Search Results for: blog be glad you arent these parents

Airing Your Dirty Laundry

Despite my love for Facebook and the fact that I allow my teens to partake, there are definitely times when the spotlight shines on the downside. Take for instance when a teenager decides to air their dirty laundry. Thankfully my teens are respectful enough (or maybe it’s just that they are smart enough to know better) to not say negative things about me on Facebook. I don’t care if they think I’m being unfair or that I don’t know what I’m talking about; voicing these opinions on social media is a no-no. I’m also glad they don’t share with the … Continue reading →

Safe Swimming With Your Toddler

Ah, summertime. There is nothing that calms an overheated and cranky toddler like a dip in the pool, lake, river, ocean, or even the bathtub. It is important to play it safe around water, and most parents know the basics of water safety. Things like supervising your toddler’s watery adventures, making sure your toddler gets out of the water before they get too cold, and teaching your toddler how to be safe in the water are probably second nature to most parents. There are some hazards, though, that you may not necessarily know about. Recently, at least one child that … Continue reading →

Kicked While You’re Down

I have a confession to make…I am not a perfect mother. Ha, as if anyone ever thought that to be the case. But I have another confession…I don’t have perfect children. While I can easily admit to this, not everyone seems to feel the same way about their children. Or at least that is the impression I get from some moms who seem to be shaking their heads at the difficulties our family has been going through lately. There is nothing like being down as a mother and having someone come along to kick you while you are down. And … Continue reading →

What Are You Modeling?

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Yesterday I wrote a little about raising a moral child. The more I think about it the more aware I become that although we all want to raise our children to be incredible human beings, there are so many things we do every day that undermine that. Some of the things I’ve seen and heard, and yes, I am guilty of some of these myself, that go directly against what we want our children to learn, and who we want them to be. “Well, your teacher is dumb to give you homework on a holiday weekend.” “Your father only thinks … Continue reading →

Do You Know Who Is Babysitting Your Children?

Do you know who is babysitting your children? Well if you live in Illinois, you just might want to do some digging. Recently the “Chicago Tribune” uncovered something pretty shocking and disturbing. Apparently Illinois subsidizes a childcare assistance program (totaling $750 million annually) that allows convicted rapists, child molesters and other violent criminals to babysit children who come from low income families. To me this speaks of two problems. One is the idea that children from low income families are not being given protection. The second is the absurdity of allowing these types of people to have access to any … Continue reading →

Why You Shouldn’t Let Your Kids Sleep with Fido

My daughter didn’t get a dog for Christmas. Oh no she di-int! And it wasn’t because of the exorbitant cost of raising a pup. Okay, maybe money was a factor. A huge factor. But now I have another reason why I am glad my oldest isn’t cuddling with a pooch. According to a new report, sleeping with Fido or Fifi may increase your risk of contracting dangerous infections. In addition to an exposure to fleas, worms, ticks, and other parasites, the CDC just released a new study that found pet owners, who share their beds with their dogs or cats, … Continue reading →

Parent Participation

Last year I had the alternate pleasure and pain of being involved in a parent participation school. Pleasure because I loved to interact with the children and the parents and we had lovely, lovely teachers. Pain because I had to coordinate a large renovation of said preschool, and large renovations are never fun. We’re going to a parent participation school two mornings a week this school year. My daughter will be doing this part time when I work. Combined with an ample dose of homelearning and a nature co-op that we’re running, this will be our fall. I’m looking forward … Continue reading →

When Your Toddler is Sick

One of the worst parts of parenting is seeing your child sick and not being able to do anything about it. As a mother, it breaks my heart to see my son sick. I thought that before he was talking, but now that he is talking, it has gotten worse. My son now says, “I’m good,” as if he thinks being sick is punishment. Tonight, as I write this, my heart is breaking. My son has a fever and cough and feels awful. He can’t get comfortable and he doesn’t know why. I can’t seem to get him to understand … Continue reading →

Homeschool Parents in Germany Still Fighting Nazi Laws

“The ‘Schulpflicht’ – the laws that require school attendance – are on the books in the German states, and have been traced back to the ‘Reichsschulpflicht Gesetz’ [federal compulsory attendance laws] which was passed in 1938. Except for the removal of references to the Nazi party, these laws are identical or substantially the same as the laws passed by Hitler’s government, criminalizing parents who keep their children home for school.” This is what the parents Juergen and Rosemarie Dudeck of Archfeld Germany have alleged in court in their fight to homeschool their children. To date they have been wholly unsuccessful … Continue reading →

Reasons I am Glad We Homeschool: School Bus Incidents

For the last couple of days an instance of school bus violence has dominated education news and blogs. Basically, a white student got on the school bus and no one would allow him to sit down next to them. (There where both white and black kids on the bus refusing him.) The driver yelled for the kids to sit down so he moved the book bag of a black kid and sat down. Other students began to instigate and the black boy who he sat next to attacked him. A few minutes later it appeared that the first attacker had … Continue reading →