Photo of the day

Happy summer! When does school start? :)

Back to School Survival Guide

Here is a link to the Ann Arbor Family Back to School Guide. Whether you want to stock up on school supplies, or help inspire your child to learn, the guide has tips and advice for back-to-school success.

Summer Reads—Mystery Monday

Here's a quick list for Mystery Monday. 

Hungry for a cozy mystery? Red Velvet Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke. This is #16 of the Hannah Swensen series.

The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg.

Untraceable by Laura Griffin. There is action of all kinds in the first of the Tracers romance mystery series.

Understanding infantile amnesia

Here's a recent article I wrote for Metro Parent. It makes a lot of sense now and I see the benefit of forgetting those early childhood memories. So, here's the link, area parents should also be able to get it on stands through the end of the month. The byline is correct in print, I think they're fixing it online, too. 

Summer Reads—Family Friday

Today’s list includes picks for adults and children. Try something new or share a classic.

The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids, One Meal at a Time by Laurie David and Kirstin Uhrenholdt. As a proponent of family time, family meals and cooking with kids, I recommend this: get and keep an easy to use cookbook or a file of family recipes, then cook up a meal with your kids. Tell them a story, or just teach them the math behind measuring—it can be a great experience. Mangia!

It’s Mine by Leo Lionni. If your kids have got the end-of-summer crazies going on, grabbing for each other’s stuff, try this classic. It might help teach them a little about helping and sharing.

Better Read Than Dead by Victoria Laurie. The second book in the Psychic Eye series. This one traces the work of a psychic intuitive with mysteries and murders to solve. It's a little something fun for the adults.

SYOAS! See you online again soon!

Summer Reads—Mystery Monday

Here are a couple books to start your week off right. Especially if you like mystery and intrigue.

Everywhere that Mary Went by Lisa Scottoline. This book is an Edgar Award nominee (a big deal in the mystery genre), and the first of a successful legal thriller series.  

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. 10 strangers lured by a mysterious host, none able to leave.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. I still love this book about a Harvard symbologist pulled into an international thriller. It’s well written, and the researched theories and pace make it hard to put down.

SYOAS-See you online again soon!

Bullying, Jen Aniston and Why We Need to Do More

This Babble post by Jessica Cohen is one of the best I've seen on bullying. She explains it happens between adults, but she also points out something more important. 

"How can we be trying to raise a generation of children who don’t bully others and who speak out against bullying, when we (generally speaking) are being so hypocritical?"

Thank you for saying this Jessica! 

I may have hesitated to read this because of some recent buzz about Jennifer Aniston saying something or other about us ladies not being happy for some reason or other and how she feels it's our own fault or something. But, I was so glad I read it. 

Too often we try to tell our kids "Do as I say, not as I do." Well, how are they supposed to learn anything different, if we keep sending them wrong messages like this one? There are some instances where we do need to have some leeway as parents, but bullying should not be one of them. So, be nice for goodness sake! Or, at least take mama's advice and don't say anything at all if you can't keep from saying something berating or belittling. 

Why we need to do more. I saw a news clip of a recent incident on a Florida school bus. Three kids pummeling a 13-year-old boy and I wanted to reach through the screen and stop it, but I couldn't. It already happened. Why did these kids act out? Why didn't the bus driver stop it? How can we stop this kind of stuff? Soap box, I know. But, I don't ever want to put my kid on a school bus now. Ever! 

How can we help? I don't know other than to say, be kind. Smile more. Pay attention to your children (she says as the baby is rising from a nap, so I have to walk the walk here and sign-off soon). Be interested in them and what they're doing, who their friends are and what is going on in their lives. I hope I can look back on this in the future and say it helped me to realize these are the times when good parents and parenting are needed most. Maybe we can be the change we wish to see in the world, as I think Gandhi said. Goodness has to start somewhere. Live it. Teach it. Be it. Hug your children and show them you care. 


Has Grown-Up Bullying Become a Sport? by Jessica Cohen on Babble