Author Archives: Michelle Icard
February 17, 2012
My Response to Facebook Parenting: For The Troubled Teen
I can’t stop thinking about the newly viral You Tube video posted by Tommy Jordan, entitled Facebook Parenting: For the Troubled Teen. You can watch it below if you haven’t seen it.
So many parents have jumped on this guy’s bandwagon and are responding to his video with verbal “pats on the back” and accolades for being a great dad.
What?!
We can all agree that this teen’s behavior was rude, offensive, and punishable.
I hope we also agree that sometimes our kids can drive us to the brink of insanity and that we might have irrational and outrageous reactions to having our buttons pushed.
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Categories:
raising children, Tweens & Teens
February 10, 2012
Dear Mom of a Soon-To-Be or Right-in-The-Thick-Of-It Middle Schooler,
Dear Mom of a Soon-To-Be or Right-in-The-Thick-Of-It Middle Schooler,
For the past 8 years I’ve worked closely with kids in 5th – 8th grade, giving them tools to handle the new, complicated social world of middle school.
From one mom to another, I know understanding this new social scene can be hard for you, too, as you learn to navigate when to “step in” and when to “step out” of your child’s social life.
Have you noticed, kids not only grow up so fast these days, they do it in the weirdest places? Hallways, busses, bathrooms, online…pretty much anywhere you’re not…these are the places where your child will have to make hard decisions about doing the right thing. Wouldn’t it be nice if you knew they had a foolproof process for solving their own problems, so even when you can’t be there your child would have no problem making smart and safe decisions?
February 3, 2012
The Bruce Irons Camp Fund
A while ago I wrote a blog about hearing Geoffrey Canada speak and many people responded by asking “but what can we do?”
If you live in Charlotte, I highly suggest you volunteer your time, and/or make a donation, to the Bruce Irons Camp Fund.
Bruce Irons was a principal at Eastover Elementary who “was deeply committed to the belief that all children should have equal access to educational opportunities and resources, and was always most concerned for those who had the least.” Bruce and his wife frequently spent their own money to send low-income students to summer camps. When Bruce passed away too young, friends and community members longed to help his widow, Edith. She simply asked that they carry on Bruce’s legacy by sending a kid to camp. In 1988, the camp fund was established in his name.
January 27, 2012
What My Kids Ate For “Eat-a-Thon 2012”
About two months ago my son told me he wished he could have just one day when he could eat whatever he liked, whenever he wanted. ”I mean” he explained, “if I just want to make a sandwich instead of having dinner, I can just make a sandwich. That would be awesome.”
I totally get that.
I have never been a short order cook to my kids and we almost always have dinner together. My husband and I both love to cook and preparing the family meal, for us, is actually fun. As I type this, I can smell the Texas-style brisket he prepared this morning as it slow roasts in the oven. Later I’ll make a side of sautéed spinach and sweet potatoes. Good food is both important and entertaining in our house. I know I sound like a gooby perfectionist when I write that. I know it.
January 20, 2012
Pick Your Battles: Let Your Kid Leave The Coat At Home
Not that you asked, but as this is an epic battle I have witnessed countless times, I thought I’d weigh in on the Forcing-Your-Kid-To-Wear-A-Coat issue.
I’ll cut to the chase: I say don’t.
Kids don’t get sick from not wearing a coat. Catching a winter virus is a result of being in close contact with someone already infected, not from exposure to cold air. Usually the worst that comes from going coatless is discomfort, which eventually will work in your favor toward coat wearing. Except have you noticed kids don’t often complain about being cold? My motto: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
