Eyres On The Road

Richard and Linda Eyre talk about the importance of traditions and bringing the family together. They offer some ideas besides the thanksgiving feast and football marathons for traditions that can bring the family together and create lasting memories.  For some ideas for traditions, check out some Eyres blogs:  Dripping with Passion and 71 Toes

Richard and Linda Eyre talk a little bit about the over-commercialization of the holiday season and how society seems to be glossing over Thanksgiving, "going immediately from pumpkins and witches to Santa Claus and Christmas Trees." We have so much to be grateful for and Thanksgiving season is a wonderful time to get together with family and focus on all the blessings we have in our lives.  The Eyres have just released a book called "The Thankful Heart" which focuses on the importance of giving thanks in all things. The book includes suggestions for how anyone can increase their ability to give thanks throughout the year -- and not just during the end of November. Gratitude is a skill that we can develop (right now!) to help us become happier in life. Read an excerpt from their book "The Thankful Heart"

Richard and Linda Eyre are in Napa, California this week! Richard's birthday is tomorrow (turning "46" on October 28th) and they talk about some of the birthday festivities with the family. They discuss some of the important family traditions that the Eyres have developed and continued over the years. After that Richard and Linda move on to debate the "worth of Halloween" and offer ideas for making Halloween a more creative, enjoyable, and memorable holiday for everyone involved.

Richard and Linda talk about how to enjoy both the trials and triumphs of life once the nest has become empty. They discuss the "pact" that they had created between themselves and the children to establish boundaries for parenting advice and interactions with the grandchildren.   Richard and Linda also talk about the importance of not "giving up" parenting just because their children have left the home. Continuous (not constant) communication is key! The Eyres have certainly been living their life in full lately with another wedding in the family! Enjoy these photos of the Eyre's family (their children and children's spouses -- including the happy bride and groom -- and 20 of their 26 grandchildren)!

Richard and Linda Eyre are joined at first by some special guests: two of their granddaughters who share their thoughts about and experiences at the wedding reception. The Eyres talk about the joy of being with family during the wedding reception of their daughter, Charity. They also discuss the new book that they are working on regarding life and parenting. There is so much about our lives to make them feel "full." We have so many little experiences, both positive and negative, that make up our lives. It's important to focus on the moments of joy and not stress out about the temporary crises or setbacks.

Check out Dripping with Passion, a blog written by the Richard and Linda Eyre's daughter, Charity, who will soon be married.

Richard and Linda Eyre look back on their lives and talk about differences and similarities that they notice throughout the many stages and transitions of their family. Whether it be trying to contain a rambunctious toddler, shuffling children to and from extracurricular activities, or trusting a teenager still learning to drive, the Eyres talk about the importance of finding joy in the "serendipity" of the present and warn against living in the past or looking forward longingly to the future. Live "opportunity to opportunity," not "crisis to crisis."

Less than three weeks away from their daughter's wedding, Richard and Linda Eyre reflect on both the joy and stress that accompanies the union of two families. They talk about the importance of commitment to marriage at the onset of a relationship and debunk several myths regarding the fragility of marriage. There are always going to be difficult times and "side-effects" in a marriage, but the positive greatly outweighs the negative.

After sharing "doom and gloom" statistics on the show last week, Linda and Richard talk on this episode about positive family focuses that every family can implement to improve family life. In order to raise children well in today's society, Richard and Linda say that parents cannot be passive about the issues in the home. They share 7 things that they have collected in their years of parenting instruction as distilled advice for parents.

The Eyres aren't on the road! In fact, this is the first month in 5 years that the Eyres haven't had to be on the road for tours and forums! The reason? The Eyres are focusing on finishing their next book, which is already number 2 on Amazon for family-related materials thanks to pre-orders! Disclaimer: shameless plug forthwith. Pre-order your copy of the Eyre's new book on Amazon today!

The Eyres are actually at home this week, working on their new book about the state of the family. In doing their research, the Eyres have stumbled upon some shocking research, some of which they share on today's episode. Could there be a turning back toward emphasis on the family in our society? The Eyres sure hope so!

Parenting experts Richard and Linda Eyre get down to the nitty gritty about an important issue: communication. How do you best communicate with your children? How can you get better at communicating with them? The Eyres tackle these questions and more on today's episode of Eyre's on the Road. "Real communication with children rarely happens in meetings or groups", says Richard Eyre. "Real communication with your children is usually one on one." This can happen naturally or, with planning, time can be set apart for personal talks with each child.

Determining when and how your children should engage in social media.

Congratulations to Charity Eyre on her recent engagement! Go check out her recent posts to hear the whole story on her blog. The Eyres talk about how creative kids can be and how parents can help foster natural creativity in their children.  Check out valuesparenting.com for more ideas on how to help develop your child's creativity!

Richard and Linda talk parenting in another culture! Having just recently returned from a quick trip to Germany, Richard is able to provide interesting insight into how parents in other countries do the most important job there is: being a parent.

The Eyres tackle a serious subject this week on Eyres on the Road: the dreaded sex talk!  For the first segment, the Eyres talk about the dangers behind pornography and mention the new Fight the New Drug campaign with co-founder Clay Olsen. Check out their website fightthenewdrug.org. The Eyres refer to their bestseller "How To Talk to your kids about sex" book, talk with Clay Olson, a co-founder for FIght the New Drug Anti-Pornography campaign. Go like their page on Facebook and follow them.  Next, the Eyres list some techniques to help talk to your children about the nature of healthy sexual relationships. Go to their website to see some tips on how to discuss this delicate subject or visit valuesparenting.com click on how to talk to your child about sex.

The Eyres today discuss the joys and benefits of grandparenting rather than parenting. You might be surprised at what they have to say.

Richard and Linda discuss the false paradigms perpetuated by society that inhibit proper parenting. Specifically, the Eyres talk about the dangers of four world views that they believe are not correct: 1\. They are concerned with a "media minority" who masquerade as a majority (immorality, sex, and violence on TV and video games is not the norm, but it is portrayed as if it were, causing parents to think they are out of touch with society)  2\. Materialism, Richard points out, creates an environment where parents work harder to get material things than they do on their own relationships.  3\. Linda believes that recreational sex, instant gratification can lead to hedonism.  She's concerned about the idea that you have to have things right now, such as not waiting marriage before having sex. 4\. They Eyres say they are worried about conditional or situational ethics, which can lead to an attitude of "its okay to do this now because I have a good reason."

The Eyres are actually on the road this week as they call in from Manhattan, New York, fresh from attending their son's graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, with a Masters Degree in Positive Psychology. Essentially, their son graduated in how to be happy! The Eyres discuss this topic at length throughout this edition of Eyres on the Road.  Later on in the program, the Eyres talk about how education and graduation lead to happiness and success in other areas of life as well, particularly in marriage.

The Eyres discuss the power of motherhood and express their admiration for the everyday mom. Richard Eyre will be speaking this Sunday in church for Mother's Day, and he comments on the importance of mothers on the world. For him, all professions work towards supporting the world's foremost profession: motherhood.  Later on in the program, Richard and Linda give important tips for maintaining a solid foundational relationship between husband and wife, especially later in life.