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Getting to the Heart of Parenting...

1
Giving Thanks for Life’s Little Surprises
2
How Can I Get My Kids to Clean Their Rooms?
3
A Call for Unity That Makes Sense
4
How Much Allowance Should I Give My Kids?
5
Live and Learn: When Your Child’s Vaccines Go Badly
6
It’s not Weakness, it’s Depression
7
It’s Flu Season: Can We Still Get the Nasal Flu Vaccine?
8
When Parents Behave Badly
9
Homeschooling Ups and Downs: the First Five Weeks
10
What Do I Do If My Child is Afraid of Shots?

Giving Thanks for Life’s Little Surprises

Our Thanksgiving adventure began before we even left the house. The night before we were to leave we learned our flight would be delayed by four hours. When that time was extended to seven, we knew we would have an unexpected overnight in Denver. As fate would have it, this layover became the fall getaway we never had time to take. We got to stay in a hotel with our kids, no obligations until the next morning, and an evening full of fun (restaurant food!  pool time!) awaited us, all expenses paid by the airline. We completely underestimated the accommodations…

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How Can I Get My Kids to Clean Their Rooms?

I don’t get it.  How did we miss this when we bought our house?  More importantly, how did the home inspector miss it? There are no floors in my kids’ bedrooms. Ok, that’s not entirely true.  One of my boys does have a bedroom floor…and it’s carpeted!  However, his closet floor is lost beneath a teetering mountain of camping gear, books on pet care, and remote control cars.  But my daughter and older son…nope, no floors.  My daughter’s room is Party Central, and everything from clothes to dolls to crafts cavort in a happy, wild mix.  It’s like her closet…

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A Call for Unity That Makes Sense

Well.  What a week.  I had another topic to post but given the historic nature of last Tuesday, it just didn’t seem natural to go ahead like nothing has happened. None of us is untouched by the events of the last week, and many of us are feeling mentally and emotionally tapped.  But I promise you that this post is not politically charged; it’s not my purpose to use pulseonparenting to spread propaganda.  My site is intended for every parent, left- or right-wing.  It is meant for mothers and fathers and guardians, stay-at-home parents and parents who have careers outside…

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How Much Allowance Should I Give My Kids?

Guess my husband and I have been paying our kids sweatshop wages.  It’s not intentional, but with three kids, weekly allowance is a noticeable expense.  And right now, my husband and I do pay for all their needs.  So how much money do kids really need in their wallets? More than we are paying out.  There are definite clues the amount of money we provide is not enough.   For example, their birthday “windfall”  is so scorching hot it doesn’t have a chance to burn holes in their pockets; they spend it that fast.   And my son wants an…

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Live and Learn: When Your Child’s Vaccines Go Badly

Talk about a royal tank.  Worse than a tank, actually, a royal disaster.  Maybe I jinxed it by blogging about it a few weeks ago.  Because my poor son has resolved to never, ever, set foot in the pediatrics office again.  That’s how badly his appointment for a flu shot went down. In my time as a physician assistant, I worked in two different family practice settings.  In both, we provided vaccines to children.  Our medical assistants were skilled at giving multiple shots to even the most fearful of kids.  There wasn’t a swirl of activity and dialogue around “shot anxiety.”  The…

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It’s not Weakness, it’s Depression

I’m out of the loop on this one.  Is depression taboo?  Or is it “en vogue?”  I’ve heard it’s “trendy.”  (Really?)  My doctor’s opinion:  the social status of a depression diagnosis is generational…as in whether you’re Gen X or Gen Y.  I’ll take her word for it.  But here’s what I know: If anyone I’m close to is depressed, it’s hidden pretty well. And, Depression is real. Maybe it’s because my generation is  “X,” or maybe it’s just me, but feeling “blue” is confusing.  It’s a frustrating, unscalable boundary.  As in:  This can’t stop me, I’m too busy for this!…

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It’s Flu Season: Can We Still Get the Nasal Flu Vaccine?

Darn.  We really liked that one.  My shot-fearing son finally caught a break.  And with a vaccine he has to get annually (yay!).   A few years ago, after growing out of mild asthma he was finally eligible for the “up-the-nose” flu** vaccine (FluMist), alongside his brother and sister.  One less needle, one less time he could proclaim “No fair!” when it came to his siblings. Well, now “No fair” is in triple harmony this fall.  And I don’t blame my kids one bit. Because of recent news regarding the FluMist vaccine, our pediatrician’s office will not be offering it this…

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When Parents Behave Badly

Go with your gut. These four simple words guide me more often than not these days.  When I hear them in my head, I listen.  I never gave this advice much thought until a few months ago, when I read Valerie Gangas’ book, Enlightenment is Sexy, in which she talks about transforming her empty, rat-race life into a life of true fulfillment (and transcendental meditation).  One of her first pieces of advice was Go with your gut. Not that I feel I need a complete life makeover, but I decided to practice this particular mantra first before I took a meditation…

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Homeschooling Ups and Downs: the First Five Weeks

  Many people have asked, “How’s homeschooling going?”  And my usual response is, “It’s had its ups and downs.”  I’m not one to sugar-coat or complain a lot but I’ll admit my urge is to respond, “Well, we haven’t killed each other yet.”  My boys would certainly like to, but instead, they get to write essays about why they trash talk and fight during school.  The silver lining?  More writing practice. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get frustrated and show it.   I’d be lying if I said my daughter didn’t have her moments as well.  But…

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What Do I Do If My Child is Afraid of Shots?

Shots are a real pain for everyone.  Unfortunately some of us have an intense reaction, called a vasovagal response, to receiving vaccinations and pass out at the sight (or the mere thought) of a syringe and needle.  Heart rate and blood pressure tank.  Blood flow to the brain tanks.  And thud, fainting occurs and there’s a call for smelling salts.  (But I think those are only used in black-and-white movies…) My son is deathly afraid of his vaccinations.  He doesn’t go vasovagal, though.  I  hate to say it, but I kinda wish he did.  Because he is an otherwise 100-pound, very determined and…

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