Search Results for: blog should girls be treated differently

Should Girls Be Treated Differently?

I have often heard parents say that raising girls is harder. There is something about a girl that I think makes us want to be more protective. There is a special innocence about her that we want to see kept in tact. Don’t get me wrong, though. Parents want to protect their boys as well. I have two of them so I understand. But I think there is just an assumption that they will somehow make it. Girls seem to need more protection. So my question is should girls be treated differently than boys? In More Musings of a Mom, … Continue reading →

A Dad’s Influence

You have likely heard the question, “Where have all the good men gone?” Perhaps you have even uttered those words yourself. Well, apparently they exist. Just check out their website, “The Good Men Project.” They recently published an article, “25 Failsafe Rules for Dads Raising Daughters.” I forwarded this onto my husband and suggest you do the same, unless you are a dad who happens to be reading this blog. Coming from the perspective of a teen, I want to focus on a couple of these rules. The first is the #1 rule listed: “Tell her she’s pretty, but tell … Continue reading →

When Teens Start to Break Away

Last week I blogged about taking a break from your teen and how that is sometimes necessary. It had been kind of a rough couple of weeks, so it seemed to be good timing that my teen daughter was going away for the weekend. I was surprised at myself that I was also looking forward to the break. Usually when my daughter goes away for more than a day, I am missing her. But my thought that I wouldn’t miss her didn’t last long…just a few hours into her being gone; I started to wish she was home. Navigating through … Continue reading →

Do You Have a Favorite Child?

So do you have a favorite child? If you do, would you ever admit it? Well according to an article, “Why Mom Liked You Best: The Science of Favoritism” (published a few days ago by Time Magazine), most parents do have a favorite. The article stated that 70% of fathers and 65% of mothers really do have a favorite child. The others…well; they just do a better job at keeping it a secret. Now some parents might be horrified at the idea of favoritism. And most of us would probably deny that we do have a favorite. But I think … Continue reading →

The Emerging of the Butterfly

I have been especially aware lately of some changes in my children that I can only compare to a butterfly as it comes out of its cocoon. When my children were younger we bought one of those butterfly habitats where you could watch the caterpillars spin their cocoons and eventually come out as a beautiful butterfly. It was a pretty amazing experience and that’s exactly how I feel now as I become aware of changes in my children. In my 16-year-old son I am beginning to see a level of maturity that hadn’t been there before. In my 13-year-old daughter … Continue reading →

Is Your Teen Ready to Date?

If you are the parent of a teen there is one particular issue that you have probably been dreading for many years…teen dating. It conjures up in my mind all kinds of emotions from my past. I remember how difficult teen dating was. So often my heart would overtake me and I was so sure that I was in love. When it didn’t work out, I was left with broken pieces. Teen dating is not something that every teenager will be interested in. Sometimes we make the false assumption that as soon as high school hits, every teenager will be … Continue reading →

She’s Her Own Person, Gloves and All

This past weekend my daughter and her best friend were allowed to go to the mall by themselves. It was the first time I ever dropped her off at one of the doors and left. She was given 2 and a half hours to do her thing. Needless to say she was extremely excited about it. She had plans to get herself a new pair of jeans and she was even going to talk to a beauty consultant behind one of the cosmetic counters about her skin. I think she was really feeling a little more “grown up.” When I … Continue reading →

Textual Harassment and Teen Dating Violence

Yet again last week Dr. Phil had a show that addresses teen issues. This time it was “End the Silence on Domestic Violence: Teen Dating.” It was during this show that I heard a new phrase, “textual harassment.” I looked it up online and found it to be included in the Urban Dictionary. It simply means to harass someone through text messages. It’s amazing how technology forces us to come up with new terminology. We are definitely living in different times than when I was a teenager. Violence in teen dating is apparently not an uncommon occurrence. It used to … Continue reading →

Passing Phases

So my 13-year-old daughter really surprised me yesterday. I was sitting in the living room when she walked in with something rolled up. She had a smile on her face. I asked her what it was and she said it was her poster of Justin Bieber. She didn’t like him anymore and was going to give not only her poster but her CD of Justin Bieber to her friend. I had to chuckle. It was only a couple of months ago that I wrote about my daughter’s obsession over Justin Bieber. He seemed to have awakened something inside her. However … Continue reading →

End of the Year Slump

Every year I notice a pattern, the end of the year slump. For my son’s first year of high school that meant his grades went down some. I am very thankful that although he is antsy about the school year ending, his grades remain good. I have come to notice something else though. It’s not just my children that get into the end of the year slump. I tend to do the same. I guess I get to that point where I am ready for it all to end—the early mornings, getting everyone up, chauffeuring, driving from one activity to … Continue reading →