Featured
Thoughtful Thursday: Requiem for Antwon Rose
Today’s Thoughtful Thursday is dedicated to the memory of Antwon Rose, 17, of East Pittsburgh. Another young black man gunned down by a police officer, shot and killed while running away. What possible harm could a police officer have believed himself to be in from a young man running away from him? In memory of […]
Technology and Our Children: What’s Going On?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released a statement encouraging parents to ban direct screen time (television, movies, and any portable screen device) for children under two years of age. The Academy explained, “This updated policy statement provides further evidence that media — both foreground and background — have potentially negative effects and no known […]
Emotional Training Builds Strong and Resilient Kids
How many times have your heard your child say “Ugh, I can’t get this!” or “This will never work!” and throw down his pencil in dismay? While your first instinct might be to rush over to try to help fix the problem, or to encourage your child by saying “you’re so smart, you can figure […]
Talking with Our Children About Suicide
The recent tragic deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain have made suicide a topic of conversation in the news and across our nation. How are you talking with your children about suicide? GCP has covered this topic over the years (“Are You OK? Focusing on Our Sons’ Mental Health” and “
Figuring Out What’s Next for Ground Control Parenting–With Your Help
It’s time to take stock of where Ground Control Parenting has been and where it is going–with your help. In 2011 I started writing GCP to support and inspire parents raising boys of color. Over the past 7 years I’ve been posting practical information on what works (and what doesn’t) to encourage and inspire our […]
Beat Summer Slide with Summer Stride!
You may have heard about “ summer slide”, where over the summer students can lose two to three months of progress in math and reading and fall behind when they return to school in the fall. But did you know that by the time a student gets to the 5th grade, the summer learning loss […]
Thoughtful Thursday: Blessing the Boats by Lucille Clifton
Hello GCP‘ers! Yes, it has been a while, and while it is not actually Thursday, (let’s call it “Thursday Plus”) here is a lovely Thoughtful Thursday poem for you all, “Blessing the Boats” by the renowned African American poet Lucille Clifton (1936-2010). Born in Depew, New York in 1936, Clifton’s first book of poetry was […]
Take Some Lessons From Jay-Z’s Favorite Teacher
If your child tells you he wants to be a famous rapper, tell him he should be paying lots of attention in English class. In a recent interview with David Letterman, Jay-Z credited his sixth grade English teacher with fueling his love of language: “Her name was Ms. Lowden, and I just loved the class […]
The Many Benefits of Reading Aloud to Very Young Children
Did you know that the many benefits of reading aloud to your child begin from birth? A recent study reported in the New York Times found here shows that reading and playing with young children (ages 0-3) can shape their social and emotional development, in addition to helping them learn language and early literacy skills. […]
Thoughts on the Recent Race/Income Gap Study
When I started this Ground Control Parenting blog years ago to talk about educating and encouraging our black and brown boys it was fueled by a concern about the underachievement of young men of color—a concern I saw evidence of all around me. While many of my black female friends were enjoying successful careers and […]