Archive - 2019

Back in November, a child at my kids’ middle school was allegedly assaulted with a knife. A group of students had apparently been “playing around” with plastic knives during recess and one of them decided to take his game to the next level: using his weapon on a peer. Where was the adult supervision when this “game” was being played? How did these kids manage to bring knives to school? Two completely valid questions. The answer to the first is yet another question mark. The answer to the second is two-fold. Firstly, these kids didn’t bring knives from home. Rather,…

The kids are back in school and the routine of homework, extracurricular activities, and getting the kids up-and-going begins yet again. Lost somewhere in the course of these busy days is the time to truly connect with our kids. Throw in our own adult obligations, geography, and teenagers who retreat to their rooms immediately upon entering the house, and real interaction with our kids seems futile. So many factors work against parents and grandparents, teachers and anyone else who works with kids, wanting to “be there”. Several years ago I received “150 Ways to Show Kids You Care”, a list…