Baby, it has been very cold outside for much of the U.S. this week. So on this Thoughtful Thursday we were inspired to look for poems about the chill of winter. Along the way we found a beautiful poem by Robert Hayden, "Those Winter Sundays". While its title and some of its vibrant imagery evoke winter's chill, at the [...]
Happy New Year! In this our third year of operation, we are going to mix it up a bit. In addition to posting longer one subject articles chock full of info, GCP will be doing quick posts of interesting bits--news items, parenting things to think about, etc.--on a more regular basis. The goal is to post more regularly, and [...]
On this last day of 2013, our thoughts here at GCP turn to what New Year's resolutions we can make about parenting. We've come up with one resolution, which we hope everyone will make: To be focused, conscientious parents in 2014. Sounds good, but the important part of this resolution is figuring out how you will take it to [...]
Season's Greetings, Everyone! This being the last Thoughtful Thursday before Christmas, we bring to you three Christmas poems by very well known poets. Maya Angelou read her poem "Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem" at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree at the White House on December 1, 2005. "Carol of the Brown King", and "Shepherd's Song at Christmas", [...]
Incredibly, we are but a handful of days away from Christmas. If you haven't finished your shopping for the young ones, you may want to consider some of the guidelines and gift idea suggestions below. (Please don't tell us if you've already finished; we don't want to hear how organized and together you are. But if you are that [...]
By now you all have probably heard the sad news that Nelson Mandela passed away today at 95. Today we mourn the passing of the father of modern South Africa who was, as President Obama reminded us in his statement made just a few minutes ago, "one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any [...]
With Thanksgiving but a few days away, we focus on gathering with our families and being thankful. In preparation for the holiday, children are encouraged in school to think about what they are thankful for, and often families will encourage everyone around the table to say what they are thankful for as they sit down to dinner. But what [...]
This is a stressful time of year for parents who are focused on the application process for their sons' schooling. Whether our sons are applying to pre-school, elementary, junior high, high school or college, we parents are intimately involved in the process, and trying desperately not to freak out about some aspect (or all aspects) of it. Getting your [...]
Any parent of a boy and a girl will quickly tell you that there are many developmental differences between the sexes that are evident almost from birth (apart from the obvious physical ones). We recently ran across an interesting article from Eleanor Reynolds, author of a series of books on guiding young children, which suggests that mothers should acknowledge [...]
Navigating those parent teacher conferences for our sons in the lower grades can be really stressful if there are behavior issues to discuss. We ran across these helpful tips for a successful parent teacher conference for parents of younger children with behavior issues from "What Did My Son Do Now?", an article in Early Childhood News, and want to [...]