TBT! B2SCHOOL PREP! (Column Related)

Rainy days are good for writing (and reading).

3 years ago my two little ones found themselves reminiscing in the library with books they read when they were little. Top of the list? The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss. When she was a little girl I thought she’d never read…but after hundreds, probably thousands of books, she decided she’d learn to read this one. I can’t believe she will be a junior this year and he in 8th grade. Time flies when you’re having fun!

It seems hard to believe that even my home computer screen saver is outdated when I look at the little angelic faces I’ve been raising pop up on there. I think about the most special times with each of them (the importance of one on one dates with the kids). I think about what they used to say and do. I think about how I sometimes wondered as a single mom how we would get through.

We always did.

Today I’ve decided to do Throw Back Thursday and share my August News Herald Ohio County Kids Column (page 5).

"Goodnight Gorilla"

If you're looking for one of the best pieces of parenting advice and/or time investment, I’d have to say hands down it’s reading to (and with) your kids.

I've done it since my nearly 20 year old was an infant. She can’t travel without a book and doesn’t go a day without opening one. Reading is the one thing you can do to cover so many things with your kids. One on one personal time. Teaching one of the most important skills needed to succeed in life. An insight into yourself via playing the character in a book and/or sharing your favorite stories. Equipping your child with something which they will use forever and the time and attention which comes along with stopping the rat race, chaos and digital lives we live in.

Please read the column and search other similar topics on this blog. Join me this weekend for a much desired and celebrated digital sabbatical as we go on our annual camping trip (where there are no phones which get reception, no wifi for the computers and definitely no races…just lazy happy days).

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

6 Ways to Support Teens and Mental Health (Column Related)

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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