“I’m eighteen now, I can do what I want.”The dreaded time when the spawn are technically adults but still in high school. At that age, it would seem that “adult” means the freedom to head out and start being stupid at top speed.
The standard “Not in my house” or “As long as you live under my roof, you’ll abide by my rules” replies didn’t seem to sink in with our young ‘uns. In fact, I could almost see the heels digging in to the floor.
One day while driving our oldest, The Piglet, to school, I got fed up and burst out with what became known in our family as “THE Talk.” No, not THAT “the talk”, this one:… CONTINUE READING >>
“I’m eighteen now, I can do what I want.”
The dreaded time when the spawn are technically adults but still in high school. At that age, it would seem that “adult” means the freedom to head out and start being stupid at top speed.
The standard “Not in my house” or “As long as you live under my roof, you’ll abide by my rules” replies didn’t seem to sink in with our young ‘uns. In fact, I could almost see the heels digging in to the floor.
One day while driving our oldest, The Piglet, to school, I got fed up and burst out with what became known in our family as “THE Talk.” No, not THAT “the talk”, this one:… CONTINUE READING >>
We’ve had this fantasy about whisking our entire family off to an exotic location for some time now. Imagine the five of us blissfully getting away from it all, laughing and sharing our experiences as we sip umbrella drinks while the sun sets into a tropical ocean.
Putting together a family vacation after the kids are grown and living on their own seems like it should be a snap compared to traveling with toddlers, or worse yet, teenagers.
So why is it so hard?
With no roadside diaper changes, exploding sippy cup disasters… CONTINUE READING >>
We’ve had this fantasy about whisking our entire family off to an exotic location for some time now. Imagine the five of us blissfully getting away from it all, laughing and sharing our experiences as we sip umbrella drinks while the sun sets into a tropical ocean.
Putting together a family vacation after the kids are grown and living on their own seems like it should be a snap compared to traveling with toddlers, or worse yet, teenagers.
So why is it so hard?
With no roadside diaper changes, exploding sippy cup disasters… CONTINUE READING >>
How do we know when we’ve become too involved in our offspring’s college education?
Is it okay to call a professor to dispute a test score? Should we proofread papers? Should we have access to grades if we are paying tuition? Should we storm the Dean’s office?
This recovering helicopter mom got the straight dope from college professors – and you won’t believe their stories… CONTINUE READING >>
How do we know when we’ve become too involved in our offspring’s college education?
Is it okay to call a professor to dispute a test score? Should we proofread papers? Should we have access to grades if we are paying tuition? Should we storm the Dean’s office?
This recovering helicopter mom got the straight dope from college professors – and you won’t believe their stories… CONTINUE READING >>
Our main goal as parents was to end up with happy, healthy, self-sufficient adults.
We can’t tell anyone how to do this — everyone’s different and Lord knows we made our share of mistakes along the way — but we can offer an insight that we’ve gained through our own offspring’s transitions from childhood to adulthood.
Don’t give kids everything they want, just everything they need.
A whole lot of what they want is stupid crap and… CONTINUE READING >>
Our main goal as parents was to end up with happy, healthy, self-sufficient adults.
We can’t tell anyone how to do this — everyone’s different and Lord knows we made our share of mistakes along the way — but we can offer an insight that we’ve gained through our own offspring’s transitions from childhood to adulthood.
Don’t give kids everything they want, just everything they need.
A whole lot of what they want is stupid crap and… CONTINUE READING >>
A reader wrote:
“The best part is when they finally get it, and tell you sorry for being such pain in the ass during those (teenage) years. My son told me he now understands everything I was trying to convey to his logic blocked brain back then…”
Oh man, I can relate.
I was pretty certain that at least one of my envelope-pushing teens would flee the nest — i-Pod at full volume and a certain finger in the air — never looking back or speaking to me… CONTINUE READING >>
A reader wrote:
“The best part is when they finally get it, and tell you sorry for being such pain in the ass during those (teenage) years. My son told me he now understands everything I was trying to convey to his logic blocked brain back then…”
Oh man, I can relate.
I was pretty certain that at least one of my envelope-pushing teens would flee the nest — i-Pod at full volume and a certain finger in the air — never looking back or speaking to me… CONTINUE READING >>
