Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Getting to know your neighbors is as easy as throwing a party.
When we moved into our new home a year ago I was thrilled, great town, great schools, great next door neighbors. Life was good. I did however begin to miss living in a traditional neighborhood. We live on a bust street and while I do like the constant hustle and bustle of that, I worried we wouldn’t get to know our extended neighbors. I chalked it up to one of the few things I would have to give up living in our new house, could be worse. Life was moving along fairly well and we had a great relationship with our next door neighbors from day one. Soon, new neighbors moved in behind us and we started enjoying playing with their son, sharing a glass of wine and just hanging out. Soon I was introduced to another family on the other side of …
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Getting kids to practice anything isn’t an easy job, but it’s the hallmark of any accomplishment.
I love driving around town this time of year. I love seeing kids of all ages outside enjoying their youth, having fun and practicing their sport. My kids have noticed it too. We drive by many open fields and schools on the way home from my youngest child’s school and that gives me ample time to chat about the benefits of practice. The key word there being chat, not lecture. “What are those kids doing, mom?” asks my son. I answer with one short sentence and let it stick for a moment, "They are practicing their skills.” I can almost see the wheels turning in his mind as he pictures himself “playing” soccer with his dad not even realizing that he, too, is practicing. My daughter quickly chimes in, “Just like I practice piano everyday so I …
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
It’s a decade’s old question that frustrates students, parents, schools and our government.
I have never been a fan of lunch. Maybe it is because what passed as lunch at school when I was growing up was inedible, and many say not much has changed. When my daughter began Kindergarten last year I decided to pack her lunches until I got a lay of the land. I studied the school lunch menu, asked other parents their opinion and, finally, allowed my daughter to buy lunch on the rare occasion she liked what was on the menu, which wasn’t often. Then I asked her what she thought. Beyond the thrill of standing in the lunch line and buying lunch, there was not much to report. The pizza was too salty, the mac and cheese too dry and the pasta didn’t have enough sauce. Last year was a bust. I didn’t fare much better at home. Her lunch boxes …
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
It doesn’t matter if you are a mom or a dad, making time for yourself is the key to parenting sanity.
I don’t consider myself a martyr, but when I admitted to friends that I hadn’t been away from my kids overnight in years I began to rethink things. The weekly all-nighters, the hourly feedings and the screaming fits are over. Well, to be honest, the screaming fits still happen just not at 4 in the morning because of diaper rash. So, doesn’t that mean that taking time for myself should be easier?Maybe the problem aren’t the kids, maybe the problem is me. Well, that’s a load off my shoulders. I thought my kids were dragging me down. It turns out, I am dragging myself down. I am the one who stays home with the kids so my husband can go on four (yes four) boys weekends in one summer. I am the one who makes sure the soccer and ballet …
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
When is the right time to teach kids about stranger danger and how much do they need to know?
I pride myself on being a very well informed and in-touch parent, but just as my daughter’s first sleep over request snuck up on me so did the realities of stranger danger. I did the basic "stay away from strangers" talk, roll played common abduction scenarios and how to yell "fire" instead of "help," reminded them never to leave my side and harped on who is OK to talk to and who isn’t, but when the outside world comes close to home my talks suddenly seemed inadequate. My small town is struggling with and debating over what to do after a Level 3 sex offender has been hanging out in places where children congregate downtown, play soccer and bike to school. While he has not committed a crime in our town (he is from a neighboring town) his …
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
The urban legend of the easy baby is just that, and I am here to put that baby to bed.
Believe it or not, I have a friend who once claimed, “I am bored at home because raising this baby is so easy. My baby is easy!” Of course every set of eyes at the dinner tabled rolled with contempt as our friend blathered on about life with an easy baby. "She coos all day. She goes to sleep without any fuss and her poops smell like roses." Blah, blah, blah. None of us bought it for one moment and, while I wanted to press her for the real deal, I let it go. If she believed her baby was easy, then what was wrong with that? For starters, it makes the rest of us feel like inadequate, unappreciative underachievers. And I was not having it. Therefore, I have decided that there are no “easy babies." There are only degrees of difficulty that do…
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
When is it OK to mix the business of parenting with the pleasure of a glass of wine?
It’s about time I write something to stir up the comment section. I usually stick to the less controversial issues and leave the hardcore topics to the more tough-skinned. But I am done dodging the age-old question of whether or not it is OK to drink at kids' birthday parties and playdates. I am here to say that (for me anyway) it is OK! Now I am not talking about binge parties and keggers. I am talking about hosts supplying some beers and some wine at their child’s birthday party or offering a glass of wine during a play date. A lot has been written about this dilemma in the past few years, and there have even been books to address or mock the parenting quandary like, "Nap Time Is The New Happy Hour" by Stephanie Wilder-Taylor and The…
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Sleepovers are a rite of passage for kids and sometimes even for moms.
I was not prepared for the birthday invitation my 6-year-old daughter got about a month ago. I was thinking the usual bouncy house, gymnastics, bowling or pool party for the cool first-graders, but then I saw the words "sleep" and "over," and my heart sank. Decades of repressed sleepover disaster memories came flooding back. I sat back in my chair, reread the invitation and immediately wondered how and if this would work. Maybe we would be out of town. Maybe my daughter wouldn’t want to go. Or, maybe, there would be a hurricane and the whole stress inducing, bad childhood memory-making day would disappear. Then I decided to let my daughter decide and put my ridiculous, overblown (because I had some excellent sleepovers) memories behind …
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
When to look the other way and let kids try their hand at fashion.
I think it is fair to say that all moms dream of dressing up their little girls in the sea of adorable outfits clothing manufacturing dream up every year. I will be the first to admit that, while I only bought one or two little boy outfits pre-delivery, I bought several perfectly pink frilly ensembles even though I had no idea what I was having. Good news is, I was right in my assumption that I would have a girl first. So now that the kids are getting older and their opinions louder, when is it time to look the other way and let kids dress themselves? Judging by some of the outfits I see at drop-off, it can start as early as preschool. Luckily, at that age, pretty much anything goes in the fashion department. Little ones can get away …
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
With school back in swing homework can’t be far behind and creating good habits can make everyone’s life easier.
Now that I have school-aged children I feel the homework debate brewing. Some feel it takes away from the little time families seem to have with each other these days, and others feel is reinforces what is taught in school. I fall somewhere in between the two. I understand some of the arguments on both sides. But, for now, I am putting on a positive face for my kids and making it fun and productive. I will take my fight to the streets another time -- and in another article. So, how do you make homework fun and productive? First, get rid of any of the bad homework baggage you’ve collected from your school days and start anew. We all have memories of being exhausted with pages of algebra to do and Shakespeare to read, so let all of that go…
Hank Manz
10:20 pm on Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Even better, Practice Makes Permanent. I stole that from Warren Wilson who runs a Pre-Ball Clinic every year. more ›