Today's post comes courtesy of GCP Dad Michael Mayfield, who lives in North Carolina and has two college-aged children. I never envisioned myself married to an incredible woman and having two amazing children. It seemed like too much responsibility. Seems so even now - so much to teach and instill. Too many mistakes were made, and maybe that's why [...]
It is the end of January, the time of year when the winter blahs can settle in for parents as well as children. Especially this year, when the monster flu season is upon us, taking out entire families for days, even weeks at a time. Even if your family has avoided the flu (and congrats if you have), you [...]
Public School 163, an elementary school on the Upper West Side of NYC, has a general student body that is 63 percent Black and Hispanic, 27 percent white and 6 percent Asian. But the demographics are quite different in the school's Gifted and Talented ("G&T") program: 47 percent of the children enrolled in the nine G&T classes are white; [...]
A recent NY Times online article, "The Dicey Parent-Teacher Duet" provides thoughtful commentary from Sara Mosle, a parent who is also a teacher, about how parents and teachers both approach these relationships with trepidation. While everyone agrees that parent involvement is a critical component of a child's success in school, overly involved parents risk interfering with their child's maturation [...]
We are inundated with media coverage of the horrific events in Newtown, Connecticut. A parent's worst nightmare, that a monster is terrorizing and potentially killing their child, has become a reality. We have stared unbelieving at the images of terrified children being led to safety; we have shuddered to try to imagine being one of the parents, one of [...]
Today’s post is from GCP Dad Darrell Williams, Chicagoan and father of a 21-year-old son. Darrell has had a long career in the financial services industry, and currently works at a leading investment firm. Raise your hand if you know what a Nik•Nik is. Anyone? Not even you seriously old school brothers and sisters? A Nik•Nik is a shirt. [...]
"Teenage Bedroom as Battleground", a recent NY Times article found here, offers parents advice on how to cope with their messy teens. Those of you who have figured out how to crack the whip at home so that your teens regularly pick up after themselves around the house and always keep their rooms neat without your intervention, skip to [...]
Am passing on to you all a delightful and witty piece written by a young friend which appeared in today's New York Times' "Motherlode" parenting blog. When Doreen Oliver's 3-year-old son Bug wanted to be a princess for Halloween, Doreen was concerned. Not because he wanted to dress up in a costume usually worn by girls; she could work [...]
The last post introduced the education experts at yesterday's panel discussion, "How All Children Succeed", and noted their focus on the critical role parents play in their children's education. Today's focus is on two other important issues raised in that discussion: Managing Stress and the Benefits of Failure. Managing Stress Having been a practicing child psychiatrist for eighteen years, [...]
"Brooklyn Castle", a documentary opening in NYC on Friday October 19, chronicles a year in the life of the chess team at Intermediate School (I.S.) 318, a middle school in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The I.S. 318 chess teams have won more chess championships over the past decade than any other school in the country. This statistic is even more impressive [...]