Hello everyone.  I hope this note finds you well and getting ready for fun this Holiday Season.

As we near launch time of the book, I wanted to say a special thank you to my wife, Tiffini!  Without her, this project would never have come.  She was there from the initial idea to the very end.  All her insights, ideas and passion makes it really our project, not just mine.

As it gets closer to January 18th, I have found myself more concerned with promotion of the project than remembering what is important.  Living the truth.

The whole idea was based on our desire as parents for our children to grow up and have a wonderful relationship together.  The book is and always will be secondary to that end.  So not only must I thank her for her contributions, but I must thank her for keeping me focused on the important things.  God, family and love of each other.

If you want to join us, please come aboard.  If not, that is OK too.  My hope is someone out there will read this book and figure out even more ways to connect siblings and share them with the rest of us.

From our family to yours, Happy Holidays.

Brett

Hello all.  The moment has finally arrived.  Close Kids – The Book is finally here.  The book that helps parents improve the adult relationship of their children TODAY is now available to do just that.

To say thank you for all the subscribers to the newsletter and those who helped along the way, I’m offering the special buy one, get one free to give a friend!  Make another parent’s day by giving them a free copy of Close Kids.

This offer will not last long.  So order today and give your children the gift of a life long, positive friendship.

Click Here to Order Now
Click Here for More Information!

All the best,
Brett A Johnston

Hello all, I apologize for being somewhat absent from Close Kids stuff lately.  We were busy putting the final touches on a book deal!  Which is the great news.

I expect to have Close Kids Forever the book…or whatever title the big shots ultimately decide on by June/July.  To think the project began in August of 2004.  When I look back, it both seems like yesterday and another world ago.  I hope everyone enjoys the final product as much as I am.

I did want to share one bit of cool parenting I found out about recently.  My second grader does a Friday Journal.  What makes this so special is the Journal is between her and us only.  Her mother and I (OK, mostly Mom) write in the Journal during the week then she reads it and replies on Fridays.  It is really wonderful in so many ways.  Not only does she practice her writing, but some of the sharing we do is both heartwarming and sometimes quite funny.

You really get into the mind of your children when they are asked to write or talk about anything they choose.  And I believe it helps bond us together with something special just between us.  Give it a shot for first graders on up and let me know how it works for you.

Have a great day and I will keep you informed on the book.

My very best,
Brett A Johnston
closekids.com

Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing wonderfully!Are you a multitasker? If you are a parent, the answer is a resounding “YES”. I have found myself doing two jobs at once, cooking dinner and having a conversation with my kids. Well, sort of. I was definitely doing the two jobs and cooking dinner, but my daughter thought my conversational skills at the time were the pits.She was right.

I’m not sure where it came from or why modern parents spend so much time at it, but multitasking our lives away is for the birds. For some reason, if I’m not doing two things at once, I think I’m getting behind. This weekend, my wife said, “Enough”. She wanted to just be a family for the whole day, take time to actually look at the kids when they talked to us (something I desperately try to do all the time), go for a walk and watch “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” (aka Chitty Chitty Bang Bang).

I realized talking to my kids and doing some small chores is unavoidable. But, when they really need me, it is time to slow my life down, look them in the eye and enjoy being their dad. See you later Mr. Multitasker.

All my best

Brett A Johnston
closekids.com

Greetings all, I hope this note finds you having a blast doing something!!

I was on an airplane to Dallas the other day and found one of the best articles on fun stuff to do with your kids that I’ve ever seen.  The entire article can be see here but I will tell you about some of my favorites.

Do Lunch at School – That is pretty cool and simple.  Just pick a day and either bring lunch to school and have lunch with them or take them out to a nearby shop.

Vote – With the upcoming election, you can take your child/ren into the voting booth with you and show them what being an American is all about.

Make your own taffy – Sounds fun and I think we will give it a try.  The complete directions are at exploratorium.edu.

“Go guerrilla” – Which means do a random act of kindness.  We have a huge rose bush in the front yard and plan on cutting the first blooms and putting them in our neighbor’s mail boxes.  My girls can’t wait, they are looking at the bush every day wondering why it takes so long for flowers to come out.

These are just a few for now and I’m sure there will be more coming in the future.  Thank you to Jessica Bridges and Southwest Airlines for publishing such a neat story.

All my best,

Brett A Johnston
closekids.com

Hello all, this page is about one thing…children. More specifically your children. ALL your children and their relationship to each other. Have you wondered why some brothers and sisters grow up and stay very close to each other as adults?

So did I. My wife and I have three children.We want them to enjoy a wonderful, life-long relationship together! The simple story of this site is we went out to find an answer to one question. What could we do as parents while the kids were young so they would grow up and be best friends as adults? What we found out was the information didn’t exist. So I decided to research the subject myself. After nearly two years of gathering data and talking to hundreds of siblings, I pulled together my findings in the upcoming book - Close Kids Forever!

Join me each month on this blog as I look at new and exciting ways to connect you children today so they will not only grow together, but their very souls will be changed as well (I can’t wait to tell you what this means). There were many great discoveries that will change some things about how you parent your children! And I’m very interested in hearing your thoughts as well. Here is to our relationship together.

My very best,
Brett A Johnston
Author
Close Kids Forever
www.closekids.com