Tag: kids

9 years ago today…

9 years ago today, a loud and wailing cry sounded from a tiny hospital room in North Santa Rosa. That’s right folks, the Taz had entered the building – and the world – and was making his presence known. (more...)

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Education – Who's in charge here?

Over the past several months, I have written several articles on kids in school, mainly because of the troubles I’ve been having with the Taz – a bright kid who has a hard time not being a distraction in class or staying focused on the lessons he is being taught. Mark Alton, a teacher at... Continue Reading →

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What The Tortilla Curtain taught me

You had to have been living in a cave to have missed the local hot topic of the week. A Santa Rosa Mom went before the Santa Rosa City school board to plead her case as to why the book, The Tortilla Curtain, by TC Boyle, needed to be removed from the required reading list. .... In the end, the school board voted unanimously to keep the book on the required reading list, and left the option that students may read a different book if they choose not to read this one. But this event brings two very clear points to light... (More...)

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Raising the Ambitious Child

Ambition. It’s what the goal of the week is for my son, instructed by his teacher at yesterday’s conference. Really, it’s the goal for the whole year. Ambition to do his work neatly and with care. Ambition to pay attention during class. Ambition to show he is there to learn by staying near the front of the class anytime the teacher has something to show the class to give them more insight into what they are learning about. This week, ambition is the focus as we enter the second half of the year, eventually saying goodbye to 3rd grade as he enters the higher grades at a different school. It’s ambition to change the negative habits of yesterday and create positive habits for tomorrow. (more...)

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Is it ok to discipline other people's children?

We want our kids to have friends. But sometimes friends aren’t welcome. Little Timmy comes over to play with your son, and lets himself into your home as soon as you open the door. And even though he came over to play with your son, suddenly your child is playing by himself in the living room while Timmy rifles through his things upstairs. He invites himself on your family outings. He opens your refrigerator to see what you have to eat. Maybe he lies repeatedly. Maybe he makes a mess of your home and then leaves before cleaning it up. He might use language that doesn’t fly in your home. He might be a hitter, or a biter, or use some other form of brutality to get his way. He might even steal your child’s belongings, maybe even yours. Whatever he’s doing wrong, the kid gets under your skin. Little Timmy has no sense of boundaries whatsoever, fails to follow the house rules even though you have reminded him of them repeatedly, and you have noticed that your child’s behavior has gone downhill dramatically ever since Timmy made his first appearance. And yet your child insists they want to be friends with them. (How do you deal without dropkicking Little Timmy across the neighborhood? Read more...)

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The good kid vs the, um, not-so-good kid

To celebrate, I told him we’d pick out something for dessert that night, and that I would let him pick out dinner. I was trying to think of ways to make this an even bigger deal. I even mulled over singing him “Congratulations to you” to the tune of Happy Birthday. Don’t worry, that idea never manifested. But I was just beaming with pride. I immediately let Mr. Wonderful know, and then let the rest of the world know by posting the news as my Facebook status.

I asked the Taz what he wanted to eat, and he rattled off idea after idea until a decision was finally made. And that’s when another voice piped up in the back seat.

“You never made this big of a deal when I made Student Council…..”

Sometimes having two kids is like a shaky balancing act. (Read more about my neglected daughter...)

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How Rebellion is Born

“Did you eat your breakfast?” I asked my son this morning as he turned on his video games before school.
“Uh, yeah,” he said.
“Alright, what did you eat?” I asked my little Tasmanian Devil.
“Oh yeah, I didn’t. But I’m not hungry,” he told me.
“Turn off the game. You’re not allowed to play until you have finished getting ready, and that includes eating breakfast and brushing your teeth,” I reminded him.
“Oh my gosh, Mom! You don’t care about me?” My son likes to go into dramatics when he isn’t getting his way, especially when it’s getting in the middle of his game playing time. “I told you I’m not hungry, and now you’re making me eat!”

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Parents, the First Line of Defense

Teachers have one of the hardest jobs in the world. As a parent, I am handling the issues of my two children, and there are times when I am so frustrated I want to throw my hands up in the air. I couldn't imagine the frustrations of a teacher who has a classroom full of children that they are trying to teach when they have students, like my own son, who are easily distracted, and who easily distract others. On top of that, the limitations that the state is imposing on schools are making the classroom a much harder place to maintain a proper learning environment. A teacher's job is not easy at all! (Read more...)

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Cabin Fever

My kid is on his second day home from school, thanks to a slight fever that renders him banned from school, but still well enough to not be sick. It appears that I dodged the Swine Flu this time..... But nevertheless, he still needed to stay home. I have been sitting with him all day while he does his homework, making sure that he doesn’t sneak outside to play with his friends and give them the flu. We have spent a lot of time together today, just him and me. And there is only one sentiment that can truly describe today......

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