Sunday, December 16, 2012
When tragic news breaks, it's important not to get caught up in the anxiety of the event, said one expert.
One of the things that parents worry about in the wake of violent news is how to talk about it with their kids, and after the Connecticut school shooting, many of our readers might be struggling to answer some questions. Dr. Joanne Plescia, Director of Special Services for the Collingswood Public School District in New Jersey offered some guidance that might be helpful in having these conversations. Above all, she says, the most important thing you can do is to be calm and present to your children and their feelings throughout the conversation. 1. “If they don’t ask questions, it’s okay.” A school shooting is like any kind of tragedy, Plescia said: the more we focus on it, the more our general level of anxiety climbs. She suggests that …
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Thursday's incident marks the second in the Highland Park section of Middletown in recent weeks.
Friday, 9:19 a.m.: The mother of the fourth-grade boy reports that the man was a neighbor. The man was just attempting to help the boy. Police and school have been notified. Thursday, 1017 p.m.: Police are looking into an incident where an unknown man in a minivan stopped and offered a elementary-aged boy a ride Thursday in Middletown. A young girl was walking home from Albert Schweitzer Elementary School and Carl Sandburg Middle School in the Highland Park section of Levittown when a tall white man in his 30s stopped his silver minivan next to a fourth-grade student walking in front of the girl, police said. When the incident began to unfold, the girl told officers she hid in a nearby bush at the corner of Heartwood and Hedge roads and …
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Help your kids consider their future.
I offer a few extra credit assignments in my undergraduate Introduction to Psychology class, including one that prompts the student to write his or her own obituary. Students react in a variety of ways to this one – horrified, amused, bemused – but it’s a great way to think about your life before it’s too late. (Think Scrooge). I urge the students to be creative and fabricate their tale as well, including their future accomplishments - a bucket list of sorts but without the pressure of imminent death - and to think about those left behind. I want them to get perspective and think about how others will remember them. One of our pastors recently related the story of Alfred Nobel: Alfred Nobel became famous and successful as a chemist. He …
Sunday, April 8, 2012
A little research and planning can save you money on your next family adventure, but be sure to read the fine print.
We finally made it to the Franklin Institute to see the Giant Mysterious Dinosaurs and it was awesome. I just love museums and I love to attend them with my kids and their friends. I still like to learn new stuff. Parents need to stay engaged and open to new experiences. Lots of places like aquariums have cool things to do like wading in and feeding stingrays, or actually touching jellyfish and sea cucumbers. At the Franklin, we went to the roof to check out a sunspot through a giant telescope and learned that sunspots are actually storms on the surface of the sun. Just amazing! Times being what they are, everyone is crunched for money and a family membership to the Franklin costs $120. This includes two parents and up to four children. …
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Our kids can ask some tough questions. We need to walk the line between a good answer and too much information.
As parents we get lots of questions about lots of stuff. If we’re not inundated with homework, our work, phones ringing, dogs barking, dinner cooking, softball practice and doorbells bing-bonging, we can take a moment and come up with the appropriate answers. Sometimes I can get a math problem wrong, but my back-up spouse proofreads and corrects it. We basically have two check points for school work. But I admit that I was unprepared for what my daughter threw at me as we were coming out of school recently. I began with the usual questions – “How was school? Anything new? How was the social studies test?” But I noticed she was ignoring the light banter. She tilted her chin up and I could see the tears welling in her eyes. She didn’t …
Sunday, January 8, 2012
With the craziness of the holidays behind us, it’s time to start planning ahead for summer fun.
Some folks suffer from post-holiday blues, but there isn’t really time for that in our house. January means the beginning of indoor baseball workouts for my son and the start of a new season in my daughter’s youth orchestra. Add that into the normal mix and we hit the new year at full speed. Though winter is staring us in the face, my thoughts are already on June. I can’t wait for the kids to be done with school so we can spend our time hanging out at the pool. We’re hoping this summer will be special, too. We’ve set our sites to getting out west, specifically seeing the Grand Canyon. What we’ve come to understand is that beyond the typical trip planning -- flights, hotels, etc. -- we need to start coordinating our kids' schedules. So we…
Monday, October 3, 2011
So in the past, I've spoke about yet another bad experience I’ve had as a mother of interracial children.
So in the past, I've spoke about yet another bad experience I’ve had as a mother of interracial children. I want to start off by saying that I’ve encountered many positives comments and feedback from strangers about our family unit over the years. Still, the ignorance and negativity displayed by people is extremely annoying and needs to be addressed. For many of you who know me personally, this blog may be your first glimpse of my true feelings on this issue. Many of you have said some of the very statements and questions I will list below. Maybe it will make you think first the next time you are about to say them. My very first experience with this issue, I was riding a bus, maybe five years ago, on my way to college with my son. An older…
Monday, September 19, 2011
What do you do when your child turns his or her nose up at foods that were once favorites?
When my daughter first started eating solid foods she tried - and loved - anything and everything (with the exception of kiwi). She never had the same thing twice in one week. From fish to chicken, casseroles and quiche, her tastes in food were as diverse as they come. Then something happened ... she became a "toddler." Gone were the days of eating sweet potatoes, summer squash and chicken (save the deep-fried nugget variety). As she gets closer to age 2, my husband and I are faced with an even pickier eater, who refuses to even try foods she once loved and who seems satisfied eating a daily diet consisting of some variety of hot dogs, chicken nuggets, pizza and peas and carrots. Does this describe life at your dinner table too? How have …
Monday, August 15, 2011
I know, the kids have been home for three months, I should be going crazy right?
I’ve been ignoring the barrage of weekly discounts touting back-to-school must-have deals. I want to fold my arms, stomp my feet and yell, "I…Don’t…Want…Summer…To…End!" I know, the kids have been home for three months, I should be going crazy right? I’ll admit, I had my hair-pulling moments during the past couple of months and school starting means savings at the supermarket but I’m apprehensive about September for a number of reasons. September will bring an avalanche of change to our lives. My eldest, who turned five in April, will be attending kindergarten. I am actually still in denial that my child has been on this earth for half a decade -- I feel old. As if that weren’t enough, the school he's attending is located in a completely …
Thursday, July 14, 2011
A picture could never capture the true beauty or essence of a thing nor could a video.
A picture could never capture the true beauty or essence of a thing, nor could a video. It is just a snap shot of a moment in case our memories, the true cinematic wonder, should fail us. These words I thought as I watched my children sleep and pondered taking their picture. I wanted to capture the essence of how I felt but I realized that it never could or would happen. Looking at a picture could serve as a refresher to stir those feelings up inside but capture that moment truly? No. For my son, that picture would show a curly haired, sleeping boy nestled inside of his sheet appearing to have “dreams of sweet nothing dancing in his head." It wouldn’t show the inquisitive, focused, loving, breathing, sweet, shy and sometimes stubborn, …
Thomas Cornick
7:50 am on Sunday, December 16, 2012
The media is doing their level best to desensitize children to this tragedy with their all Newtown all the time format. more ›