Raising my Oppositional Defiant Disordered son made me feel like I was parenting inside out. No matter what we had discussed or agreed upon, such as chores or homework, my son would twist the facts and turn it around on me — and would sometimes even claim that I had actually said he didn’t have to do it for blah-blah-blah reason! At the end of our arguments, which usually ended in a yelling match (with me joining in), I would be so confused that I wouldn’t be able to remember the facts. I would even let him off the hook sometimes, because he sounded so sure — which frustrated me all the more  later on when I realized what had happened.

Read more »

Whenever I see a used copy of one of the Hank Zipzer chapter books, I grab it. I loan them out often, and rarely get them back. But that’s OK. They are doing their work. Hank Zipzer is a series written by Henry Winkler (yes, the Fonz) and Lin Oliver about a boy, Hank, who is a lot like Henry Winkler was when he was a kid. Both Hank and Henry have learning disabilities. The series (up to #17 now) is wonderful and continues to make me laugh. Hank is a likeable boy with two best friends, a silly dog, a quirky family and disabilities that keep getting in his way. The books (try the audio versions, too) make Hank’s learning challenges just part of who he is. He talks about them in a matter-of-fact way that then gives parents and teachers a natural way into a conversation with their own child or student about their learning disabilities.

Read more »

The cover of Time Magazine has been lighting up the web since it debuted the other day. If you haven’t seen it yet, it shows a mom breastfeeding her 3-year-old son as he stands on a chair. The title of the article is Are You Mom Enough? (Please. This is not a cage match. It’s parenting.) The photographer on this shoot said he purposely positioned the mother and child this way to accentuate the child’s age. Call me crazy, but I just think it was a deliberate and crass attempt to sell magazines.

Read more »

There have been a lot of boneheaded parenting moves in the news lately. From the Tanning Bed Mom, who allegedly brought her kindergartner into a tanning booth with her, to the drunken couple in Florida who took their 7-year-old granddaughter on a joy ride by attaching her plastic car to their SUV with a dog leash and then driving around the neighborhood, it leads me to wonder: “Didn’t anyone stop and tell these people that this was a bad idea?”

Read more »

I often have expectations for Mother’s Day. Sort of like I do for my Birthday. It’s the two days that I sort of technically “get away” with doing, well — NOTHING. It’s the two days I have in mind where I am served. It’s the two days where I don’t have to wipe a counter top down, find lost items, feed the dogs, make a lunch, answer a ton of questions, figure out schedules, keep track of emails from school/activities, make decisions…and the list goes on! It’s the two days where I just am. I kind of envision it where my household is revolving around me, not the other way around. Kind of like they are looking out for me. And if I really want to be fairytale-ish, it’s the two days where I feel like a queen. Or at least aspire to.

Read more »

Recently, my son E was asking me to buy something for him. I told him it was too expensive. He kept pressing me about it and I told him I didn’t have enough cash with me. Then he said “That’s okay. Just use your credit card!” I had to explain to him that we have to pay back whatever we purchase with our credit card. He is under the concept that this is magic money that comes from nowhere.

Read more »

It is very difficult to watch your child deal with natural consequences. First you have to make that decision NOT to rescue, but then it is hard to just sit back and watch them “suffer.” Some children need to go to the “School of hard knocks.”

Read more »

Are you dealing with adolescent eruptions?  It often seems they come out of nowhere — one minute, life is moving along smoothly for your child, and the next, it’s in complete chaos.  Welcome to the teenage years!

Read more »