When people ask me where I’m from I say “Palos Verdes.” It’s where I did most of my growing up and it’s where I come back to when I’m feeling nostalgic. It’s also the place I idealize in my head when I’m feeling down and start dreaming of the good life. The truth though [...]
It’s a pretty obvious revelation; of course kids experience stress when their families are going through financial hardship. But, as scientists like to do, there has been research into this obvious fact. Our current recession has caused worry in almost half of children aged 13 to 17 (American Psychological Association); they say they’re “more [...]
I‘ve done it, folks. I’ve written an article for Ron Mattocks over at ClarkKent’sLunchbox.com. It’s about courage and standing up for yourself, setting an example for your kids and not regretting your life when you’re old and shriveled. I thought the subject of courage would be a good one considering the title of Ron’s blog. [...]
It’s a good policy even if you don’t have kids; always keep your promises. There’s a big problem though. Promises can’t always be kept. Sometimes you try your best and you still come up short. Kids notice when you flake out and let them down. They also notice when you’ve tried your best and [...]
My boy asked me yesterday if I would buy him a cigarette. I said “Of course not, doofus. Why in the heck do you want a cigarette?” With perfect deadpan timing Neil replied, “Because I want to be a cowboy.” That left me scratching my head because I do not recall having seen a [...]
I‘m still not ready to let my boys camp outside in the back yard by themselves (even if we had a back yard). But, I can let them camp in the basement. Two days ago we set up the tent, gave them some flashlights and a few movies (really roughing it) and let them sleep alone in [...]
I‘m not overly thrilled about arena and stadium sports in general, but once in a while they’re fun. We haven’t been to any since we lived in Texas right next to the Ballpark in Arlington (Texas Rangers). Neil got to experience several games which I think he remembers, but Alan has yet to experience [...]
Did you know there’s an under 6 category at the US Kids Golf World Championship? There’s also an 8 and under basketball tournament sponsored by the Amateur Athletic Union. An estimated 35 million American kids participate in some kind of organized athletics. My own two kids participate in organized gymnastics (not that there’s [...]
Neil (my 7 year old) has just started to take showers unsupervised. By unsupervised I mean that I’m in the next room and ask him how he’s doing every 2 minutes. I have to admit that the boy seems proud of his newfound responsibility, and he’s been trying his best to step up to [...]
I hear a lot of people say that once they had kids their lives changed dramatically. They talk about how their priorities changed and how things suddenly became much harder – time, money, sleep. Occasional I even hear people say what a mistake they think they made by having a family, that they [...]
Doctors at Addenbrookes hospital in Cambridge seem to think they’ve hit upon a probably solution. 4% of British kids suffer from peanut allergies. The treatment the doctors think works involves gradually desensitizing peanut allergic schoolchildren via a yogurt and peanut flour mixture taken daily. To start 1 milligram of flour is mixed with a small [...]
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