We work hard all year and look forward to taking time off. We may have vision boards with sandy beaches or mountain retreats, with families sitting around fire pits or playing games around a large table. We count down the days to cozy family time, where everyone is smiling through long hikes, enjoying new foods and settling into strange beds […]
How many days until summer break? If you’re a kid, teacher or parent, you probably know without checking. While it’s nice to think about days of freedom from alarm clocks and schedules, many parents may also be struggling with worry and dread. Yes, it will be nice to have a less intense schedule, but the lack of structure can be […]
I am at a point in my life where being a cheerleader is a primary parenting role. Now this may conjure up some pretty funny images (I abandoned the appropriate age and body type in the 80s), but nonetheless, it is an apt description. There is little hands-on parenting for me to do on a day-to-day basis; for the most […]
When I became a parent of college grads, I was somewhat surprised to realize that I shed more tears at the high school ceremonies than the college ones. Somehow this didn’t make sense. This may be in part because there were several of “my kids” graduating from high school – my own children, their friends, and those who I watched […]
Loving HARD When They’re Hard to Love, Essays on Raising Teens in Today’s Complex, Chaotic World by Whitney Fleming, is not a parenting book in the traditional sense but rather the story of becoming a parent and how that role changes and grows, just as a child does from infancy through teenager. The book is separated into three sections. Section […]
WISE DECISIONS: A Science-Based Approach to Making Better Decisions by Dr. Jim Loehr and Dr. Sheila Ohlsson is a useful guide to understanding the science behind our decision-making and, more importantly, how to use this knowledge to make even better decisions. This book makes you stop and think. It’s obvious, but have you considered that beliefs are merely opinions? And […]
Each February, after we get over the excitement of a weather-predicting rodent, the world becomes full of pink and red hearts and silly bow-and-arrow-carrying cherubs. It is natural around this time to think about ways to let our loved ones know how we feel. Though teenagers sometimes act as though they don’t want to give or receive love, they do. […]
There is a video making the rounds now of a mom “pushing her child out of the nest.” Upon arrival at the doctor’s office, she informs her child that she will not be going in with them, that being 18 means you handle this alone. While I agree that a parent shouldn’t be accompanying an 18-year-old to a doctor’s visit, […]
While I don’t think I’ve done anything special, I sometimes have people turn to me and ask “How did you do it?” They want to know why my kids talk to me and theirs don’t. Why I get spontaneous texts and calls while they barely get responses even when they are the ones to initiate contact. This is often followed […]
My love affair with the ocean began in my teens when my parents became friends with a man who soon became family. He had a boat that he used for pleasure and chartering small fishing trips. Breaking his long-standing rule of “No women on the boat,” he invited the family out for an afternoon (of four family members, three of […]
