Just how much pressure are we putting on our high school students to get those make-or-break grades, and even more so – the highest possible SAT or ACT scores to get into college? Must every child have that much coveted four-year education? Just how far will we push our kids to make that happen? In […]
Challenging Kids, Knee-Jerk Reactions, Band-Aid Responses
Who doesn’t want to scream when it comes to their kid? At least now and then? In the past 24 hours, one of my sons tried my patience over a long-running issue. I lost my temper – though he admits to seeing that I was holding back – but I went for a more hard-line […]
Motherhood. Damned If You Do. Damned If You Don’t.
That Mothering Job. Not so simple…
How to Boil an Egg
How to boil an egg (or raise kids or fall in love).
I wish I may, I wish I might, understand my teen tonight!
What if we let our kids hand us a list of their parenting wishes? A sort of top ten tips for parenting, from their perspective? If only there were guides for the tween and teen years that were as straightforward as getting through those first sleepless six months, or the terrible twos. (Though personally, I […]
Candy’s dandy, but…
We all know the expression. Candy’s dandy but liquor’s quicker. Cute, if you’re a consenting adult, but what if you’re a teenager? How susceptible are our kids to sweet-talking, seemingly safe friendships that often begin with faceless technology? Do our kids really know who they’re dealing with? Do we? Or have we lost touch, as […]
Radical parenting? About teens, by teens.
Who are the real experts on teens? Teens themselves. We were all teenagers once, but it’s not always easy remembering what it was like. Especially when your efforts are met with grunts, hands in your face for cash, monosyllabic requests for car keys, and mind-boggling mood swings. Truth is (despite my magic powers of invisibility), […]
Moan, groan, the 16-zone…
It’s not an out-of-body experience, exactly. But I swear – REALLY – I can morph myself into a 16-year old. Sort of. Yeah, yeah, sure, sure you’re saying to yourself. A 16-year old boy? OK. I admit that’s more difficult, but I can remember what it was like to be that age. Besides, I have […]
Damn, damn, damn. Driving lessons.
Are we there yet? Are you there yet? OMG. Driving lessons for my younger son. Lately he’s so, um… distracted. He’s got a pile of school work, SAT prep classes, piano, art, tennis, after hours tutorials, and… yep, the girl. Give me pause. And strength. Or extra strength Tylenol. Been there, done that, sorta It’s […]
Personal politics, urban dictionary style, six ways from Sunday.
Yep. I love Urban Dictionary. It suits me, despite the fact that its lingo is harder to master than a Slavic soumise. But I can live and learn, look and learn, listen and learn. And examine our political landscape with fresher (albeit irreverent) eyes six ways from Sunday. This morning, staring down a stack of […]