I apologize for the repost. I had to take this down during the school year to protect my boys. Apparently I’m more popular than I thought among the middle school crowd. They didn’t really care, but I wanted them to stop being told, “Hey, did you know that your mom blogs?” Yes, they do. read more…
Raising Kids Who DON’T Want Cell Phones
Last week Christopher finished middle school and received his first cell phone on his last day of 8th grade. Needless to say, he was thrilled. Wide smile and eyes beaming. According to him, he only knew of a handful of kids who did not have a cell phone in his large middle school. Has he read more…
That’s My Kid!
I was so blessed by the mom of a preschooler who posted on Facebook this picture of her son in the very front row of his preschool concert, sitting on his bottom refusing to sing a note. Apparently he had warned his mom, “If you come to my concert then I am sitting down and read more…
To the Girl Staying Home on Prom Night
To the Girl Staying Home on Prom Night: You bold girls who wanted no part of prom from the beginning, enjoy your night–this note is not for you. Go have a blast! This is a note to the girl who wishes she were at the prom tonight. I wanted to send you a note to read more…
Nurturing True Friendships over Popularity
Perhaps the greatest challenge of being “popular” or “cool” is maintaining honest, loyal friendships. By its very nature, cool is fickle. It changes with regularity and to stay cool you have to work to be able to keep up. For two decades, I’ve been observing friendship dramas in middle schools and little has changed over read more…
Keeping my Kids Uncool
I’ll never forget the advice I heard from a mom of teens when all four of my boys were not even in school yet. She told me, “Trust me, you don’t want your kids to be popular.” At first this surprised me. Of course I wanted other kids to like my boys. I sure liked read more…
The Power of the Whammy
Wow, in the two discipline workshops I did this weekend at Hearts at Home, women clamored for my “Whammy List.” Apparently moms love new tools that will improve kids’ behavior. But here’s the trick—no guarantees come with the “Whammy List.” This is simply a part of your role in parenting. Your child has a part read more…
No, It’s not OK to Make Out on the Middle School Bus
Yesterday I overheard an 8th grade girl trying to convince a middle school administrator that it was “appropriate” to makeout on the middle school bus since “it is not the same as school and there is nothing wrong with kissing.” Where to begin, precious young teen? Let me start by addressing the teen herself since read more…