Search Results for: first time parents

Reasons Parents Should talk to Their Teens About Pregnancy

It might be uncomfortable, but it is important that parents talk with their teens about pregnancy. Having that discussion, in a non-judgmental way, can inspire a teen to really open up and ask the questions that are on their mind. It can also help build trust between you and your teen. That’s important if you want them to come to you for answers about pregnancy in the future. Make sure you speak with your daughters and your sons. The teen pregnancy rate in the United States is high. The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate among countries that … Continue reading →

Siblings Sharing Parents Experience Lifelong Effects

Did you get along with your siblings when you were a child? What’s your relationship with them like now that all of you are adults? Researchers have discovered that brothers and sisters who share parents can have a very different experience from each other. What they found can help parents of today make their kid’s relationship with their siblings into a more positive experience. An article at Medical Daily was written by Chris Weller. In it, he points out that each kid that has to share his or her parents with their siblings has a different experience – even though … Continue reading →

Gen X Parents Raising Connected Children

The world has changed, in so many ways, between when you were a child and today. Parents who are part of Generation X are the first to raise children (and teens) in a world where the internet is so prevalent. Times have changed, in so many ways! The Washington Post has an article titled “Parenting as a Gen Xer: We’re the first generation of parents in the age of iEverything”. It was written by Allison Slater Tate and posted on September 19, 2014. In it, she comments on the difficulties faced by parent who can’t understand why their kids won’t … Continue reading →

Apps for Busy Parents

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Parenting has often been described as a full-time job. Moms and dads have to organize children’s schedules, find kid-friendly places to eat, and remember all the things that their family needs from the grocery store this week. Fortunately, there are apps that can help busy parents to keep track of everything. Here are a few to try. Mom Maps Mom Maps helps moms and dads find places that are appropriate for family fun. There are over 28,000 locations supported by this app. It gives you directions to parks, playgrounds, children’s museums, kid’s indoor play areas, kid’s restaurants and more (including … Continue reading →

Creating First Day of School Memories

In less than two weeks, my three children head back to school. This year is the first year that my youngest will be in school all day away from home. The moment he gets on the bus will be bittersweet, of course, but I’ll be sure to document it well with photographs of his beaming face as he embraces what it means to be a big boy. One tradition that I started when my first-born went off on the bus for the first time was to take a short video of him, standing by a certain rock in the yard … Continue reading →

Adjusting to Being a Big Brother or Sister Takes Time

If you are the parent of a toddler and you are expecting a baby or you have recently welcomed a new baby into your home, you might be wondering whether your toddler will form a close connection with his or her baby brother or sister. When a new baby comes home, newly – minted big brothers and big sisters often take some time to grow into their new roles. It has been almost a year now since I brought Blake home from the hospital, and I can truthfully say that I was concerned about this very issue during the first … Continue reading →

It’s That Time of Year Again

Doing taxes can be intimidating for anyone, but as a single parent it seems that they become much more complicated and the task much more daunting. Most divorced couples switch off every other year claiming the kids. This can get rather complicated if you’re unfamiliar with filing your taxes. They ask all kinds of questions about who the child lives with and who provides more than half of the child’s expenses. Entering in this information can be tedious, especially if you aren’t the one that gets to claim the kids that year. Just because they live with you and you … Continue reading →

Senator Rubio Resigns to Spend More Time With Family

California Senator Michael Rubio, a Democrat, has resigned his position. The main purpose for doing so appears to be an interest in being able to spend more time with his family. He and his wife have two daughters, one of whom has Down Syndrome. The former Senator has taken a job with Chevron. I imagine that it would be quite difficult to be a Senator and to find a way to balance that with family life. I am certain that parents, of any profession, face that same challenge. However, when a parent who is not a public figure changes jobs … Continue reading →

Mistake #4 Parents Make With Teenagers: Making Molehills Out of Mountains

In my last few blogs I’ve tackled three mistakes that parents make, expecting the worse, looking for parenting answers in others, and making mountains out of molehills.  Now I’m going to do a little bit of a reverse in parenting mistake #4, which is making molehills out of mountains. Just as parents can make a big deal out of something not so significant, the opposite is true.  However, this is probably one of the most dangerous mistakes that parents can make. Whenever parents suspect a serious issue is going on, it’s important to take action.  The problem is that we … Continue reading →

Mistake #3 Parents Make With Teenagers: Making Mountains Out of Molehills

  We have talked about two different mistakes parents of teenagers make:  expecting the worse and looking for parenting answers in others.  Today’s mistake is making mountains out of molehills.  Of which I am sometimes the queen. The best example I can give in my parenting experience is when my daughter first began to wear makeup.  She thought the raccoon look was the way to go.  I absolutely hated the thick, black lines that surrounded her eyes. It would cause constant arguments between us.  One time I even pulled her out of our church’s youth group to make her go … Continue reading →