The First Day of Fall Doesn't Have to Be A Bad Thing

The taste and smell of apple cider, the sound of leaves crunching beneath my feet, the absence of humidity…I love fall! The smells, the sunsets and the air are all different this time of year and I find it so comforting. But, I realize the first day of fall has a lot of families bummed out. Summer is over. Pools are closed, and the days are getting darker earlier.

So what can our families do to celebrate instead of mourn the season change?

We can get outside!

Look at all of these activities we'll be able to enjoy more, now that the weather is comfortable:

Walking

Hiking

Bike riding

Exploring

Site seeing

The Zoo

And don’t forget apple picking and pumpkin picking, and various fall festivals!

Summer brings with it such a fast paced, packed schedule of picnics, parties and sports…so make fall, family bonding time, where you can slow down a little bit, connect and have fun.

Shut off the computer and leave the phone at home. Take a walk! Talk to each other. Ask each other questions. Stop and listen. Feel, smell and touch nature.

If you live in NE Ohio like me, you are blessed with Lake Metroparks and should visit their website. You can pick a park, print a map, or view the Lake Metroparks activity guide. Our family utilizes many of the Metroparks and have shared a few of our favorites in my column in County Kids Magazine. (If the October issue is not online yet, it soon will be! Check back again!)

Now, stop reading this blog post, grab your family and get out there! (If you're reading this at night, make a promise to yourself you’ll get everyone outside tomorrow!) It might be hard at first, but like exercising…it's hard to get going, but once we get out there it feels great!

Go ahead…just do it! You won’t regret it.

(If you're one of those people who just cannot leave the cellphone behind...you are in luck! Lake Metroparks has QR (Quick Response) Codes! Check it out on the What's New page!?)

Happy Fall!

Truly,

Amber

Back to School Anxiety: Bullying

Download “School Boy Being Stressed” by David Castillo Dominici via freedigitalphotos.net I recently wrote about how to help your child if they’re struggling with going back to school because they were bullied. My biggest most important tip was to listen, because I honestly could not write a ‘How-to-make-them-not-afraid’ column. Frankly I thought that was absurd. Fear is sometimes real. Anxiety is sometimes truly there, and for a good reason. Our job as parents isn’t to try to make it go away, it’s to try to find out the true source of those worrisome feelings. If you’d like to read more, click here. And if you’re child is struggling to find excitement about the new school year, don’t deny it, just accept it and move forward gently. Here’s some more on bullying: Family Matters Links: A Touching Story/Song Bullying: A thing of the past A Peace Poem By My Teenage Daughter A Deeper Insight into My Thoughts on People Who Bring Harm to Others Other Links: Stop Bul

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Enjoying a trip to see family and exploring the outdoors. May was Mental Health Awareness Month. It’s over now, but it shouldn’t be. I’m not a medical professional or anything even close, but I am convinced that every person on the planet (no matter age, economic status, profession, race, or gender) is vulnerable to events that can alter their state of mind. If you’re not sure about this, just research the increase in the amount of people seeking psychological help due to the pandemic, then try getting an appointment with a therapist or counselor that doesn’t require weeks or months on a wait list. There are so many things damaging our mental health that we don’t even realize. Add underlying issues not yet detected and undiagnosed…it’s a bad situation made worse, and the need for support more urgent. Many teens are struggling with mental health issues right now and many of us don’t even know it. How could we? Not too many teens feel comfortable talking to adults about ‘their stuff’ a

Green Punch Buggy....!!!!

Green Punch Buggy...No Punch Back! As I was writing this blog post, my son came to me showing off his Lego creation. And don't you know I got hit at least five times since on my computer screen was displaying at least five different punch buggies, of five different colors thanks to Google Images. (Bad timing I'm thinking...) How can we possibly have world peace with these silly cars in the world!? ;) Don't the owners of these cute-but-obnoxious-cars understand that driving these things around town promotes violence!? ;) Anyhow.... The original purpose of this blog was to ask parents everywhere this question: Do you find yourself saying 'PUNCH BUGGY *BLANK-COLOR*! ' to yourself, even when the kids are not in the car??? I do! Isn't it funny how those games we used to play as a child are still around? I bet our parents say the same thing.... HAPPY FRIIIIIIDAAAAYYYY! P.S. I got hit at least ten more times, since as my son stood beside

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