Tips & tools for you & your family
When you think of table top gaming, what is the first thing that pops into your mind? Is it Monopoly – or as my mother likes to call it, Monotony? Maybe Twister? Jenga? Or maybe a true flash from the past: Mystery Date? Commercially marketed, mass-produced games can be fun. But what if I told … Continued
“82 percent of parents did chores as kids; 28 percent ask their kids to do them. Today’s Balancing Act.” – Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune via Twitter. While that trend is disconcerting enough, it was reassuring for me to see one person’s practical response to Heidi’s tweet about her article ‘Why aren’t we expecting our kids … Continued
Has anyone seen the short video Life Without Technology at Temple University or read The Winter of Our Disconnect by Susan Maushart? Well, if you haven’t, here’s a great short cut. Teen blogger, Harrison, compares and contrasts both of these perspectives of a life without technology, and his closing remarks are interesting to hear as … Continued
Tired of the insolent remarks, defiant stares and angry outbursts? Believe it or not, there may be a simple fix for your grouchy teen. Sleep is for the weak — so they say. We live in a ‘time macho’ society where our corporate culture looks favourably upon employees that work longer hours and are always … Continued
The next time you’re tempted to tell little Jack (or Jill) that he’s mummy’s special boy, you may want to give a thought to the message you’re communicating. Research just published in the peer review journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that far from creating confident, well-rounded individuals who go on to … Continued
Many parents think themselves fortunate if they have a baby in the balmy (ish) summer months. After all, it gives you the opportunity to balance some of the inevitable donkey-work – the up-all-hours feeding, nappy-changing and endless washing cycle – with the joy of bright mornings, sunny afternoons in the garden and pleasant pram-powered trips … Continued
So perhaps in your younger, leaner days, you were a fairly competitive athlete or dancer. Even your significant other spent their school days on the football pitch or basketball court. That’s why it’s just so hard for you to fathom why your kid is so clumsy… Bless their little heart and over-sized feet. You love … Continued
Know your limits? Prescriptive parenting is in the news again this week as Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, weighs in with her views on the pernicious influence of electronic gadgets. In an interview with Parliament’s magazine, ‘The House’, Ms Morgan advises parents to limit the amount of time children spend playing with iPads and the like, … Continued
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi Gandhi said it best. If only we could all be as wise, right? Well, at least when it came to our own little micro worlds! I’m all too aware that parenting in a digital world is no easy feat, especially when my … Continued
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” These words describing the French Revolution in Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” could just as easily apply to Generation Z, the group born just before the start of the Millenium. … Continued