Hey, my teenage sons -- it’s time for your old man to give you a little more unwanted advice. I know the two of you are soon to start your sophomore year of high school and don’t really care for “words of wisdom” and that sort of crap; I can dig that. I also know that you are built on strong moral and intellectual foundations – cool. You are trusted and respected by the adults around you and in your peer group – well done. However … You have been thrown into the most manic of maelstroms and the weirdest of worlds teenagers have faced in a very long time. Nothing is even close to the way it … [Read more...]
‘Mind the Gap’ Pandemic Creates to Reframe Your Kids’ Lives
I first heard (and read) the phrase “mind the gap” back in college, when I was lucky enough to study abroad in London. It was written on the subway platforms to warn riders to be careful as they step over the small gap between the edge of the platform and the floor of the train. That “gap” is an apt metaphor for the unavoidable (dis)location we’ve all fallen into now. Even for the still healthy and employed, the COVID-19 pandemic is a gap writ large, more like a canyon between our “before” lives on the platform and whatever comes “after” we arrive in a post-pandemic world. As we continue to … [Read more...]
Disability Rights Movement Can Inform Today’s Parenting
July 26, 2020, will mark the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination based on disability. Earlier this year, my teen daughters and I watched a powerful new documentary available on Netflix called Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution. The film explains how the disability rights movement evolved across decades. Though Crip Camp was released before the recent Black Lives Matter protests, its themes have much to teach parents at this critical cultural moment. The documentary focuses on Camp Jened, a 1971 summer camp for teens with disabilities. Many … [Read more...]
Video Games Bond Fathers, Sons Through the Generations
These are the words every father must say at some point in his life. “Don’t worry about your schoolwork. This is more important.” My 12-year-old puts aside his math and follows me into the living room. I sit on the couch and hand him the second player game controller. He smiles. Game on, bitches. “OK, Dad. Where are you at?” he asks, a touch of superiority in his voice. I don’t like him to see me in a moment of weakness, and I have to remind myself that there is no shame in showing emotion. “It’s the cave, son. I can’t get past the cave.” “On it.” And like that, we jump into one of … [Read more...]
Homeschooling Schedule Issues: Too Ambitious vs. Too Lenient
Homeschooling is here indefinitely, and there's lots of logistics to consider. The biggest for many of us being how to make sure that the kids are learning, and that their homeschooling schedule meshes with our own home/work schedule. We attempted to have our 11-year-old son follow an academic schedule of sorts at the start. That worked a little, but there was so much crying and whining and "NO, I can't possibly use THAT pencil!" that I'm not sure how we are going to survive. Here was our original homeschooling schedule, the idea was for 25-minute segments with 15 minutes for resting. It … [Read more...]
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