Search Results for: blog good parent patrol

Working At Home Provides Parents With Needed Validation

If you are a parent, you probably have spent at least some time interacting with other parents that have children that are about the same age as your children. Sometimes these interactions are positive, and sometimes….not so much, thanks to a phenomenon called “mompetition”. Mompetition is a negative type of social interaction among parents of young children. It involves comparison and one-upmanship, boasting and judging. Before I became a parent, I knew that conversation among parents often involved comparisons of their children but I did not know to what extent. I do not think that it is something that you … Continue reading →

The Best Parenting Advice Ever

What’s the best parenting advice you’ve ever received? Advice, tips and tricks started rolling in the minute I announced I was pregnant with my daughter. Everyone from my grandmother to my co-worker’s second cousin once removed to the cashier at the local Target store seemed to have some bit of useful child-rearing information they simply had to share. When I was seven months pregnant my friends from work threw me a huge baby shower complete with games, scrapbooking stations and live entertainment. As part of the shower festivities each guest was instructed to jot down her favorite piece of parenting … Continue reading →

Good Parent Patrol

Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites have changed the way the world communicates. Technology has also made it much easier to blow the whistle on bad parents. Just ask local law enforcement officers, who respond to dozens of calls per day from concerned strangers, who witness alleged acts of parental neglect and child abuse. Acts of bad parenting are well documented, and these days it typically takes a story like this to raise eyebrows. This sad fact disturbed folks in Kalamazoo, Michigan so much that they decided to take matters into their own hands. Kalamazoo County Child Abuse and … Continue reading →

Home Blog Month in Review: August

Did you have a good month? We seem to have packed an entire summer’s worth of activities in this past month. Now, it seems, it is back to school and time to get ready for autumn. Still, it is nice to look back toward warm sands and wearing shorts even as we will soon be crunching leaves and taking out the sweaters. August 1st Getting Out Grass Stains With summer in full swing, chances are that your family has been playing outdoors quite a bit. And with all of that outdoor play comes the grass stains, especially if you are … Continue reading →

Travel Deals For Expectant Parents

I’ve written about Babymoons in previous blogs, but this is one deal for expectant parents that’s hard to pass up. First, the setting is hard to beat—Honolulu, Hawaii. If you can’t find serenity in this island paradise then you may be in for a real shocker when your new bundle of joy arrives. Second: Free goodies. Here are the details on the hotel deal: W Honolulu Diamond Head (located at the end of Waikiki) is offering a “Baby Me” travel package for parents-to-be. It includes room, daily breakfast, and a gift basket filled with essentials for your new arrival. The … Continue reading →

Internet Safety – The good, the bad, and the ugly

What are your children looking at, listening to, and reading while on the Internet? The Internet has become a source of almost endless information and resources. There are great uses for the Internet. For example, comparing electronic equipment online before buying is something that I almost always do. Also, students can use online encyclopedias for writing research reports. It’s hard to think of a time when we didn’t have such quick and easy access to almost endless types of information. Just think of the great information you are receiving on www.families.com because of the Internet! Of course, there are opposites … Continue reading →

The Reality of Letting Go

“Can I talk to you?” Whenever your teen comes to you with that question and a serious look on their face, you can’t help but brace yourself. That was the question my 17-year-old came to me with earlier this week. I could feel my chest tightening and my heart started racing. He is never this serious…what could he possibly have to ask me that he would even have to sit down next to me? Then this followed, “Can we meet with an Air Force recruiter?” Well that definitely threw me for a loop. I thought “we” had decided on the … Continue reading →

The Joy of Many Children

If you thought hosting your immediate family of 30 for Christmas dinner was challenging, consider what it would be like if you had to find a table to fit 100 grandkids. One-hundred grandchildren; as in 100 children born from the 16 children you pushed out of your own loins. It’s a situation Viktor and Aneta Urich know very well. The Canadian couple is mom and dad to 16 biological children, who have gone on to marry and produce a grand total of 100 grandchildren for them to enjoy. The 100th grandchild made his debut earlier this month. The baby boy … Continue reading →

Making Summer Memories

Time is ticking for work-at-home moms, who desperately try to generate an income in the hours that their children are in school. In a few short days, summer vacation will be here and routines and schedules will be replaced with utter chaos. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a little… or not. In any event, as we kick-off the Memorial Day weekend, I thought it would be apropos to remind overworked and underappreciated parents that your kid’s childhood is disappearing right before your eyes. Soon that chubby baby will be a terrible two-year-old, who morphs into a sassy six-year-old, and then … Continue reading →

Decisions, Decisions: When to Step Out of the Way

While making decisions as a parent isn’t always easy, I am finding that allowing my teens to make decisions isn’t much easier. You see there seems to be a fine line between allowing them to make a decision, which means I have to step out of the way, or making the decision for them. There comes a point in your teen’s life when you really do have to loosen the reigns. I can’t steer them in the direction I would like them to go all of the time. But let me tell you, stepping out of the way is really, … Continue reading →