Thursday, May 16, 2013
With memories of being doted on and uber-appreciated for Mother's Day just beginning to fade, we got to thinking about dads and the adoration they've received for being, well, dads. Moms, it seems, feel the need to jump to a helpless dad's aide when he's
A recent article suggested that involved dads shouldn't get any more credit than involved moms. It suggests that perhaps all dads are doing is "parenting" - nothing more, nothing less. This week, The Parents YAP about Fabulous Fathers. Is there such a thing as a Super Dad? Lisa Paglierani I must admit I relate to this article, not so much because I’ve experienced the sexism described within, but because I consider my husband to be something of a “Superhero Dad.” He coaches soccer, changes diapers, volunteers in the classroom, chaperones field trips, does lunch duty, and ferries the children around on a bicycle built for two. He reads with them, takes them to Home Depot workshops, oversees homework, chronicles their lives in writing, …
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 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, March 28, 2013
Achievements - real achievements - should be celebrated. We see it in athletics and in the arts and rejoice in the accomplishments. Not everyone wins. And that's a good thing.
But if you're in Ipswich, you definitely can't win if you're a smarty pants. You know, the kids who didn't get good grades might feel bad! We don't want to discourage them from trying by celebrating those who succeed, right? This week, The Parents YAP about awards, trophies, certificates of participation, and what all of this means to a generation where everyone wins and no one keeps score. (Bonus points if you can guess whose Valedictorian badge that is! Yes, we're a panel of smartypants!) Regina Martine I don’t understand why a school would want to cancel an event to honor the best students in the school. Are there really any kids whose “feelings are hurt” by these events? Shouldn’t kids be encouraged to do their best? Just because your…
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, February 28, 2013
It used to be hockey dads. Then it was dance moms. Now it's Chuck E. Cheese parents!
Go ahead, do a quick search and you'll be amazed at what Chuck E. brings out in parents. What it is about this place? Do you go to parties there? Do you ever feel violent urges "where a kid can be a kid?" What about other necessary evils of the party circuit - indoor playgrounds, Monster Mini Golf, Monkey Joe's, and the like? This week, the parents yap about the birthday party circuit and the behavior of parents. Regina Martine I am proud to say I have never set foot in a Chuck E. Cheese, and hopefully, I never will. If it is anything like the horrors I have experienced at The Kids Playground (now closed) or the dreaded Monkey Joe’s, I can see how a few hours of wholesome fun can make a person want to punch someone. I am not really a …
Thursday, February 14, 2013
All kids - and parents as well! - have their distractions. Is a financial incentive a good
way to teach alternate behavior?
Last week it was reported that a father and daughter signed a contract worth $200 for the 14 year old to stay off of Facebook until the end of the school year. How do you handle electronic distractions in your children's lives? Would you pay them to stay away? Money talks, after all. Or do you find the idea of paying cold hard cash for desired behavior to be a little distasteful? This week, the Parents Yap about what they do to keep their kids focused and if they'd ever pay for it. Paul Simpson When I first heard about the father who was paying his daughter to stay off Facebook for five months, I was outraged. What awful parenting! I thought. Until I realized I’ve basically done the same thing with my kids. In a recent column …
Thursday, February 7, 2013
The lives of family members are so intertwined. Where does the privacy of your child end and your right to parent begin? Tricky question, for sure. This week, the Parents Yap about privacy.
Melissa Schools “What are you writing about? Are you writing about us??” My nine year old has become an avid consumer of information not necessarily directed at or intended for him. This is especially aggravating because when I speak to him directly, he absorbs roughly a quarter of the information issuing from my mouth. But, oh, how that boy loves to eavesdrop on telephone conversations, read over my shoulder on Facebook and recite any texts that arrive for me when I’m not near my phone. Thank goodness my husband is not into “sexting…!” For a boy who has been straining for independence since he was an infant, it has proven to be a very difficult concept to understand why some things in a parent-child relationship are not a two way street. …
Melissa Schools
2:52 pm on Saturday, May 18, 2013
Ooh! Ooh! Everyone! Just re-stumbled on this post from "Single Dad Laughing:" http://www.danoah.com/2010/09/you-just-broke-your-child.html In case you aren't a SuperDad and you could use some pointers, I like what this blogger has to say. Go on, now- read it! (For what it's worth, as a mom with a quick temper, I took so much of the article to heart for myself.) more ›