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Thanking Paraolympic Moms too

Joelle - a Practical Parent — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:11:41 +0000

My favorite ad campaign of the Olympics, Thanks Mom by Proctor and Gamble, is expanding the community service element of the campaign. And you can help support Team USA through them.

The vaccines debate - seriously

Joelle - a Practical Parent — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:00:14 +0000

The New York Times reports that 1 in 4 parents link autism to vaccines inspite of the consistent scientific evidence that there is no such link. Autism diagnoses are up radically in the last 30 years and it's reasonable for parents to want to know the cause of this increase. Because of the timing of vaccination and the timing of autism diagnoses (and often onset), it was a reasonable hypothesis that the two are related.

There's just no science to support it.

Establishing boundaries with other parents

Joelle - a Practical Parent — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:40:34 +0000

One of my key parenting philosophies is to establish clear boundaries with my children so that they know what is expected of them. I've developed friendships with other parents - and some share my boundaries and some have different expectations of their children. My dilemma is whether or not to share observations of a friend's child with the parent.

Cliques in cyberspace, bullying on Facebook, IM and Social Media

Joelle - a Practical Parent — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:47:45 +0000

In our home, the computer lives next to the breakfast nook in full view of adults. We have strict control over when and how our children use the computer. But the prevalence of cyberbulling is epidemic with children and teens both as victims and perpectrators. This is cliques taken to an extreme.

Cliques redux

Joelle - a Practical Parent — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:53:59 +0000

From 3rd grade to 5th grade, I had very few school friends. Literally - 2. Unlike the Motherlode story from yesterday, no clique-moms were banning their daughters from being my friend. It was authentic dislike - the children in my classes didn't want to be my friend. I can recall how that felt to this day (suffice to say, it's been more than 30 years).

Cliques and banning friendships

Joelle - a Practical Parent — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:00:30 +0000

In the New York Times Motherlode, a reader posed a question regarding how to handle a situation where two 4th grade girls, who were excluding her daughter, were instructed by their parents to "ban" the girl when she told the teacher she felt excluded.

Been there. Felt that.

Saluting the athletes' Moms

Joelle - a Practical Parent — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:14:52 +0000

I'm overwhelmed already with the start of spring sports - which here in California overlaps with the tail end of winter sports and skiing. Imagine being the parent of a potential Olympian.

What's a Skittles party?

Joelle - a Practical Parent — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:39:41 +0000

When I was a kid, Skittles were just a sweet and sour candy that you either ate or smooshed in front of the high school in the colors of the opposing team. Yesterday, I learned about the latest drug experimentation craze among tweens and teens and it's called a Skittles Party.

It's all about me

Joelle - a Practical Parent — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:22:36 +0000

Young children are bluntly honest because they haven't learned the filters that keep most of us from sayine exactly what we feel. It's amazing when you calculate the amount of time we spend as adults managing what we say to protect ourselves and others. Young children don't bother - they just ask "what about me."

Pencil grip frustration

Joelle - a Practical Parent — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:12:24 +0000

Parents assume that pushing academic learning earlier is better for children - stimulating their minds - and certainly does no harm. But what if it does?