Tuesday, November 20, 2012
How much is too much to spend on children and teens? We want to hear your thoughts, Lake Forest and Lake Bluff.
As the holiday shopping season goes into full swing, some people are maxing out their credit cards to pay for presents and others are setting budgets and sticking with them. Scour just about any Facebook stream or stop in a local coffee shop and chances are you’ll hear parents debating the merits of setting spending limits. Or, you'll hear them lamenting about just how much they've already spent. The ideas for a perfect limit do seem to vary rather greatly. Some parents say $100 per child is more than enough. Others tend to lean toward much more generous figures. After all, there’s nothing like seeing a child’s eyes light up as they unwrap gift after gift. And that’s what we want to hear from you about, Lake Forest and Lake Bluff! Do you …
Saturday, November 10, 2012
A son's annual check-up gets his mother wondering what happens between raising the first child and the last.
The other day, my son kicked me out of his doctor’s appointment. Somewhere around the age of acne explosions, smelly feet and hair product, pediatric annual check-ups include an option for a parent-free zone to promote a personal discussion with a health care professional. This is a great idea, and I think adolescents should take full advantage of this opportunity. Correction: this is a great idea, and I think other people’s kids should take full advantage of it. My kids? They have nothing to hide. As a seasoned parent when it comes to these "special" visits, I was well prepared. This was my third child, after all. I like to think of myself as a fairly liberal, tolerant and accepting person, who prides herself in keeping communication …
Monday, July 16, 2012
Even though it does cause some very awkward moments, it really is better if our kids more or less tell us about their lives.
I was once again talking to strangers at Starbucks and got into an interesting conversation about how parents of today suffer from information overload from their kids. When I was a teenager, I told my parents nothing. If there is such a thing as “less than nothing,” that’s what I told them. Now kids feel comfortable discussing all kinds of details about their social lives that we really don’t want to know. Except we do. It’s like rubbernecking on the highway after a gruesome accident. We kind of hope to see something we really don’t want to see. Obviously kids don’t tell us absolutely everything. All parents have been lied to at one time or another and teens usually leave out incriminating details but, by and large, kids today are way …
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
How do you keep your kids on task as they grow older?
About seven years ago, a special waffles and ice cream breakfast would motivate my grade school-aged children to get up early on a busy summer day. It was the same magical time period when routine chores could be transformed into games. “Let's see who can gather the biggest leaf pile!", or "How far can you fling the dog poop over the fence into the wild wooded part of the property” fun approach was used to get things done. Now, my high school scholars don’t buy it. With audible glee at the close of another season of academic routine, they envision days of summer chilling; hanging with friends, texting, playing video games, a week at camp, Facebook, and more texting. I envision structure, balance and shared family responsibilities. My …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
A Mother's Day reminder of the joys of motherhood
Mother's Day is this Sunday, just in case you were too busy being a Mother to notice. It got me thinking about how sometimes I'm so busy, tired, and stressed that I don't stop to appreciate why being a Mom is worth it. Some days it's easier to focus on the negatives and I ask myself why did I go through all of the pain, nausea, sleepless nights, insecurity, and the extra 10 pounds that won’t go away? So, I wrote a post on Why Being a Mom is Worth It that I wanted to share. But more importantly, I'd love to hear from you. Why Do You Love Being a Mom? Please comment below and let's create a great list of why Motherhood is amazing. The reminder is a nice gift to ourselves. I want to wish everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. I hope your day is …
Friday, May 6, 2011
'I’ve been reminded just how much I have to learn and how much our children teach us.'
Lake Forest resident Melissa Oakley recalls vividly the day her first son, Will, was born. It was two days before her 31st birthday and Melissa anticipated the arrival of motherhood with confidence and conviction. “I felt like I was growing and learning my way around ‘real life’ – as a wife, through marriage, and as a professional – through pouring myself into work I valued. I felt like I actually knew a thing or two,” Melissa recalls. Then, Will was born. Melissa’s sister, Betsy, called her just after the firstborn arrived. She told Melissa, “Your life will never be the same after today.” “She was right!” Melissa acknowledges. Humbled By Motherhood What surprised the now mother-of- three most about motherhood is “how truly humbling it is…
Christine Wolf
1:15 pm on Friday, December 7, 2012
GREAT post, Betsy. I, too, have 3 children, and only the first has a baby book (the youngest child is now 9...). It's mayhem and humility all rolled up together, isn't it? I'm guessing you're like me -- wouldn't have it any other way. Cheers. more ›