

According to editor, Lissa Poirot, "The U.S. has an incredible coastline and many beautiful beaches to choose from, but for families, there's more to a good beach than just a great stretch of sand. As parents we were looking for certain features that make beaches specifically family-friendly.

When picking this year's list, we were looking for beaches recognized for their cleanliness, as well as those that provide safe water for young swimmers and plenty of activities for families, within a close walk from the beach."

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As children blossom into young men and women, most insist on planning and running their own lives. Parents worry about all the basic essentials for their kids’ independent living, like housing, eating properly, staying warm, being careful at night and more. But most parents forget to teach their youngsters one of the most important lessons of all – financial responsibility. The resulting turmoil can spell disaster for a child’s future.

Consider this: The average young adult amasses $45,000 in debt by the time they turn 29, according to a recent PNC Bank report.

“This generation of 20-somethings was raised during an economically-thriving period,” says financial expert Mark Hansen, author of Success 101 for Teens (www.success101forteens.com). “Undisciplined spending habits, student and car loans, and a tough job market have stymied their financial growth. Perhaps the worst culprit is financial ignorance, but we can count this as a lesson for future 20-somethings.”  For young people, organizing finances can be intimidating to the point of prohibitive, he says.

“We need to have a curriculum in schools, from kindergarten through 12th grade, that ensures our kids graduate with financially literacy,” he says. “From balancing a checkbook to understanding what it means to pay – and earn – interest, kids need basic money management skills to survive in the world, and most aren’t getting them.”

Hansen says all teens should know and practice so they can control their financial destinies:

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