Parenting

Mom, feeling special helps you succeed.  Not only that, when you feel special your kids feel special.  Feeling special will  help them succeed in school!

So time for you to start feeling special yourself.

Sit in the most comfortable chair in your house. Be sure everything is quiet. Close your eyes. Take a deep breadth.

Visualize being at a fashionable spa surrounded by gardens. Listen to the splashing water from the fountains of mineral water. Experience the whirlpool, exercise in the exercise rooms, and calmly sit on the wooden benches in the sauna. [Read more…]

One of the hardest decisions women have to make when they become moms is whether they go back to work and leave their children with sitters, stay home and become a full time mom, or become a work at home mom. When my children were babies, long ago, most of my fellow teachers quit teaching when they started their families.

A few of them, the more daring, went back to work and hired babysitters at home or in the sitter’s home. The lucky ones who had grandparents around left their little ones with grandma and grandpa. The first day care centers were just emerging and the concept of au pairs was on the horizon. Both were quite radical ideas at that time.

I decided to be a work at home mom. I would tutor children from my own home and write children’s books in my spare time while my little ones napped or sat quietly next to me and played. Their napping and playing would be the secret to my success. Was I delirious?  [Read more…]

“What did you say? I was just texting my friend. Oops, sorry, that’s my phone. It must be my mother to see if I got here okay. So, which book did you want me to take out of my backpack?”

Jen, a fifteen-year old, was listening to music, too. As she got settled. I asked Jen if this kind of multi-tasking goes on all day. She confirmed my suspicions that multi-tasking goes on while she does her homework, including all the social interactions on her computer.

I’d bet your teens are doing this kind of multi-tasking too.

Life on this “fast track” doesn’t leave Jen or your kids enough brain cells for homework. [Read more…]

“I have a 98.7 average, and I want to go to an Ivy League college. My mom and dad both graduated from Ivy League schools and so did my brother.” Leslie, age 16, was staying up until two in the morning studying in hopes she’d follow in her family’s footsteps.

Naturally we all want our kids to do well in school. We want them to succeed. However, some kids are driven. They become fixated on getting nothing lower than an A.

In itself, getting all A’s isn’t a problem as long as it doesn’t create emotional problems. However, if you see signs that your child’s natural ambition for excellence is becoming problematic, you need to step in. [Read more…]

Read what Lori, a 13-year-old, said to me. Are we listening to our kids or just asking about tests, grades, and is their homework done?

“All the teachers care about is if I did my homework. They don’t even ask me about my life. My dad lost his job and my mom has cancer. Homework is the last thing on my mind.” Lori is stressed and it’s not about school.

Everyone has personal problems sometimes. Some are serious like Lori’s, others not so serious. Sometimes minor problems are blown out of proportion and appear to be more important than they are, impacting on more important things such as schoolwork.  Big or small, we need to pay attention to how our children think about their lives and what’s worrying them. [Read more…]

It’s spring break this week and your  kids have nothing to do. They’re glued to the  TV. You’re going to tear out your hair if you hear even one more “Sponge Bob Square Pants” rerun.  They need something creative to do.

If left to themselves, children are creative–often more creative than we are. However, it seems we’ve created an environment for children that doesn’t allow for much creativity.

Lots has been written about the causes: Television, computer games, mind-numbing toys, highly structured free time, the emphasis on skills and knowledge for school testing, and teaching for mandated “No Child Left Behind” tests.

It goes without saying that children need knowledge and skills, but they also need to learn how to think creatively, that is, to create new ideas from scratch. Creativity is, after all, an important life skill.

Even if your child’s teacher is restricted by “teaching for tests,” you can encourage creative thinking at home. So turn off the TV. Turn off the computer games. Suggest activities and games that promote creative thinking.

Try these activities: [Read more…]

When it comes to your child, you’re the expert. So if you have even the slightest inkling that your son or daughter is struggling in school, remember, he or she doesn’t have to.

The fact is, when children experience learning difficulties, there’s always an underlying reason preventing the “just as bright” child from succeeding in school.

But the key is acting now to find the cause, and learn what you can do to help your child succeed. That’s what this blog is all about: giving you strategies to help your child succeed in school.

We hope you’ll get involved. Look around. And please, comment. Let’s get the conversation started.

Tell us your greatest parenting challenge. Maybe it’s a nightly struggle around homework. Could be he just doesn’t get math. Perhaps she’s very bright but doesn’t work up to her potential.  Let us know in the comment section below.