Faith Development in Children

Great blog on parenting!

http://committedparent.wordpress.com/

Parents as Internet Partners

http://tinyurl.com/cd75e6

Breakfast can wait. The Day's First Stop is Online

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/10/technology/10morning.html?scp=9&sq=family%20texting&st=cse

Strict Rules From Parents Lead to Safer Driving by Teens

http://tinyurl.com/yadsh5m

Parent Survey Results

Results of the Tri-town Coalition’s Parent Survey

The Tri-town Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking sponsored a Parent Survey in December and January. Many thanks to all of those who responded and provided helpful feedback!   The purpose of this survey was to help the Tri-town coalition evaluate the effectiveness of its programs and to see how we can do a better job of reaching parents.  Here are some of the survey results.

Who responded?   106 people ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Underage Drinking In the News

The issue of underage drinking has been in the Connecticut news a lot during the last month with the suspension of football players and cheerleaders (later reduced) in East Haven and the release of 26 names of underage youth arrested at a party in Cheshire.  In both of these cases the thing that struck me was the powerful community opposition that arose to the consequences that were imposed on the violators. 

In East Haven 80 ...

How To Encourage More Positive Behavior in Your Children

Imagine that you did a “time study” on yourself as you relate to your child. What percent of the time are you focusing on that child’s positive traits and behaviors? What percent of the time are correcting, directing, criticizing and sometimes worse? The best self-report I have heard from parents is about 50% - 50%. The most common is 70 - 80% directing, correcting, etc. Think about how that might influence self-worth in kids.

A Mother's Day Blessing

This is a Christian, Trinitarian-based blessing... I looked around for something a bit more ecumenical, but couldn't find anything not too cheesy... so take this for what it is --- a blessing for all mothers everywhere, who have both the most challenging and rewarding job on the planet! (And if any of you have blessing from other traditions, I would love for you to post them in the comments!)

Most Gracious Heavenly Father,

We thank ...

A Must Watch Video

Wow - this is a GREAT video that all parents should take the time to watch. It's 28 minutes long, so set aside the time to be able to watch it in its entirety. This is an interview of the guy who wrote Wikinomics, an internationally best selling book and a brilliant primer on the profound changesoccurringin our society, primarily by our kids and their generation.

He touches on how this generation ...

How do most parents measure whether they are good parents?

Most parents I have met in my work here in Connecticut believe that they are good parents when their children do what the parents want them to do when they want them to do it. Compliance. If my child is well behaved, then I am a good parent. If they do not follow my instructions, then somehow I am a failure.

Let’s consider some other perspectives on this.

One thing to consider is that this ...

A Beginners' Guide To Social Networking

Social Networking is either a buzz word or a way of life -- depending on your age and demographic. If I can put it broadly, if you are under 30, social networking is a bit like breathing. You do it without thinking about it -- and if you don't, it is simply because it is isn't useful to you right now.

If you you are over 40, social networking can sound either cool, scary, or ...

Book Review: The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family

I recently read Patrick Lencioni's newest book "The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family: A Leadership Fable About Restoring Sanity To The Most Important Organization In Your Life". I am a big Lencioni fan, have heard him speak at conferences, have read most of his books, and even use them as resources in my consulting and leadership training venues.

Most of his books are about leadership and workplace dynamics, so this struck ...

Me, Myself & I. Parenting the Net Generation

I ran across a great book that I recommend all parents today read. It’s called Me, Myself and I. Parenting the Net Generation by Larry D. Rosen, Ph.D.

The reason I liked this book so much is that, for me, it really demystified how the whole social networking world worked. It walked me through, step by step, how to use sites like Facebook and probably the most important thing it taught me was to ...

New Faith-Based Parenting Research

I came across some recent research on parenting and faith that I thought was interesting.

Among other findings:

Most American parents feel their parenting skills and family life are pretty good, but they are reluctant to describe their homes as peaceful, relaxed or joyful and their daily family time consists mostly of eating dinner and watching television, according to a new study from LifeWay Research. While most parents are trying to improve their skills, far ...

Parenting - Wisdom & Doubt

Just about two years ago I was invited by the Director of Social Services here in Mansfield to apply for a position as coordinator of an underage drinking prevention project. I was intrigued but intimidated. I loved working with community groups that wanted to make the world a better place for families and kids. But having just recently survived the twilight zone of my daughter’s adolescence and that of several other young people I loved, ...

It Takes A Village...

As a young boy growing up in Huntington, Long Island in the 50’s and early 60’s, I was guided and nurtured not only by my parents, but also by many of their friends in the neighborhood. My parents’ friends became my adoptive “aunts” and “uncles,” who all knew how I was doing in school, who came to all of my high school football games, and who were clearly invested in me as I developed from ...

Where Are We Going?

Parents who passionately care about their kids are also a bit overwhelmed by the task of parenting. This can be especially true when it comes to the intersection of faith and parenting. Do I force my teen to go to church? Temple? At what age do they make that choice? How do I share my own faith – doubts and all – with my children? What role does faith and faith community play in parenting? These are all questions I hear a lot and will try to address in the coming months here.

Parenting In A Connected World

Parents tell me they are so overwhelmed because kids seem to understand technology better than most adults do. Because they are so connected to each other today, it has become very difficult to effectively parent our kids. After all, when was the last time one of your kid's friends actually called your house to talk to your son or daughter and you got to answer the phone and actually hear who was calling? Most kids today have cell phones, email accounts, Facebook or My Space pages and a slew of other ways of connecting to one another in ways that basically shut parents out of the loop. Am I right? It's time we mount a challenge to that by getting smarter about how all this technology works! B As Cnnctd As Ur Kids R! I'll try to help you understand the power of what has become known as Web 2.0 and how to embrace it. It's not going away.