Kids. They love to make you question your sanity. Last week, I felt like we made strides in our screen challenge. This week, we lived up to the word challenge again. At one point, my son said, “I love my Kindle. If I could, I’d only ever just play on it all day long!” Insert … Continued
The word of week two is balance. As parents, we always expect the unexpected, and we have to flow with whatever comes our way. During week two, we were surprised with not one, but two school projects that my son had to start and finish during the week. I’d also forgotten about my daughter’s last … Continued
For better or for worse, week one is in the books. It didn’t go off exactly as planned, but then again, I have children. When does anything ever go as planned? In the States, we celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May. My kids were with their father the weekend prior, so my … Continued
I recently came to the sudden and shocking realization that I don’t know what I enjoy outside of my computer screen any more. I’ve been depressed, filled with anxiety and frankly, disassociated. Then I looked around my house. I saw my daughter wrapped up in Minecraft, chatting on Skype. I saw my son watching an … Continued
…It Just May Make Her A Success! When my oldest, Riley, was in preschool she would often challenge me to a game of Concentration with her set of Dora the Explorer playing cards. One holiday my father was visiting and he witnessed one of our games. Riley had a great memory, but she was only … Continued
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