Tag: teenagers
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We are Parenting PIONEERS
“We” would be those of us who were the very first average citizens to log on to the new thing called aol.com back in the late 1990s on our clunky PCs. “We” are largely in our late 40s and early 50s with teenagers or young adult children. “We” are those…
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Unlike Most People, I’m Glad It’s Monday
It’s seven weeks into the semester and I’m profoundly feeling the effects of the empty-nest. The weekends are the worst, especially Sunday evenings. Some Moms get through this easier than others, but I’m struggling. Saturdays were always slow mornings, since we went to church on Sundays. Breakfast, hanging out in…
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Assuming Her Life Must Be Easy, But Really, It’s Not
One of my friends (we’ll call her Hannah) has been slightly overweight all of her adult life. We never discussed it much as she never felt hindered by it, nor expressed desire to change it. Then, unexpectedly one day Hannah admitted to me that she had admired one woman in…
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Why We Struggle to Respect Others’ Parenting Health Care Decisions-Microchipping is One Reason
Why do we struggle to respect the health care choices other parents make for their children? I think the answer is: because “their decisions” potentially affect our own children. Several years ago, one of my students gave a presentation arguing against the use of VeriChip, which are microchip implants placed…
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Trying to get the perfect photo of your moody teens? Graduation? Christmas?
My twins who are the oldest of my three kids were entering the really annoying “teen stage” at about 13 years old. They were still very good kids, but one thing in particular became very difficult for about a year: taking family photos with happy faces! It was November and…
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Is It Fair That We are Judged by How We Look?
This is a question that I have asked my college students over the years. Inevitably, they will argue that it is absolutely “not fair!” and without my intervention, end up sharing countless examples of when they, themselves immediately judged by physical appearance. Therefore, determining that while “unfair”, it is unequivocally,…
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The Difference in One Year THEN and The Difference in One Year NOW…
Between birth and one year of age, my kids: Rolled over, crawled, pulled up and walked by 9 months Ate solid food Said all family names Eventually spoke in choppy sentences Followed book pages with their eyes and hands Always toddled toward Mama and Dada. Between 16 and 17 years of…
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Stuff Mom’s don’t want to say out loud. Sometimes we do, but many times we don’t… :)
Well, our pre-Mom lives certainly didn’t always look like the photo to the left, and our post-Mom lives certainly don’t always look like the photo to the right. But, wow, sometimes it does get crazy, right?! (Photo courtesy momtastic.com.) Stuff Moms sometimes say out loud, but more often, we don’t: Is…
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Does Violence Really Make Games More “Fun”?
A significant number of my 19-28 year old male college students would give a resounding “yes!” to that question. I asked an informal research question in one of my classes, asking the guys if their Xbox violent games were more “fun” when they contain more violence, more killing and more…
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You’re More Than Your Looks, My Daughter, Friend, Sister…
(Photo:aliexpress.com) One of my daughters is a major fashionista. From the moment we said “yes” to makeup at 13, she wore it daily. Now 19, her wardrobe far surpasses anyone else in the house. I’m fine with it except for the now and then when she begins focusing too much…
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Paying for Other’s Bad Behavior Is Making Me a Little Cranky
Now in my mid 40’s, I’ve officially experienced enough of life where paying (in time or money) for other people’s bad behavior, no-show tendencies, and last-minute procrastination is making me cranky. Over my adult life, when I or my kids have received unfair treatment, I’ve definitely handled it firmly, but…
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Throw Back: The TV Show “The Middle” is Funny! Everything Else “Middle”… Not So Much
Sure we all like the show The Middle. But I like little else involving “The Middle”. How about you? Middle Age is surprisingly everything everyone older than me said it was. There really are aches and pains when you wake up in the morning. You really do notice that…
Tales from a Mid-Lifer 