Guest Blog: The Toy Department of Life
By Collin Siedor, V.P./Content, Connect With Kids

I’ve always liked that thought, that “sports is the toy department of life.” But it isn’t anymore. In New Jersey two weeks ago, 65 parents, coaches and kids got into a brawl during a football game. One parent was arrested for assault. The kids were 7th and 8th graders.

In Philadelphia, a father pulled a gun on his son’s football coach. He was angry about how little playing time his son was getting. The kids on the team are 11 and 12 years old.

In a Pop Warner game in Stockton, California, a dad was arrested and charged with misdemeanor child abuse after attacking a player who put a late hit on his son.
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Guest Blog: How It Used To Be — A Grandparent’s Perspective
By Stan

I never thought I would be writing about the past. That’s the job of the older generation. But now, I realize, I am the older generation.

Fifty-three years ago, when I was just 23, I married my fiancé, who was about to turn 19. We talked about having children “some day.” She wanted six, I wanted, well…to do what married people do, so I agreed to almost anything. Well, “someday” arrived a year and a week later when our first son was born. Within the next 5 ½ years we were the proud and overwhelmed parents of three more children. Four children under the age of six. Don’t think I can’t hear you laughing.
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Guest Blog from the Moms Network at Connect with Kids

Turning a Child’s Worst Traits Into Their Strengths
By CWK Mom

Sometimes I think no one can push your buttons better than your own child.

I rarely – probably closer to never – raise my voice to anyone…except my son. I don’t even yell at him all that often, but when I do, take cover. What is it about the rolling of eyes or an attitude of entitlement from an 11-year-old that can make an otherwise rational and happy woman lose her cool? If you know the answer to that – or better yet, the cure – please write me right away.
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Guest Blog from the Moms Network at Connect with Kids

Can We Feel Safe At School?
By Linda Bachmann
I would like to think that pop quizzes, getting picked for the team at PE, a homecoming date or deciding who to sit next to at lunch are the biggest worries of our children’s school days.

But this week with the television news as our usual background noise during our morning routine, a much more serious worry emerged – if not for our children, then certainly for parents. There have been three school shootings in less than a week. The concern was clear and urgent: How safe are our children during the school day?
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