Monday, June 13, 2011
School's out, which means your kids are bouncing off the walls at home. How do you handle it?
There's no doubt that kids live for summer break, when they can sleep in, play video games or go to the beach without worrying about homework, tests or the big school project that's just around the corner. But having all that pent up energy around the house for nearly three months might have you, the parent, pulling your hair out. This week, Patch wants to know what strategies, if any, you use to keep your kids occupied during the summer. Do you sign your students up for Community Ed programs, club sports or summer camps to get them out of the house or away from that video game console? Do you have a steady list of summer chores to keep your kid productive? Or do you let kids be kids, giving your son or daughter the space to do what he or …
Monday, June 6, 2011
How do you prepare your kids to react appropriately in emergency situations?
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Monday, June 6, 2011
Tornado season is upon us in Minnesota. Maybe your family already has had to camp out in the basement during a tornado warning. But when you take the weather radio and flashlights downstairs, do your kids know what's going on? What would they do if you weren't there with them? Storms and tornadoes are just one of the plethora of emergency situations kids can face. What if, for example, an adult has a medical emergency and the child is the only other person around? Some organizations, like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have programs geared toward teaching kids about being safe in emergencies; FEMA's provides different web pages and quizzes, which ask questions from whether it's OK to drink flood water, to whether it's best to …
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Minnesota has plenty of family vacation options. Tell us about your favorite in-state destination.
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- David Henke
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Tuesday, May 31, 2011
From the chilly but stunning vistas of the North Shore to the resorts and sunny beaches in towns like Alexandria, Brainerd and Detroit Lakes, Minnesota has an armful of family-friendly vacation options. With summer all but here, Patch wants to know: What are your favorite family getaways in Minnesota? Do you retreat for some R&R at the same resort town every year? Do you head to Itasca State Park or the Boundary Waters Canoe Area for a high-adventure trip with the kids? Or maybe your family loves road-tripping through southeastern Minnesota's bluff country? Whatever the case may be, we'd like to hear all about it. Also, feel free to share your suggestions for fun, inexpensive vacation destinations within Minnesota. Our five-member Moms …
Monday, May 16, 2011
At what age is it appropriate for a child to own a cell phone?
There are plenty of 'firsts' for teenagers on the road to adulthood: Your first summer job, your first car, your first boyfriend or girlfriend. But now the digital age has added one more item to that list: Your first cell phone. Roughly 75 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds in the United States own a cell phone, according to a 2010 Pew Research Center study. The Pew study also found that one-third of teenagers send more than 100 text messages a day—and that 83 percent of teenagers use their phones to take pictures. Patch wants to know: At what age is it appropriate age for a child to own a cell phone? How do you manage—or plan to manage—your child's cell phone use? Our Moms Council—including Jodi Saari, Dyane Garvey, Kathy Anderson, Niki …
Monday, May 9, 2011
In light of Mother's Day, what do you (moms and non-moms alike) think it means to be a mom?
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Monday, May 9, 2011
We at Patch hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day on Sunday, filled with delicious brunches, fabulous flower bouquets and fun family activities. We want to give all you moms, dads and kids of all ages the chance to share thoughts about what it means to be a mom, and what your moms mean to you. Over on our sister Patch site in St. Louis Park, Editor Michael Rose's mom, Catherine Harding, wrote a bit about what motherhood means to her. She noted a theme of dichotomy—great joy and sadness, reward and frustration, talking and listening. Are these things you've experienced, also? Other experiences to add? Moms: What does it mean to you to be a mom? What experiences stick in your mind as ones that have helped shape your time as a mom? Others…
Monday, April 25, 2011
What do you do when your child isn't telling the truth? Weigh in on the topic as part of this week's Moms Talk discussion.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- David Henke
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Monday, April 25, 2011
You're out of the room for a few minutes when you hear a crash. Your child, who has chocolate on his or her face, is standing over the shattered remains of the cookie jar. He or she immediately points to the family dog, who is sleeping across the room. You know your child is lying. What do you do next? That is the question that Patch is posing to you, our readers, as part of this week's Moms Talk. The aforementioned situation is hypothetical, but lying is an issue that frequently confronts parents. There are any number of reasons why children lie, according to the Center for Effective Parenting, including fear of punishment, low self-esteem or an overactive imagination. While the reasons — and the lie — may change from day to day, how you…
Monday, April 18, 2011
Do your kids fight your pleas for them to wear a coat? When is the weather appropriate for kids to go coatless, and at what ages?
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Monday, April 18, 2011
The prospect of more snow in the Twin Cities this week doesn't exactly scream spring. It's always a battle to make your teenagers and children wear jackets, but the fight gets even more difficult in the spring, when see-sawing temperatures mean you could be sunbathing one week, and wearing mittens the next. Teenagers may be the biggest coat-fighting culprits, but the battle to keep kids warm is an issue no matter the age. And our local Moms Council members aren't the only ones who have participated in the struggle. As part of an article on the subject, National Public Radio talked to parents about the difficulties they had coaxing their children into coats. They also spoke to experts about the behavioral and wellness implications of coat-…
Monday, April 4, 2011
How old should kids be before you can start leaving them home alone?
It's a scene straight from the "Home Alone" movie franchise. Your child or teenager, left at home while you were out on errands or at work, gets into some kind of trouble —whether it's dealing with an intruder or a more mundane problem, like forgetting to take the dog out on time. Is your child old enough and responsible enough to handle the issue in a responsible or appropriate way? Can he or she be trusted to take care of the home while you're away for a brief time? Those are questions that confront countless parents every year. Common sense tells us that a four-year-old probably isn't old enough to stay home alone, while a high school senior can handle it without a fuss. But what about the ages in between? The state of Minnesota does …
How old should kids be before you can start leaving them home alone?
It's a scene straight from the "Home Alone" movie franchise. Your child or teenager, left at home while you were out on errands or at work, gets into some kind of trouble —whether it's dealing with an intruder or a more mundane problem, like forgetting to take the dog out on time. Is your child old enough and responsible enough to handle the issue in a responsible or appropriate way? Can he or she be trusted to take care of the home while you're away for a brief time? Those are questions that confront countless parents every year. Common sense tells us that a four-year-old probably isn't old enough to stay home alone, while a high school senior can handle it without a fuss. But what about the ages in between? The state of Minnesota does …
Monday, March 28, 2011
The American Academy of Pediatrics a week ago released new recommendations for children to ride in car seats. Weigh in on the issue here.
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Monday, March 28, 2011
Car seats have gone through many changes over time, beginning many decades ago as drawstring sacks and progressing to today's heavily padded and harnessed seats. Laws and recommendations for car seat use also have changed. In Minnesota, the law states that a child restraint must be used until the child is 7 years old or 57 inches tall, and then it's OK to put the child in an adult seat belt; the fine for violating the law is $50. But the most recent changes in recommendations (not laws) for using car seats came a week ago from the American Academy of Pediatrics, in a report in the Pediatrics medical journal. This article from the Pioneer Press provides more details on the changes and why experts back them, including statistics from various…
Kathee
2:09 am on Tuesday, June 14, 2011
My kids have changed so much over this past year, I do not have much of a plan for them. I currently have them both signed up at Good Shepherd for VBS this week. My ex has signed our son signed up for a Scouting camp for 4 days. They have many friends and I've already heard "I'm bored" a few times. I recently met a woman who helps those affected by the Minneapolis tornado. She takes in donations … more ›