It’s not that fame and fortune don’t make you happy; the news is actually worse than that. (Or, in this recession, is it better?) They make you unhappy.

Psychologists at the University of Rochester studied recent college grads over two years, trying to figure what made them happy. What worked wasn’t extrinsic things, a car, a big house, fancy clothes…but then most of us knew that. The joy just doesn’t last long enough, you always need newer and more. (Once you drive off the lot, it’s a used car.) Instead, the researchers find that contentment comes from that list we got from Read the rest of this entry »

by Stacey DeWitt

Our children were out for Spring Break last week.   As we headed to the beach, I looked through our bookshelf to find something inspiring to read and landed on a book called, The Measure of a Man, a spiritual autobiography by Sidney Poitier.  I had purchased it a few months earlier since Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) has always been my favorite movie and To Sir with Love and A Patch of Blue rank in my top five. Read the rest of this entry »

By Ginger, from the Mom’s Network

Last night my son and I gathered all the coins that have been accumulating all year long in our Tzedakah box (Tzedakah is a Hebrew word that loosely translated means “charity”) as well as all the change all over our house, put it into two Ziplock bags, and carried it to the Salvation Army bell-ringer at the strip mall near our house. This is the 10th year in a row that we have reserved one night of Hanukkah to give a gift of charity. Our tradition includes feeding all of our coins into the red tin bucket – which takes a full five minutes — during which time we talk to the Salvation Army volunteer about his job, his life, his Christmas, and he talks to us about our lives, our coins, our Hanukah, and I longingly look at my Tahiti fund disappearing into the coin slot. There’s a lot of laughter and warmth and a few surprised looks from passers-by.

Last night was particularly funny because we were just feeding the last few handfuls of coins when a second Salvation Army volunteer came out of the store and saw what we were doing. “Hey, wait a minute!” he yelled, holding up a second red tin bucket and clanging his bell. “I got a bucket, too! And mine’s empty!”

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By Ginger, from the Connect with Kids Moms Network

A friend of mine died this summer. She had barely passed 40. Blonde, bright, freckled, filled with love and perky to the extreme, it seemed impossible that some exceptionally rare disease could take her life in the span of one season. But as her husband and best friend said, ‘I always thought she was one in million. I was wrong; I guess more like one in 10 million.”

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By Ginger S., from the Moms Network

If you had to guess, how many moms in the U.S. do you think go online more than once a day? (Skip down to the end of this blog for your answer, and I’d love to know how many of you were close! Comment me!)

I go online about a half-dozen times a day (or night) myself. Most of it is for my work, but about 30 percent of the time I’m reading news stories and visiting my favorite online communities to see who’s discussing, dishing and dissing.

Last week I happened upon a group of brand-spanking-new moms who were chatting as fast as their fingers could fly. Man! I wish there were online websites when my son was a baby. I can remember being the only one awake in my house either because I couldn’t fall asleep after a 2 a.m. feeding or because I was worrying about some strange new-baby symptom.  It would have been great to have someone to talk to other than the nurse at the Scottish Rite hotline who I think knew my voice by heart. Today, moms just go to their favorite online community and they can pretty much bet there is a bleary-eyed mom (or millions of ’em) on the other end already engaged in dozens of conversations about bottles vs. breast; rice milk vs. soy, feeding or treating a fever – all kinds of forums, chat rooms and message boards for moms to talk to each other, get advice and simply connect with a kindred spirit who also happens to be up in the middle of the night.

So fast-forward 12 years and here I am, thrilled that there are dozens of online sites for parents of adolescents and teens. On my favorite sites I’ve asked other moms dozens of questions about the roller coaster ride of hormones, the survival techniques for homework blues, and the “is this normal” questions that come up all the time. Soon I imagine myself once again awake in the middle of the night, worried about my son who is out past his curfew and isn’t answering his cell phone. Who am I going to call at that hour? Why, I’ll go online to Parents & Company or theantidrug.com or Teendriving.com and find some other moms in some other states also up at 1 a.m. worrying over their kids. And I bet we’d all rather be worried about a diaper rash, don’t you think? 

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By Ginger S., from the Moms Network

While this was Spirit Week for many schools, my week seemed to have a more sobering theme: risky teen behavior. It began on Tuesday, when I heard Jeff Inman, coordinator of Cobb County’s Prevention Intervention program, speak to a group of parents, teachers and youth leaders. One of the topics we discussed was the latest research showing that the younger a person begins drinking, the greater likelihood that he/she will become dependent on alcohol. This is due in part to the way the teenage brain develops, as well as the social behavior of teens who drink. In addition, if you check out our news story’s tip sheet this week, Preteens Get Alcohol at Home, you’ll read that two-thirds of teens admit they have stolen liquor from their parents’ liquor cabinet or refrigerator. Experts clearly recommend that parents lock up their liquor, not just for your own kids’ sake, but because their friends might try to steal it, too. 

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By Stacey Dewitt

Recent research shows that more kids today than ever before are seeing therapists, are depressed, and are on medications for anxiety. What are we as parents doing to contribute to this startling trend? We want so badly for our kids to succeed, but anyone who has ever succeeded at anything knows what failure feels like, and has had to accept it, learn from it, move beyond it. We must let our children experience all of life, the good and the bad. Truths like: life isn’t always fair; it is hard work; you will have to work with people you don’t like; you will lose sometimes; you will not be the best at everything; you will have your heart broken and … you will ultimately grow and learn have what you need inside of you to get by or to thrive (it is, after all, their choice).
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Guest Blog from Linda Bachmann,
Connect with Kids Mom’s Network

Yes, it’s just the beginning of August, the sun is shining brightly and today’s heat index and high humidity are frizzing my hair. But despite my yearnings for the smell of Coppertone sunscreen and lazy hours at the pool, in the Southern “neck of the woods,” the back-to-school mindset has already set in.

A friend who teaches kindergarten has already been back to her classroom, hanging the welcoming bulletin boards and colorful backgrounds that await art projects and drawings crafted by tiny hands. Television and newspaper advertising tout school supplies, outfits and sturdy (yet totally fashionable) shoes. And school registration schedules and parents’ night reminders have already arrived – in both mailboxes and e-mail inboxes.

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From the Moms Network
Got a camper? Free “letter-to-go” with fill-in-the-blanks makes it easy for your camper to stay in touch.

My middle school son can’t decide which toothpaste to use each morning (mint or cinnamon?) so what makes me think that he can decide in January that he wants to go to sleep away camp in July? But that’s what he said. And because he is 12 going on 20, I took him at his word.

What was I thinking?

All during the school year he was excited, thinking about which activities he’d choose, whether or not there would be a “camp dance,” and figuring out exactly how far north Maine is from Georgia (yes, Maine — why I couldn’t choose from the 120 camps within a two-mile radius of our home I have no idea). So, July comes, we label every garment and pack the duffle bag until it can barely zip – a task that by itself could swear me off of summer camps forever – and head for the airport. We meet some of his friends and their parents, and his dad and I say goodbye at the security check-in, leaving him in the very capable hands of the permanently cheerful camp chaperone.
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By Stacey DeWitt

There’s a lot of information out there about “teenagers behaving badly” — kids engaging in high-risk activities such as drugs, drinking, sex.  I guess I should know; our company covers children’s and teen issues and the challenges they face on a daily basis. In fact, we talk to kids and teens every day – all our programs feature their true stories and real feelings. But I have to tell you, there are a lot of great kids and teenagers out there, too. Children who care about their families, their goals, their grades, Read the rest of this entry »