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, 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, January 3, 2013
This week - the parents offer their take on New Year's resolutions.
Even if you don't believe in "resolutions," the new year is a good time to reflect, take stock, make changes, etc. What's on your parenting agenda for the new year? What are your Parenting Resolutions for 2013? Tasha Schlake Festel I'm not usually a big New Year's Resolution kind of girl. However, I do think of the new year as a fresh start, a time to set goals for the year. My birthday (which is July, for anyone who wants to send gifts since I'll be 40 this year!) is a great mid-year check in, allowing me to stay on track - or get back on track - for achieving the goals I set at the beginning of the year. I have some personal goals for 2013 that have been on my list since I was about 9 years old. They include keeping my bedroom clean, …
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Holiday stress, it seems, equals holiday cheer! How do you handle the pressure to shop?
With Black Friday that started a week prior, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, did you have a shopping hangover on Tuesday? Do you participate in the shopping craze that has become synonymous with the holidays? Tasha Schlake Festel I love Black Friday. That's right. I look forward to it every year. It's been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. I stuff myself on Thanksgiving, and then work it all off with my mom and sister at the mall the next day. It's simply not Thanksgiving until we've filled our bellies and emptied our wallets. I have always loved to shop. Granted, I love it more when I actually have money to spend, but still. Shopping is fun. And even more so on that crazy Black Friday. I love the crowds…
Thursday, September 13, 2012
When Wakefield public schools opened their doors just over a week ago, were you crying tears of joy or sadness? MomTalk tackes the subject of heading back to school.
Regina Martine I am much more “WOOO-HOOOOO!!!” than “boo hoo” about school starting. It has been a long, long summer. Back in June, when it was time to sign up for summer camps and classes, my kids were so overwhelmed with the end-of–the–year activity crunch that I could barely get them to look at a brochure for summer programs. I told them that after a few weeks they would be pretty bored and they would wish they had signed up for something. My two younger kids eventually chose a few one-week classes through the Rec department, but for the most part, we left the summer wide open. I was pretty frazzled at the end of the year, too, so the idea of long, unstructured days of the kids playing outside and trips to the beach sounded pretty …
Thursday, August 23, 2012
In our third week of write/respond, Regina Martine presents her thoughts on the state of childcare options and parental support in this country. The other Mamas and Papa have their say as well. We're sure you'll have an opinion on this one.
Regina Martine Back in May, the Patch Mamas (and lots and lots of other people) wrote about the Time Magazine cover of a young mother nursing an older toddler. At the time, the interwebs were abuzz with all kinds of talk about what parenting philosophy is best to use to raise a child. I think, in this country in particular, we tend to get all in a twist about parenting issues that don’t matter and never talk about some of the issues that really do matter in how we raise our children. This is a huge topic, and I certainly don’t have the answers but I would love to have a substantive, meaningful discussion about how motherhood and parenting could be better, rather than judging each other's parenting choices. In some ways, society reveres …
John Bengtson
11:22 am on Thursday, February 28, 2013
This is true. While there were plenty of witnesses to the actual assault, you were in another room at the time. more ›