When your child is born, you learn how to change diapers, cook dinner one handed, and treat a fever without panicking. There are parenting books to teach you those kinds of things. But there are no parenting books teaching you the important life lessons for kids that you need to make sure they learn. It kind of freaks me out some days the number of important life lessons I am expected to teach my children. Not just the normal stuff like how to do laundry and cook for yourself so that they can survive on their own once I kick them out. … [Read more...]
A Message for my Daughter About Acting Her Age
January 22, 2018 by · Leave a Comment
I am writing a message for my daughter about acting her age as part of the #DisruptAging campaign. This post is made possible with support from AARP’s Disrupt Aging. All opinions are my own. When my children were young, they were very tall for their age. That means at age five, they were the size of an 8 year old. Which meant that when they ACTED five, they got some very nasty looks from people who wanted them to 'act their age'. The age they ASSUMED my children were, anyhow. It created a lot of stress for me and probably unreasonable … [Read more...]
How to Stop Bullying in Schools: What Can Parents Do?
October 30, 2017 by · 1 Comment
Have you ever wondered how to stop bullying in schools from affecting your child? Kids of all ages can be mean. Bullying in schools happens more than teachers, parents or administrators can even imagine. Teachers have their hands full trying to instill order in their classroom. If they have a line of 30 kids to walk down the hall, they may only see what the first 10 are actually doing. That shy kid at the very END of the line? He may very well be getting bullied and no one even notices. Do you have a kid on social media? Cyber bullying … [Read more...]
Fun Activities for Teens: How to Keep Your Teenagers Busy this Summer
May 30, 2017 by · 2 Comments
Last week was my teen's final week of school for the year. In order to keep them busy over the summer, I am always looking for fun activities for teens that they might enjoy. They work hard during the school year with many gifted classes and extracurricular activities so when summer rolls around, all they want to do is turn into vegetables that are plugged into electronic devices. I am all for a little down time over the summer but I seriously worry that my teenagers will grow roots if I don't come up with a plan! I am pretty sure that if … [Read more...]
Life Lessons for Boys That Your Son Needs to Know
May 1, 2017 by · 22 Comments
Are you wondering about which important life lessons for boys that you should be teaching your son? It isn't always easy raising boys in today's world. When my son was born 13 years ago I looked into his tiny face and wondered what sort of things he would accomplish in his life. Would he be a famous scientist? Maybe he would discover a cure for cancer or help bring about peace to nations at war. There are so many possibilities when a baby is born that it is just a bit overwhelming to realize that YOU are in charge of the fate of this … [Read more...]
Hey Kids, Did You Hear That? Probably Not!
February 23, 2017 by · Leave a Comment
Have you ever stood in the room with your child, spoken to them, and have them completely ignore you? I cannot tell you how many times something like that has happened in my house. Selective deafness is a problem that plagues most children at some point in their life. If you have ever wondered how to get your kids to listen better, I am sharing some tips from BusyKid that might help solve your child's listening problem. How to get your kids to listen! Last May, a study was done on the human attention span and it revealed that our … [Read more...]
How to Connect with Your Teen and Bring More Peace to Your Family
January 9, 2017 by · Leave a Comment
When my children were small, it was relatively easy to connect with them. A few minutes building a LEGO castle or coloring in a princess coloring book was pretty simple to accomplish and they were always happy to participate. Learning how to connect with your teen, however, can be a bit more challenging. Teens are often busy or tired or in a bad mood or just plain not interested in hanging with mom and dad. But, teens really need you to connect with them, whether they realize it or not. Staying connected with your teens means that they … [Read more...]
What To Do for Teens Who Need Help with Getting a Job
November 4, 2016 by · 10 Comments
My son will be 17 in a few weeks and I honestly never thought he would need help with getting a job. When I was a teen, I walked into the grocery store at the age of 15 and was hired immediately. I had been babysitting and delivering newspapers for years. I had absolutely no trouble finding employment the minute I started looking for it. Well, fast forward 30 years and now we live in a major metropolitan area. There are thousands and probably hundreds of thousands of teens out looking for jobs. Not to mention all the unemployed adults … [Read more...]
Tips for Car Shopping for Busy Parents of New Teen Drivers
October 26, 2016 by · Leave a Comment
This discussion about tips for car shopping has been sponsored by Capital One but all opinions expressed here are my own. Several months ago, my son got his learners permit and he is in the process of taking Drivers Education and becoming a real life driver. To be honest, the entire concept scares the heck out of me! We live in a very large metropolitan area with congested highways and drivers who think they are actually on a race track. We had always assumed that our kids would inherit our 16-year-old pickup truck as their first car but … [Read more...]
A Mom’s Take on Raising an Introverted Child
September 25, 2016 by · 14 Comments
For 16 years I have been raising an introverted child and it is just as stressful for me now as it was when they were toddlers. Many years ago, my family went up north for a family wedding. My son was 5 and my daughter was 3. We were staying with my brother in law and with all of the siblings in town there were a lot of kids underfoot. At one point, we shooed all of the assorted cousins outside (who ranged in age from toddler to about 10) and watched as they played. A huge crowd hung around the play gym, digging in the sandbox or swinging … [Read more...]
