Search Results for: blog is it okay for kids to call their parents by their first name

Tween Make-Up Drama

Thank heavens for little girls… who couldn’t give a rip about make-up. That’s my daughter. The kid couldn’t be more uninterested in eye shadow, lip gloss or face shimmer. Thank heavens indeed. Of course, she’s only six years old, but given that many of the girls in her first grade class have hosted princess parties complete with make-up mini bars, I’d say I’ve got a good thing going. I hope it lasts until she’s 25. Okay, maybe 23. Personally, I don’t think first graders, tweens or teens need to be painting their faces to look “pretty.” What’s wrong with what … Continue reading →

Politics 101: Introduction and My Goal

“Okay kids, who can tell me whose running for President?” I asked my study group at the inner city tutoring center where I volunteer. “Someone named GOP!” “No, you’re dumb. . .it’s some black guy. We’re going to vote for him because he’s black.” The comments went on for another 5 minutes as to why you should vote for a woman instead of an African American or whether or not the old guy named “GOP” was an animal rights activist because one of the kids keeps seeing his picture with an elephant next to it. If these were little kids, … Continue reading →

The Use of Mr., Mrs., and Ms.

I have begun working with an organization in Barcelona, Spain for a future project and I was struck by the fact that everyone in the paperwork I have received is listed with a Mr., Mrs., or Ms., preceding their names. I know that when I first started out in the work world nearly three decades ago—it was quite common to address people with a prefix, but we have become increasingly casual—at least in the fields that I work in. What is the role of using those prefixes nowadays and what do we small home business owners need to know? I … Continue reading →

What SHOULD Kids Call Their Parents & Grandparents?

I found myself in the midst of a discussion of belief systems and values the other days as a group of us discussed whether or not kids should call their parents and/or grandparents by their first names, whether “mom,” “mama” or “mommy” is best, and all sorts of versions on what are and are not appropriate monikers to exchange between parents and children. It seemed like the perfect sort of conversation to extend to all of us here… Some people have really strong feelings about whether children should or shouldn’t be able to call their parents by their first names. … Continue reading →

“My Son Has Juvenile Diabetes and Autism.” A Mother’s Interview

The following interview is with Ammey, a mother whose children have multiple medical and cognitive conditions. Of particular interest to me is her situation with her oldest son, Khy, who has both juvenile diabetes and autism. Ammey responded to my blog, Do You Have BOTH Juvenile Diabetes and Autism in Your Family? Here is her story. 1. Tell us a little about your family. My name is Ammey, and I’ve been married for thirteen years to my husband Mikel. We have three children: Our son Khy is 14, Kaine is 11, and Lilli is four. Khy has autism, asthma, type … Continue reading →

Please, Don’t Call Me “Mrs.”

I’m all for teaching children respect for elders and just good, plain manners–but I have to confess that I am one of those forty-year-old single moms who really cringes when people address me as “Mrs.!” I don’t know if it’s a single mom thing, or just a generational thing, but it makes me feel ancient and icky when someone calls me Mrs. So-and So. Now, I appreciate that many children have been taught manners and, in this day and age, it can be confusing for children to learn and figure out how to address adults. My own kids have grown … Continue reading →

“Did Somebody Dial 911?”

It was just an average day at my house. Nothing out of the ordinary. KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! “POLICE!” Police? Well, let’s see… my husband’s a policeman. Maybe he invited some friends for an afternoon snack. I started making my way to the front door when the telephone rang. “Hello?” “Hello, this is 911 emergency. We just had a phone call from this location. Your name, please?” “Uh… I think it’s Kristyn Crow… but…” “What’s your emergency?” Hmmmm. I searched my brain files. I could talk about the fact that our new refrigerator was spewing out something other than … Continue reading →

Is It Okay For Kids To Call Their Parents By Their First Name?

Before I became a mother, I thought it might be “hip” to let my kids call me by my first name. After all, it’s just a name, right? Then I became a mother and I quickly changed my mind. I felt I earned the right to be called mother. Since Tyler and I moved to Mobile after Hurricane Katrina, we have gone back and forth about this issue. He knows it’s not acceptable for him to call me Myra but he hears everyone else calling me Faye and feels it’s okay for him to do the same. You see, no … Continue reading →

Fast Start: Hurrying Up While Waiting

You’ve probably heard international adoption called a “hurry-up and wait” game. Meaning, that you are often in a mad hurry to fulfill every request for a document or signature, lest you miss the monthly meeting of the Romanian adoption committee by one day, or your social worker doesn’t get a chance to fax her counterpart before her vacation, or whatever, and you miss another precious month of your child’s infancy. Then, you don’t hear back from anyone for weeks. Sometimes slow and steady is okay. You focus on your work, or your other kids, or whatever, sending out questionnaires to … Continue reading →

BITSS of Support Networks

Children most at risk of sexual abuse are those without support networks – a range of trusted adults to talk to. Once we lived in extended family groups, nowadays we tend to be isolated from our emotional supports. We may live busy lives with little time for just chatting with our children or friends. Support networks are important for all of us. Predators love children with few supports. Worse still, predators will groom the few supports and trick them into believing that the child is lying about sexual abuse. To counteract this, remain in contact with friends: talk, listen, and … Continue reading →