Wednesday, February 22, 2012
This week, ask the JP Patch Moms Council your question about strollers — and find out their favorite models for urban environments like JP.
Each week the JP Patch Moms Council tackles a parenting topic. This week: strollers. Ask your own questions of the council in the comments section. Phillipa Tawn: My favourite stroller by far is the Maclaren Triumph. My children outgrew the need for strollers several years ago. Thank goodness. I could write a story collection about strollers — particularly about my much-hated double stroller. When my second child was born I was so anxious for her elder brother not to feel threatened by her arrival that I chose a double stroller that I knew a 2-year old would be very excited to ride in. This was the Jeep Wagoneer that comes with a steering wheel and horn attached to a snack tray for the front rider. It’s a chic looking stroller. However in…
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Each week the JP Patch Moms Council tackles a parenting topic for community discussion.
This week's discussion is about winning and losing (or choosing not to participate in) kids' sports. JP moms Deb Nam-Krane gets the discussion going with her perspective. Ask the Moms Council questions or chime in with your own opinions in the comments section. Deb Nam-Krane: There are plenty of ways children can compete outside competitive sports. For a couple of reasons, I've chosen not to enroll my children in competitive sports. It's expensive; my children are miserable with seasonal allergies; and having always been the last person picked for dodgeball in school, I know kids can be jerks in those situations, and too many adults will let them. There are still plenty of other ways children can compete. One of my kids can't ride a bike …
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Discuss this parenting topic with a group of JP moms.
This week join the JP Patch Mom's Council in a discussion of parents fighting in front of the children. Deb Nam-Krane: We can use our conflicts to model how our children can handle situations when they're outside of the home. In an ideal world, we'd raise our children in a conflict-free environment and they would never hear raised voices. Sadly, I have met few people who live in that ideal world. In the real world, conflicts happen in most homes, but it doesn't have to be damaging. We can use our conflicts as an opportunity to model how, hopefully, our children can handle situations when they're outside of the home. Keep the volume down; think before we speak; talk about what's really bothering us before they turn into explosions. And …
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
The JP Patch Moms Council has some ideas about what they'd like to see for JP in 2012. What's on your list for our neighborhood?
Each week the JP Patch Moms Council tackles a parenting topic. This week we ask what these JP moms want for our neighborhood in 2012. Amy Abair: A stronger effort to focus on youth. There are many things I would like to see for JP in 2012 but I think what is most need are more services that focus on youth. I feel this population is often the most overlooked but yet have the biggest spotlight put on them when violence occurs. When shootings occur the local message boards flair up with concerns about violence and youth. The questions always center on “what are we doing for the youth”? Why is it that only when violence occurs we are concerned about the youth? The violence is not against JP but rather against each other and this spills into …
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
When your child asks for something she shouldn't have, how do you handle it? Do you throw Santa under the bus, as one JP mom has been known to do?
Phillipa Tawn: After saying "no" to our 10-year-old getting an iPod, he wrote a beautiful multi-page essay carefully arguing the benefits of owning an iPod touch. Every Christmas so far at least one of my children has asked for a gift that is either inappropriate or way too expensive. Over the years this list has included pets such as horses and ferrets as well as overpriced toys like the Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon ($500) or an American girl doll bed ($178). I am usually honest with my children and tell them that such gifts are simply too expensive either for Santa or for us. This has never been a problem since there are always many other gift ideas they have on their lists. However this year my husband and I have struggled to make …
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Each week the JP Patch Moms Council hosts a discussion about a parenting topic.
This week the JP Patch Moms Council discusses bullying — including how they've tried to keep their kids both from becoming bullies and from being the victim of bullying. Add your own thoughts or questions in the comments section. Deb Nam-Krane: I'm seventeen years into parenting and I still can't tell you what makes a bully. Four children and 17 years into parenting — not to mention a lifetime of younger siblings under my belt — and I still can't tell you what makes a bully. Recent research indicates that low self-esteem is a factor for some. While it's tempting to say that parents can prevent that, I do know some devoted and nurturing parents who find themselves with a child who has low self-esteem by the time they're six. I don't think…
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
The beloved old tot lot got a big makeover from the city. So, what do JP moms think of the result?
Each week the JP Patch Moms Council dicusses a parenting topic. This week: Do you like the newly renovated Brewer/Burroughs Tot Lot? The lot had long been a neighborhood favorite, despite of its need for an update. Deb Nam-Krane: If you're looking to bring your younger child, they'll have plenty of children to interact with. I took my sons to the Brewer/Burroughs Tot Lot this week. Before it was closed for renovations, I used to take them there about three times per year. Unfortunately, other than the drums and the four-way seesaw, their just wasn't much for my seven year olds. (And my son's reaction when he saw the seesaw? "It got shorter!" It didn't.) One of them also liked the sandbox, but with so many smaller children also playing …
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Thursday, November 10, 2011
This week's "Moms Talk" topic is seasonal — what do you teach your children about heating and energy use in the winter?
Join other JP parents in talking about this week's topic: What do you teach your child about thermostats and energy use in the winter? Amy Abair: We cuddle a lot and this helps to keep everyone warm Our son is oblivious to the fact that we control the heat in our house. When he is cold we tell him to put more layers on, and we do the same if we are cold. This is particularly obvious when it is November and we tell him to go put his pajamas on, and he comes out in a tank top and shorts. I make sure to buy a lot of warm pajamas for him (the Carter's outlet in Watertown has great fleece winter pajamas for a good price) especially the zip up ones with feet. We also put fleece sheets on his bed and layer on the blankets. In the living room we …
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
This week the JP Moms Council gets the ball rolling with talking about where to trick-or-treat. Please add you own suggestions in the comments section.
JP Parents -- what are your favorite places to take your kids trick-or-treating? Deb Nam-Krane: We're planning on starting out with the Centre Street Halloween Strolll. There are a lot of great areas in JP to trick or treat in. Some of our friends live near Lamartine Street, and on years when Halloween falls on a Friday or Saturday someone does a Haunted House. So well done, it's gross. However, I like to keep it simple and stay as close to home as possible. We live in Forest Hills, close to Tower, Woodlawn and Wenham Streets. That's just three streets, but they're long and many of the residents seem to get really into it. We're also planning on starting out with the Centre Street Halloween Stroll.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
One mom says the key is planning an early, easy-to-make dinner the night of trick-or-treat.
Each week the JP Patch Moms Council takes up a parenting topic. Today its advice about Halloween, which this year Halloween falls on a Monday night. Add your own thoughts or questions below and the council members will respond. Mary Hannon: It is essential that you plan dinner early and make it easy or you’ll be miserable. I have made it through 18 Halloweens with kids. Weekdays are impossible. A night of pizza or sandwiches and we are out the door as soon as the sun sets. We always made homemade costumes and guided as much as we could. Encouraging classics like vampires, firefighters, ghosts and staying away from the commercial products and plastic. I can remember every costume like it was yesterday. Candy is always impossible. I …
Matt
8:11 am on Friday, February 17, 2012
It would be nice to have more than one opinion on this subject. My parents made me play soccer and join the cub scouts (then onto boy scouts) as a kid, and while I'm not at all into sports now, I'm very thankful they did. I think competition is part of life - especially with strangers or those outside your family. If my parents protected me so much that I wasn't prepared to deal with real … more ›