Friday, March 8, 2013
Longtime mental health counselor Jon Mattleman spoke at Braintree High School this week.
Picture the nasty weather this week – a mix of snow, sleet and rain blowing around at high speeds – and imagine that inside the head of a teenager. "It is really chaotic, it doesn't make sense to them," Jon Mattleman, a mental health counselor, told parents gathered at Braintree High School Wednesday night for "The Secret Life of a Massachusetts Teen," an event put on by the Braintree Alliance for Safe and Healthy Youth. "Inside they want to share their fears, they want to share their joys and more," Mattleman said. But often the largest barrier to healthy communication is parents themselves. One of the secrets Mattleman shared with the group gathered in the auditorium is that teens really do want parents to listen to them, even if they …
Thursday, January 24, 2013
A Patch blogger's post about not helping her children on the slide is being debated across the country.
A Patch blog from Alameda, CA, called “Please Don’t Help My Kids” has struck a nerve with readers across the country. Posted in September, the blog has taken off over the past few weeks as it has found a second life through social media sharing. The blog has 124,000 Facebook recommendations and 833 people have tweeted the blog. The blog is an open letter to other parents at the playground. The blogger Kate Bassford Baker’s basic request is for parents to not help her daughters on the slide. She wrote that she wants her daughters to do things and learn things on their own. Learning to walk up the slide’s ladder is the first step to learning new things and overcoming obstacles, she wrote. “Because, as they grow up, the ladders will only get …
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Because of their size, parents may be difficult to discipline properly. ~ P.J. O'Rourke
I was talking to a friend earlier today and she was telling me a story that did not paint her in the greatest parental light, but since I have been in her shoes I did not judge; I offered only empathy at her moment of weakness. She was explaining what happened when she, her dear hubby, and their three lovely children started to decorate their Christmas tree this year. Everything was ready. The tree was in the stand and the lights strung. They were getting ready to put the ornaments on when it started. At first it was small, barely noticeable but it grew. Boy did it ever. “Stop it.” Said one. “I’m not doing anything.” Said another. “DAD!” Said the first. “Knock it off!” Said Dad. From there it escalated. Two little kids screaming and …
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
'Look, Daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings,' ZuZu Bailey.
This is one of the family’s favorite Christmas traditions. After we decorate the tree we all snuggle in with fancy hot chocolate and, if they’ve been exceptionally well-behaved that year, they’ll get homemade snickerdoodles. They didn’t get the snickerdoodles last year. Fingers-crossed that this year when I tally it all up, the good will outweigh the not-so-good. I missed the snickerdoodles last year. This is one of our “newer” traditions. We’ve only been watching for the last three or four years. Dylan started it and he really loves the movie. Honestly, I don’t really remember seeing it in its entirety before I started watching it with Pat and the kids. I’m more of a Grinch girl. Oh, and Frosty. I do have to admit that “It’s a Wonderful …
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
The author's spacey memory leads to a lesson on hunger.
I did not leave my house on this particular day with the intent on giving my children a lesson in gratitude and good fortune, but that is exactly the lesson that we all received. I don’t think that I am in a club of my own that consists of parents with a faulty memory. Some days I am confounded by the simple things that I forget. While I still manage to pack lunches, dole out bus money, and pick up my children from various destinations, there are quite of few things that escape my consciousness. On this particular day in August, my children and I were meeting friends at a big amusement park; one of our last hurrahs before summer’s end. I stopped at a bank near our home to get some money and I must have forgotten to take my ATM card out of …
Livnxspence
8:00 am on Friday, March 8, 2013
Not sure about the heading of "rash behavior", but overall it was a very good writeup that can be shared with others who did not attend. Thank you braintree patch. Nice article! more ›