Blogs for Nov, 2009

Self-assessment

Self-Assessment 14.2: (Santrock, 2008, Life Span Development)

Think back to your adolescent years, especially when you were in high school. Rate each of the items for both your mother and your father on the following 5 point scale:
1 = Knows nothing
2 = Knows a little
3 = Knows many things
4 = Knows most things
5 = Knows everything
Write your ratings one the lines to the right side. Rate the "father ...

Listening isn't the same as hearing

I read recently that business people spend roughly 40% of their day listening.  That sounds like a lot, but when you really begin thinking about it, it's probably correct.  You listen while in meetings, on the phone, in the car (to the radio?), etc.  That's a lot of time spent listening.  But how much of that time is spent really hearing.

Pondering my own two kids and their technological gadgets and gizmos like cell phones ...

Saturdays

What to do on Sat?  Asking each member of the family what they would like to do is a start!

Here are  few ideas from in the Tri-town area?

play a sport

make a gift

bake, cook for the family and friends

design a room for a special activity

try something new...music, art projects, hiking, snowboarding, ice skating, bowling, singing?  The sky is the limit!

Read or listen to a book on CD ...

Do you find iParentnetwork too difficult to navigate?

So I recently heard from some folks that they find iParentnetwork too difficult to navigate....that it's too "clunky" was the word. Others have said that they love the site and are thrilled to have a resource like this in town.

I'd love to hear from you how you are finding the site.  Please be as specific as possible. Are there sections that you find confusing or difficult?  Are their areas of the site you don't ...

underage drinking

What's unfair is that some teens develp an addiction and use of stronger pills, street drugs.  This is less unusual then many think.  How would you feel if your wondeful child developed an addiction?

PS When writing about this, one word or 1 sentence or question may start a disccussion with your friends.

Ungrateful Teenager In My House

This is an interesting article in today's Courant about parents using Facebook to vent about their teens: http://www.courant.com/features/hc-hartfordfacebook1118.artnov18,0,2160735.story.

I think it raises a number of interesting points: should social networking be used in this way, are teens today different, or is this just part of a developmental phase, and how can parents instill the kinds of values in their children that they would like to see them carry into adulthood? 

I don't know what the ...

How to post a job for an after school babysitting job

An anonymous question just came in.  The writer was wondering where on the site was an appropriate place to post an after school job for a high school student.

There are two places that would make sense.  Once is on the Tri Town List (group) that all members are automatically in.  This group was set up as a place to do these sorts of things - kind of a la "Craigs List".  Another spot might ...

Wondering what all those Instant messaging and chat icons mean?

happy  :)

sad  :(

big smile  :-D

wink ;-O

frown  :-(

crying  :'-(

screaming  :-@

yawning  I-o

tongue-tied  :-&

bummed out  ;-c

steamed  ~:-I

uh-oh  :-O

raspberries :-P

clown  *:0)

angel  O:-)

dunce  <:-I

SO CLOSE to 300 Members - Help us by inviting a friend to join!

I'm thinking that some of you may be wondering how we're is doing with this little experiment called iParentnetwork.

Well, we are so close to having 300 members, I can feel it!  All we need is JUST THREE MORE MEMBERS!  Can you help us surpass that mark by inviting a friend or two to join?

In just 2 1/2 months, we have blown past all original predictions, thanks to all of you.  You may be ...

Why 21, Revisited

In June I wrote a blog about the controversy over the national drinking age of 21 and the move to reopen this discussion on college campuses.  Over the weekend someone sent me this article, http://freshstory.org/blog/freshstory.php?p=103&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1#more103, which reminded me about 'why the stakes are so high around this issue. 

The fact is that many teens who do drink tend to binge, and it's clear from this and other research that the consequences are significant.  So ...

What kinds of questions parents are asking when they drop their child off at a friend's house

At recent fall events, members of iParentnetwork were out meeting and greeting members of each of the three communities.  We surveyed parents on a number of questions, one of which was this question: "What kinds of questions do you ask when you drop your child off at a friend's house?"

We were pleased to report that parents are asking questions and even more pleased at the variety of questions parents were posing.  We thought it ...

IS Shouting the New Spanking?

If you haven't seen this recent NY Times piece on shouting as a discipline strategy-check it out. Most US parents nowadays are aware that spanking is frowned upon as a way to discipline kids. Although some people do spank their kids, they know that it's just not accepted anymore. The article points out that shouting and yelling have replaced spanking as the discipline response for stressed out, frustrated parents. And apparently parents are feeling guilty about ...