Thursday, January 24, 2013
A Patch blogger's post about not helping her children on the slide is being debated across the country.
A Patch blog from Alameda, Calif., called “Please Don’t Help My Kids” has struck a nerve with readers across the country. Posted in September, the blog has taken off over the past few weeks as it has found a second life through social media sharing. The blog has 124,000 Facebook recommendations and 833 people have tweeted the blog. The blog is an open letter to other parents at the playground. The blogger Kate Bassford Baker’s basic request is for parents to not help her daughters on the slide. She wrote that she wants her daughters to do things and learn things on their own. Learning to walk up the slide’s ladder is the first step to learning new things and overcoming obstacles, she wrote. “Because, as they grow up, the ladders will …
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
There has been recent talk of longer school days, but one mom doesn't believe it's the right option for children.
Lately there has been a lot of talk about increasing the length of time that students spend in the classroom each day. Recently, it was announced that a pilot program will be introduced in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Tennessee and Colorado that will allow some cities and towns to lengthen the school day. The goal is to determine if the move to a longer school day will help students to achieve more academically. Here in Massachusetts, two towns, Lawrence and Fall River, are expected to participate in the program which will add approximately 300 hours of learning time to the school year. The pilot program is expected to continue for approximately three years. Now, let’s face it. As moms we do joke around a lot about dying for …
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Though one blogger thinks Charlie Brown movies send the wrong message, Patch's mom columnist disagrees.
Last week while watching the news I saw a story featuring a blogger who believed that Charlie Brown specials, starting with, but not limited to, “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” should be retired from television. His opinion centered on the fact that the name calling and teasing throughout the Charlie Brown specials was nothing more than bullying and that, “Charlie Brown is supposed to be the hero, instead he is kicked and demeaned at every turn, even by the adults giving out candy.” In addition the blog goes on to criticize Snoopy’s World War II “flying ace alter ago” as being inappropriate for young children. Ok, before I go any further I need to make very clear I am not coming out in favor of name calling, bullying or violence. I …
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Whether it be phones, funerals, or walking to the store with friends, when is a child old enough is the question many moms face.
The other day I asked some friends what they thought would be a good topic for the next Life in the Mom Lane. Overwhelmingly, the answer was “how old is old enough” for kids to do certain things. Well, I did visit this subject once before but, with some many requests; I am more than happy to take another look. My initial article was prompted by a discussion with friends after I took my then eleven year old son to see The Dropkick Murphy’s in concert. Was it a good decision to bring him? Well, apparently it was because, since that evening, we have seen the band in concert again and had even more fun than the first time around. Is every 11-year-old ready to go to a concert with his mom? Probably not. Is every concert appropriate? Again no…
Sunday, April 3, 2011
When pre-conceived notions about parenthood meet real life
There comes a point in life when many people start to picture themselves as a mom or dad. For some it begins as a kid, by playing with dolls or watching your parents with younger siblings. For others it might be well into adulthood. For me, it took actually being pregnant to let those ideas start settling in. Call me a late bloomer. But whenever it happens, you have flashes of how you’ll be as a parent. Maybe you’ll be the good friend, the strict disciplinarian, the eco-friendly mom, the do-everything-right-in-any-situation kind of parent. Ideas are sweet. Reality is a different animal. And it kicks in the moment your little one joins the world, in a big way. I wanted to breastfeed my son for the first year of his life. I pictured…
Michael Fleming
9:43 am on Saturday, January 26, 2013
Agree. "Play" is actually an activity children use to learn many lessons, test limits, explore their world and learn its rules. When you protect your child from every little micro trauma, he or she learns no lessons, explores no boundaries, finds no knowledge of limits. They wind up living on the basement couch, afraid or unable to deal with a world that offers no such coddling. The author of … more ›