Search Results for: what to tell childrens friends

Scarlett Johansson Weds and Uma Thurman Hooks Up with Furry Friends

Scarlett Johansson is now officially Mrs. Ryan Reynolds. The two good-looking Hollywood stars tied the knot in Canada this weekend, according to Johansson’s rep. Reports say the intimate wedding took place Saturday evening at a remote wilderness resort outside Vancouver. Guests included Scarlett’s mother and brother. Few details on the ceremony were released, though that should come as no surprise since the actors are not big on publicizing their private lives. In fact, 23-year-old Johansson and 31-year-old Reynolds typically go out of their way to throw off reporters and the paparazzi. The couple, who have been dating since Spring 2007, … Continue reading →

Friendship Cliques

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I remember that some my worst days in eighth grade were due to friendship troubles. Adolescents can be some of the most harsh people in the world when it comes to building and cutting friendships. The act of forming groups of friends and leaving others out is known as forming cliques. Cliques are groups of kids that form friendships with one another and seclude others from entering their group. Not every group of friends is a clique. Some children just enjoy playing together and have no other motive. Cliques purposefully and hurtfully leave other children out. More popular children usually … Continue reading →

Navigating the Holidays With Your Toddler

Christmas is just around the corner, and this means lots of travel with your toddler in tow. In order to make your visits with friends and family as fun as possible for you and your toddler, keep the following tips in mind. These are things that I learned over the past couple of years with Dylan, and I am going to rely on these strategies again this year as I head out of town with Dylan and Blake for a couple of days. One very helpful tip is to keep your activities as close as possible to your toddler’s schedule. … Continue reading →

The Joy of Redoing a Room

There is one room in this house I haven’t been able to get my hands on for a few years now. It is my daughter’s bedroom. But a couple of weeks ago she went away for camp and decided she was ready to get rid of her dark purple walls, black trim and black bed. I cannot tell you how excited I was to hear this…especially when she picked out very light purple and blue paints. We hadn’t seen her floor in months…I’m not kidding. Now you have to understand, I used to be the type of person who practically … Continue reading →

Why “Ritalin Gone Wrong” is Controversial

At the end of January, the New York Times ran an opinion piece called “Ritalin Gone Wrong”. The title has since been changed to something else. In it, a professor emeritus of psychology states that the reason why a child has ADHD is because of bad parenting. Obviously, this claim has led to outrage. I first heard about this article when I noticed that The Coffee Klatch podcast had devoted an episode to a discussion about “Ritalin Gone Wrong”. That article was written by L. Alan Sroufe, who is an emeritus of psychology at the University of Minnesota’s Institute of … Continue reading →

Middle School Can Be Brutal

Middle school can be just brutal. And the funny thing is I always thought it was worse for girls. But my daughter is about to officially end her middle school years in just a couple of weeks. Although it hasn’t been problem-free, it has certainly been much better for her than it has been for my boys. I tend to think it is the fact she stayed in a K-8 school, while my boys went to middle schools. I could be wrong but all I know is that I will be glad when the next two years are over with. … Continue reading →

Buying New or Buying Used?

As I mentioned earlier, we’ve made the decision to purchase a new van. We knew right off the bat that a brand-new vehicle was not in our budget, although we would have liked one. We were able to find a van in our budget at a used car dealership run by friends of my husband’s, and we’re (hopefully) picking it up tonight. But sometimes the decision to buy new or used is not so clear-cut. Our choice was made for us because of financial circumstance, but in other cases, you might have a decision process to go through. 1. As … Continue reading →

Birth Order Makes a Difference

Several years ago I read a book about birth orders. Since I have three children I was able to easily pick up on the characteristics that perfectly fit my youngest, middle and oldest child. It was amazing how many similarities I saw between what was described in the book and what I see in my children. One of the things I remember reading about firstborns is that they tend to do better in adult company than children of other birth orders. While my oldest son is still a teenager who enjoys hanging out with friends, he is definitely able to … Continue reading →

Teaching Kids About Cancer

I’m not one of the lucky ones. Or maybe I am. I was forced to teach my daughter about cancer well before she could even spell the word… but with knowledge comes power. In 2004, I gave birth to my first child; a healthy baby girl with a mound of electrocuted jet-black hair. She was the first grandchild on my side of the family and instantly became the end-all, be-all of my parents’ existence. My mom especially doted on her first grandchild, spending every waking moment rocking, singing, hugging, kissing and cuddling the newest member of our family. My daughter … Continue reading →

No Trantrums

My toddler is such a little helper. We’ve had a new baby in the house for the last month and Jessie is such a mommy. She is the best big sister. She is so gentle with Baby E. She is loving and genuinely concerned. Jessie loves her dolls and stuffed animals. She is always playing with her babies. Since Baby E has been in the house, she mimics how I am with Baby E with her babies. It’s really cute. I guess she couldn’t really remember how it was with the last infant to do the same things. Even though … Continue reading →