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A response to the massacre at a grammar school in Connecticut
Why does it take an unthinkable, horrific tragedy to put things in perspective? Everyday challenges and struggles are our usual drama. In parenting children, pre- teens and teens, we rarely encounter a day that is not filled with frustrating issues, incidents and difficult decisions. They seem big. We make them big. We make them huge. We treat them as if our lives depend on their resolution. We spar, bicker and argue. We criticize and blame each other and try to make sense of the constant trials and tribulations of parenting. We worry about finances, fearfully anticipate the cost of an unexpected car repair. We struggle with the eventuality of how we are going to pay for our teen’s college education. We multitask until we don’t know up from down, forward from backwards, right … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized
Parenting Teens at 17
Being a teen is a complicated place to be right now. Being a parent of a teen is a delicate place to be. It often seems that the world is getting harder and more complex for each generation. As a parent of teens, I often wonder how I would feel about the world at this moment. If I Were 17 Sure…. I’d be angry too, if I were 17. I’d be angry about the world I am being given. I’d be frustrated with the stubbornness of change. I’d be disappointed that it has gotten to his point. I’d be let down that my college loans will haunt me for years. I’d be disenchanted about the dreams I had as a young child. I’d be discouraged about my future and my dreams. I’d be apathetic about changing the world. I’d be … Read entire article »
Filed under: parenting advice, parenting help, parenting teens, parenting tips
Parenting Your Teens and Media-Part 3
Marshall Mckluen, the ‘60s visionary who wrote and lectured on the assets and liabilities of media and particularly television, pointed out that every new invention creates the possibility of making what preceded it obsolete. It depends on the conscious and unconscious intention. Power screwdrivers have been a great time and effort saver, yet we still find uses for a conventional screwdriver. Cars are a daily necessity, and yet we still ride bikes and walk. E-books and audio books offer incredible choices in keeping well-read, and we still buy books. We can hear and see any kind of music in the world with audio devices, and yet we still pay high prices for live concerts. In Mcluen’s illustration of the invention and subsequent societal saturation with the car, he suggests that we must … Read entire article »
Filed under: parenting advice, parenting help, parenting teens, Uncategorized
Parenting Your Teens and Media-Part 2
Parenting of teens and children has been here since the beginning of time. Before adolescence came to be, we simply had childhood and then adulthood. However, there has always been a transitional period from childhood to adulthood. There has been some kind of quintessential struggle, in that to rear a child is a juxtiposition of directing a child towards independence, and holding them back when they are about to jump too far, or miss a step. Raising children brings the challenge of choosing our battles, staying uncharged, calm, and rational. Media, in all of its different forms has been here since the beginning of the written word. It’s been here in its most primitive form on cave walls, and its most current form in various virtual medians. There have always been people … Read entire article »
Filed under: parenting advice, parenting teens, parenting tips
Parenting Your Teens and Media-Part 1
Children and teens will always be attracted to the latest version of media, chomping at the bit to own the newest version of the newest gadget. The striving for connection in a busy high-speed society births a strong urge for mediums to do so. To resist and try to block it is an ultimately futile endeavor. To give children and teens license and unrestricted access, and ignore the pitfalls is neglectful. The question is not whether we will “allow” a child exposure to a given stimulus, but when. That however becomes more and more difficult with the media saturation of our lives. It is easy to blame media for the ills of our society and the habits of our children. We have villanized entities which have no inherent moral ills for … Read entire article »
Filed under: parenting teens