Comments for Home Improvement For Parents: A Parenting Expert's Blog

Comment on Talking to Our Daughters About Sex by Karen

Karen — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:44:08 +0000

Thanks for posting those resources Andrea - I’ll check them out. I saw two of the Oprah shows - the one with the two 14 year olds who thought they were ready for sex and the one with the mom having the talk with her daughter. Both of the shows were pretty eye-opening and I’m thinking of watching them with my girls, 11 and 13 - thank goodness for PVR! When I was growing up I didn’t have any discussions with my mom (that’s just the way it was then I guess - at least I had an older sister - phew!). I’m determined to be more open with my girls (no matter how much it might make us all cringe!). I’d like my husband and I to have discussions and an open line of communication with both our daughers and son, even though it will likely be more awkward for my husband to talk to our daughters and me to talk with our son!

Comment on Keeping Our Kids Safe by Andrea

Andrea — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:52:36 +0000

You’re absolutely right, Karen, there are a lot of great products that are available for download, and any of them would be a great place to start. All of Yello Dyno’s material is an excellent jumping-off point for a conversation with your kids about safety. Thanks for pointing that out!

Comment on Keeping Our Kids Safe by Karen

Karen — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:31:30 +0000

Hi Andrea,

These songs are definitely catchy! They have a lot of materials that you can download immediately on their website if the delivery issue is a hassle.

Comment on Surviving Sleep-Overs by Karen

Karen — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:58:16 +0000

LOVE the almost sleep-over idea! Another bonus is that you don’t have the sleep-over fallout of cranky kids the next day! It would also be a relief for younger kids that wear pull-ups at night and might be too embarrassed to sleep away from home or have friends sleep over.

Comment on “Do You Snoop On Your Teen?” by Andrea

Andrea — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:25:01 +0000

Thanks, Karen! That’s a great analogy.

Comment on “Do You Snoop On Your Teen?” by Karen

Karen — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:54:40 +0000

A friend of mine read a blog posting called “Why Management is Like a GPS” (you can google that title to find it!) and found it also worked if you substituted “parenting” for “management”.

“I like how the GPS uses the same pleasant tone no matter how many times we veer off track. Parents would be well served to learn from this. Recalculating the route is a normal daily parenting task, and should not be a source of irritation or frustration. It is why we are here and why we are needed. To be the one to take the initiative and have the foresight to constantly recalculate and help children find their way.”

I’d rather use that analogy with regards to MY behaviour than relying on surveillance gadgets to monitor my TEEN’S behaviour!

Comment on Sometimes Kids Just Need to Hear “No” by Tamar Chansky

Tamar Chansky — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:28:09 +0000

Andrea, thanks for this great post, I couldn’t agree with you more. Happy at all costs comes at a great cost to kids. Without knowing how to fall and get back up, just walking becomes a risky venture.

These are issues at the heart of my work as a child psychologist and are also the subject of my new book, Freeing Your Child from Negative Thinking: Powerful, Practical Strategies to Build a Lifetime of Resilience, Flexibility and Happiness. I devote an entire chapter to the topic of handling failure, losing, disappointment and jealousy– kids (and parents) need to learn these lessons.

If you’re interested in checking out an excerpt, please go to http://www.freeingyourchild.com.

Thanks for keeping these issues on the radar.

Tamar Chansky

Comment on Check Me Out On TVCogeco! by Karen

Karen — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:05:43 +0000

Congratulations Andrea! I’ll look forward to tuning in. I love getting your updates in my inbox!

Comment on A Punch for Good Behaviour by Karen

Karen — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:57:25 +0000

I’ve seen first hand the negative effects of the reward system. My daughter really enjoyed swimming - until she didn’t receive a badge at the end of the session. To say she’s unmotivated to retake that level is an understatement. She loved fencing - until the last night when they handed out ribbons, only to the top students. What a shame.

Comment on Amusement Park Solos by Karen

Karen — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:21:22 +0000

What a great opportunity to show your kids that you have faith in them and a way to take small steps towards independence. Our 12 year old approached us the other day, suggesting that she invite 2 friends to Wonderland as a way to celebrate her birthday. We’ll all be going, my husband and I veering off in different directions with our other kids and checking in on agreed-upon times. We’ll also be taking the time before hand to ask a few “what if” questions. Thanks for the ideas.