How to Get Your Teens to Talk
We all want our teenagers to open up and talk to us, but it is often easier in concept than in execution. After spending my career working with teenagers, raising my own, and in my current role as the Dean of Students at a top independent school, I have a couple of insights that might help.
Outside the Bubble: Keeping Your Food-Allergic Children Safe When You Send Them to School
As an Early Childhood educator and mother of two energetic boys in preschool and 7th grade, I have spent a lot of time over the past 15 years talking to parents about their hopes and dreams (and even fears) for their young children as they try to find the perfect school in which to grow them into life-long learners. Among the top five things that they list as the most important factors in choosing the right fit, are that their child will be known and that they will be loved. It should come as no surprise in today’s world that also making the list is that their child be safe. This takes on a whole new meaning for parents of a child with allergies.
Children spend 40 hours or more a week outside of the protective bubble of their home during the school year; hours when their parents have to trust that they are being cared for by teachers and professionals who have not only their child’s education in mind, but also their health and safety. As a mother myself, I can imagine how nerve wracking this must be for a parent of a child with life-threatening allergies. According to kidswithfoodallergies.org, more than three million children in the United States have food-related allergies. With that in mind, here are some tips to help you lessen the worry by creating a knowledgeable, caring community for your child at school:
Four Surprising Ways to Raise Your Teen’s Self-Esteem
It’s a quintessential parenting dilemma: How to build our kids’ self-esteem and still help them be self-aware. After spending my career working with teenagers, raising my own, and in my current role as the Dean of Students at a top independent school, I have a couple of insights that might help.