Ron & Tina Konkin- Founding Directors

Ron & Tina Konkin- Founding Directors
Ron & Tina Konkin- Founding Directors, Key Note Speakers, Registered Professional Counselors - Photo by Capturing Moments

Living Above the Line

Relationship Help Centers - RON & TINA KONKIN, - Living Above The Line is the legacy we want to create for every man, woman, and child because we believe life was meant to be lived abundantly. To learn more about how you can live a fulfilled life both personally and in your relationships then Living Above The Line with the Konkins is a blog you will want to follow.

Visit The Relationship Help Centers Website Here!

Relationship Help Centers offers the renown Exclusive Couples Retreat & the intensive Relationship BootCamp. Both are recommended by Dr. Phil and used as a resource on his website. Gene Simmons & Shannon Tweed-Simmons attended the Exclusive Couples Retreat before they decided to tie the knot. Visit www.RelationshipHelpCenters.com www.RelationshipBootCamp.com www.CouplesRetreat.com for more information on all of our programs.

Friday, February 25, 2011

18 SHOCKING Statistics on Divorce

When divorce seems like the 'best option', you may want to do your research first. If you're thinking divorce is the best option for everyone involved, check out the facts. According to the California Healthy Marriage Coalition survey:

  • 63% of Californians who divorced think either  their ex-spouse, themselves, or both of them could have worked harder to save their marriage.

  • 75% of Californians agreed couples should attend Marriage Education Courses to try to resolve issues before they marry.

  • 94% of those who have attended Marriage Education courses found the classes helpful or very helpful.

  • 78% of those that have attended claimed the courses, strengthened their relationship.


  • Here is an article from "marriage-success-secrets.com" with just 18 of the negative effects divorce has had on our children, families, and our society... and they are really quite shocking.

    18 Shocking Statistics About
    Children and Divorce

    "I’ve compiled these statistics about children and divorce for the “I’ll believe it when I see it” type of people who don’t accept anything as true unless it’s from a credible source or it’s been PROVEN in a convincing study.
    If you are NOT one of these people, you need to read this anyway.
    These days most people accept divorce as a way of life, completely unaware of the damage they are doing to their children. Tell your friends, acquaintances and co-workers to read these shocking statistics about divorce and children. It may help save a child’s life down the road. (And no, I’m not figuratively speaking either….just keep reading to find out what I mean.)
    Statistics about Children and Divorce

    statistics about children and divorce
    1. Half of all American children will witness the breakup of a parent’s marriage. Of these, close to half will also see the breakup of a parent’s second marriage.” (Furstenberg, Peterson, Nord, and Zill, “Life Course”)
    2. Among the millions of children who have seen their parents divorce, one of every 10 will also live through three or more parental marriage breakups. (The Abolition of Marriage, Gallagher)
    3. Forty percent of children growing up in America today are being raised without their fathers. (Wade, Horn and Busy, “Fathers, Marriage and Welfare Reform” Hudson Institute Executive Briefing, 1997)
    4. Of all children born to married parents this year, fifty percent will experience the divorce of their parents before they reach their 18th birthday. (Fagan, Fitzgerald, Rector, “The Effects of Divorce On America)
    The EMOTIONALLY Damaging Statistics about children and divorce
    5. Studies in the early 1980’s showed that children in repeat divorces earned lower grades and their peers rated them as less pleasant to be around. (Andrew J. Cherlin, Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage –Harvard University Press 1981)
    6. Teenagers in single-parent families and in blended families are three times more likely to need psychological help within a given year. (Peter Hill “Recent Advances in Selected Aspects of Adolescent Development” Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 1993)
    7. Compared to children from homes disrupted by death, children from divorced homes have more psychological problems. (Robert E. Emery, Marriage, Divorce and Children’s Adjustment” Sage Publications, 1988)
    These statistics about children and divorce are pretty shocking, aren’t they?
    The DEATH of a parent is LESS devastating to a child than a DIVORCE. (Even I wouldn’t believe this if I didn’t see the statistic myself.)
    The PHYSICALLY Damaging Statistics About Children and Divorce

    statistics about children and divorce
    8. Children of divorce are at a greater risk to experience injury, asthma, headaches and speech defects than children whose parents have remained married. (Dawson, “Family Structure and Children’s Health and Well Being” National Health Interview Survey on Child Health, Journal of Marriage and the Family)
    9. Following divorce, children are fifty percent more likely to develop health problems than two parent families. (Angel, Worobey, “Single Motherhood and Children’s Health”)
    10. Children living with both biological parents are 20 to 35 percent more physically healthy than children from broken homes. (Dawson, “Family Structure and Children’s Health and Well-being” Journal of Marriage and the Family)
    11. Most victims of child molestation come from single-parent households or are the children of drug ring members. (Los Angles Times 16 September 1985 The Garbage Generation)
    12. A Child in a female-headed home is 10 times more likely to be beaten or murdered. (The Legal Beagle, July 1984, from “The Garbage Generation”)
    This is what I mean when I said “these statistics on divorce and children could save a child’s life someday.” Did you read #12? A child raised by his/her mother is 10 times more likely to be beaten or murdered.
    The Long Term Effects and Statistics About Children and Divorce
    13. A study of children six years after a parental marriage breakup revealed that even after all that time, these children tended to be “lonely, unhappy, anxious and insecure. (Wallerstein “The Long-Term Effects of Divorce on Children” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 1991)
    14. Seventy percent of long-term prison inmates grew up in broken homes. (Horn, Bush, “Fathers, Marriage and Welfare Reform)
    Problems Relating to Peers
    15. Children of divorce are four times more likely to report problems with peers and friends than children whose parents have kept their marriages intact. (Tysse, Burnett, “Moral Dilemmas of Early Adolescents of Divorced and Intact Families. Journal of Early Adolescence 1993)
    16. Children of divorce, particularly boys, tend to be more aggressive toward others than those children whose parents did not divorce. (Emery, “Marriage, Divorce and Children’s Adjustment, 1988)
    Suicide Statistics About Children and Divorce
    17. People who come from broken homes are almost twice as likely to attempt suicide than those who do not come from broken homes. (Velez-Cohen, “Suicidal Behavior and Ideation in a Community Sample of Children” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 1988)
    High School Drop Out Statistics About Children and Divorce
    18. Children of divorced parents are roughly two times more likely to drop out of high school than their peers who benefit from living with parents who did not divorce. (McLanahan, Sandefur, “Growing Up With a Single Parent: What Hurts, What Helps” Harvard University Press 1994)"

    (Larry Bilotta's Marriage Success Secrets)

    Share this post with someone who may be considering a divorce and share http://www.marriagehelpcenters.com/ with them as a way to help save their family.

    Monday, February 14, 2011

    Happy Valentine's Day

    Sometimes love is hard. Sometimes love is complicated and painful. But sometimes love is simple. Here are some great quotes from kids to help you understand how easy love can be. Enjoy and Happy Valentines Day!

    Love is that first feeling you feel before all the bad stuff gets in the way.

    When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.

    When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth.

    Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.

    Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.

    Love is when someone hurts you. And you get so mad but you don't yell at them because you know it would hurt their feelings.

    Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.

    Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.

    Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss.

    Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.

    If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you don't like to play with.

    Love is hugging. Love is kissing. Love is saying no sometimes.

    When you tell someone something bad about yourself and you're scared they won't love you anymore. But then you get surprised because not only do they still love you, they love you even more.

    There are two kinds of love- Our love & God's love. But God makes both kinds of them. Love is important to God.

    Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.

    Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.

    During my piano recital, I was on a stage and scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.

    My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.

    Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken.

    Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.

    Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.

    I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.

    When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.

    Love is when mommy sees daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.

    You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget, and it's good for them to get reminded.

    Tuesday, February 8, 2011

    "4 Proven Health Benefits of Marriage"

    If you've ever felt like your spouse is "killing you", you were wrong!  Many studies are showing that married people are healthier and live longer, so in fact, your spouse is helping to keep you alive!

    Here's an interesting article that was published in womensday.com that highlights just a few of the benefits of staying married:


    By Barbara Brody

    "Sure, marriage is hard work, but if yours is a happy one most of the time, both you and your spouse will reap major health benefits.
    “People who are married can have a built-in support system and social network. One of you might encourage the other to eat better or join in a workout, or nag until the other stops smoking,” explains Alice Domar, PhD, coauthor of Live a Little!

     Married folks are less likely to...

    …develop diabetes. Women with higher-than-normal blood glucose readings were more apt to end up with full-blown diabetes if they lived alone rather than with a partner, says research published in the journal Diabetes Care.

    …have hypertension. Researchers from Brigham Young University found that happily married people had the healthiest blood pressure levels. The catch: Unhappy couples had the worst readings. “I have counseled some patients to get divorced,” says Dr. Domar. “A bad marriage is worse for you than being single.”


    …smoke or drink too much—compared with people who never married, are divorced or are widowed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    …die prematurely. People who never married are 58 percent more likely to die early, according to a study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health."

    Original article appeared on WomansDay.com.