Last updated on November 14th, 2013 at 08:49 pmMy dentist was a mother of two teen boys, and I hungered to know what kind of life might lie ahead of me. What I really needed to know was this: How did she keep her teen boys talking to her? Her curious response: skiing. She explained, “I got them into skiing nearly as soon as they could stand. It’s something they love, that I love, that we’ve...
Last updated on March 2nd, 2018 at 02:57 pmIt hit me about two months ago that evenings in front of the TV, video games, and computer at my house had finally gotten out of control. So I came up with an idea: The kids would have to turn off all screens at 9 p.m. and keep them off ‘til bedtime. (To stave off a full-blown revolt, I’d get TiVo so they could catch up with whatever they might miss.) Oddly,...
Last updated on March 2nd, 2018 at 03:52 pmAfter finishing up a yearlong work project, Maura Rhodes faced the daunting job of cleaning up her home office. “The place was a disaster. And one of the big things that kept me from getting started were several years’ worth of magazines strewn all over the place,” says Rhodes. So the freelance editor from Montclair, N.J., offhandedly offered to pay...
Last updated on September 12th, 2015 at 10:29 pmWhy on earth would any parent go camping with their kids? Between the packing, the hauling and the dirt, it’s enough to send you running to the Holiday Inn. But it’s these very same rustic realities that make a weekend or even a week in the woods the perfect glue for a great family bonding experience. “Unlike other types of vacations, you aren’t...
Last updated on April 8th, 2013 at 12:26 amFollow my blog with Bloglovin Sniffling, sneezing, puffy eyes — kids’ hay fever misery can be the first sign of spring. Up to 40 percent of all children struggle with allergic rhinitis, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). That’s the proper name for the upper respiratory symptoms caused by either year-round...
Last updated on September 13th, 2015 at 02:00 amA good night’s sleep for grade-schoolers and teens means at least 10 hours of solid shut-eye, according to the National Institutes of Health. For preschoolers, it’s 11-12 hours, and for babies it’s up to 18. But many kids are falling short … and paying the price. New research from The University of Chicago suggests that youngsters who don’t...