Thursday, May 23, 2013
With the disaster in Oklahoma, the house fire in Wakefield, and one of our own Mamas suffering a personal emergency - all in the last two weeks - we got to thinking about what *we* would do in an emergency.
This week, the Parents YAP about their own emergency plans... and if they had 'em before writing this week's article! Lisa Paglierani Until this topic was raised, I hadn’t given much thought to a specific Emergency Plan. Fortunately, we have not experienced any serious emergencies. Even the deliveries of my babies were scheduled, allowing plenty of time to arrange for child care and coverage at home. But as I think about it now, I realize that our contingency plan has been in place all along. We are privileged to be part of a wonderful community, and to be close with our extended family. For emergencies with a small e, like if I’m stuck in traffic and can’t make school pick-up, or if someone is throwing up and I can’t drive my …
Thursday, May 9, 2013
With Mother's Day just around the corner, the Parents got to thinking about their own moms and the nuggets of wisdom they've passed down. And what they might pass down to their own kids.
This week, in celebration of their own mothers, the Parents YAP about motherly advice. Regina Martine I don’t know if this counts as advice, but there was one thing my mother always said to me and my brother while we were growing up— and she continues to say now. Whenever we complained about something being strange, or different from what we were used to, or we made a comment about someone’s unusual taste in music or food or clothing, she always said “the world would be an awfully boring place if everyone was the same.” I don’t know if this particular tidbit from my upbringing is responsible for my sometimes-irritating-to-others way of pushing people to talk about their ideas and opinions that are different from mine, but I have always …
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Lawn mowing, snow shoveling and paper routes are real sources of kid income. But those jobs are few and far-between, and require children to have a certain level of maturity. How else can a kid make a living?
Is money something you discuss with your children? Do you pay them to do things around the house? How do your kids learn the value of hard work and earning a buck or two? This week, the Parents YAP about kids and cash. Tasha Schlake Festel This weekend was our big post-winter yard cleanup. Yeah, we're a little late, but with lacrosse schedules and busy lives, well, let's just say it's better late than never. Cleanup for us involves bagging of leaves left over from Fall, collecting of trash that seems to flourish under the in snow my yard over the winter months, and scooping of poop. Yup, it's all kinds of glamour. Halfway through their half-assed job, one of my kids suggested that payment might be in order for a job well done. The …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Birthday Parties. You can't live with 'em. You can't live without 'em. So, what's a parent to do?
From "simple" parties at home that take years off of parents' lives through stress, to "elaborate" parties at a venue where someone else does all the work, the birthday party scene can be a bit of a horror show. Sure, the kids love 'em, but what about us parents? This week, the Parents YAP about their birthday party experiences, including what worked, what didn't, and what we'd like to do with all of that goodie bag loot. Lisa Paglierani I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that I have a love-hate relationship with birthday parties. Of course I want to mark each milestone in my children’s lives and make them feel showered with attention and affection. I want to create joyful, memorable experiences, and for them to know that they are …
Thursday, April 18, 2013
This year's Boston Marathon is one the world will never forget. What should have been a day of achievement and pride, of celebration, became a day of terror in our own backyard.
With continuing media coverage and our own conversations as we struggle to understand, it is incredibly difficult to shield our children from learning of this cowardly and senseless attack. incredibly difficult to shield our children from learning of this cowardly and senseless attack. We read an article in the Boston Globe's MD Mama column that really resonated with us. We won't attempt to rewrite what Dr. McCarthy stated so eloquently, but we have a few thoughts of our own to share. This week, the Parents Yap about how they attempt to control the messages their children hear. Tasha Schlake Festel We're at home in Pennsylvania for Spring Break this year. We don't usually do that. We usually stick around the Boston area and do Spring-…
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Based on this week's weather, it looks like Spring has finally arrived! So... now what? After you put away those winter clothes, what do you do with your kids to celebrate the season?
The Parents sat down and tried to think of three things their kids like to do, besides the endless options of Spring sports. We're hoping that you'll join the discussion too. This week, the Parents YAP about springing into Spring! Regina Martine Where I grew up, the only “tourist attractions” are the formerly most polluted lake in the US and the Salt Museum, so I am thrilled to live in a place that attracts visitors from all over the world. April vacation is the perfect time to be a tourist in Boston. The city gets all gussied up with freshly planted flowers just in time for the marathon madness on Monday, but is much less crowded during the rest of the week. Now that my kids are old enough that we can go into Boston without lugging …
Thursday, April 4, 2013
It seems you can't swing a dead cat without offending someone, usually some other parent in your kid's life. Oops! What do you do to when it happens?
How do you teach your kids to navigate the politically correct and easily offended social landscape? Do they learn by watching you? Or is it a "do as I say, not as I do" situation? This week, the parents YAP about keeping their panties from ruffling and helping themselves - and their kids - from making unintentional trouble. Julie Keysor Well…this is an interesting topic. I have to admit I mulled over the reference to “swinging a dead cat” quite a bit as I wrote my section for this week’s topic. When I first read the introduction, I thought, “Isn’t that catchy and clever?” Then my mind quickly went to “oh, that’s not exactly politically correct and it will be offensive to some people.” Then I thought, “OK, now am I being overly …
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Everyone has a back story. Do you know yours? Do your kids?
In a recent New York Times article, it was suggested that knowing your family's history is what will keep your family strong. That got us thinking. Do you agree? And what do your kids know about their history? Tasha Schlake Festel I don't know that we have a family story, some continuing narrative that binds our family together. I don't know that I had one as a kid, either, although I'm quite sure my father could tell it to me if I asked. He's good like that, always knows the history of the family. Genealogy is important to him; he's a family tree kind of guy. Perhaps it comes from being from an immigrant family. He came over on the boat from Germany with his parents and infant sister back in 1948. I'm sure it's a hell of a story. I …
Thursday, March 14, 2013
All of us either have girls, are girls, or have, at one point in our lives, talked to girls. Is talking to a little girl - or any girl, really - any different than talking to a boy? Should it be?
We recently came across an article on the Huffington post that addresses exactly that. It got us thinking: do we treat boys and girls differently? Are they really different, besides in the obvious physical ways, of course? Are we perpetuating society's gender biases? And if we are, is that bad? Regina Martine I have three children, two girls and one boy. I have never consciously treated my daughters differently than my son. When my girls were really little, I refused to dress them in pink and frilly clothes, I didn’t glue little bows to their wispy baby hair, and I didn’t buy them “girl toys” like Barbies or high-heeled dress-up shoes. They did eventually get those things, but only when they asked for them — I didn’t want to introduce …
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Long gone are the days when kids held down factory jobs and created the need for child labor laws. But have things gone too far? These days, kids don't seem to raise a finger, having their parents wait on them hand and foot.
The recent article in the Boston Globe raised this issue. Are we robbing our kids of fulfillment by taking away their work? What about the sense of accomplishment achieved from a job well done? Are we raising kids to be lazy, reliant adults? Or are we letting them enjoy their childhood with the knowledge that they have their whole lives to work? This week, the Parents yap about kids and housework. Who does what at home? Melissa Schools “Hey, Mom! Look! I made a letter O!” – Bruno, age three, proudly practicing his letters in the dust on my dresser The article that inspired this week’s topic really hit home for me. I appreciated the way the author, Agnes R. Howard, wrote it. She didn’t sound preachy or heavy-…
Melissa Schools
11:11 am on Friday, April 26, 2013
Thanks, Diane, for such a positive perspective. I tend to love home parties after they are done! Good reminder to enjoy! more ›