Parenting resources for all who love and care for children
As our children start exploring various careers, you and your child can research together various career exploration websites by googling questions about specific careers. Included below are two educational articles that discuss the importance of having children consider and explore careers during their middle and high school years:
Being Your Child’s Advocate for School and for LifeThis past academic year was a bumpy one – and that’s putting it mildly! We have encountered so many challenges and obstacles in our family life, in our work world, and in our children’s academic needs. When thinking about all the difficulties that you had to navigate to keep your child’s learning momentum going, I urge you – keep going. Once students return to school in the fall, whether in person, some form of a hybrid program, or heaven forbid a terrible outbreak and distance learning starts again, they will still need you – their parent – to be their advocate. Stand up for what is best for your child, whether by nudging your child gently, or by intervening on their behalf. Here are some ways to continue guiding your children and showing them you care. [Read more…]
Giving Tweens and Teens Freedom with Responsibility“Wash the plate not because it is dirty, nor because you were told to wash it, but because you love the person who will use it next.” – Saint Teresa of Calcutta
When my children were little, they couldn’t wait to tie their shoelaces by themselves. They couldn’t wait to brush their teeth by themselves. And they couldn’t wait to put on their clothes by themselves. Now that they are both in middle school, they can’t wait to use their own credit card, get their driver’s license, own their own car, and live in their own house all by themselves – all of which are out of reach for them at the moment! So how does the transition from childhood to adulthood happen? What should a parent do during the tween and teen years before their kids become a young adult at age 18? [Read more…]
Ways to Get Your Tween or Teen to Talk with YouAsk your tween or teen any question these days, and they are likely to reply with a vague grunt or the nonchalant shoulder shrug. Dare to start a dialogue with them, and you’ll be met with the notorious eye roll, am I right? As difficult as it may seem, children in the tween and teen stage still need positive connections with their parents. Parents need to keep in mind that it may take a few inventive and creative tactics to get that connection started. Don’t give up! Here are a few strategies that have worked for me: [Read more…]
Friends, Silence Makes Us Complicit
In May 2020, George Floyd was killed while in police custody. And while this senseless, callous act was committed between a police officer against a human being, to my great horror, another equally ugly and grievous act was being committed – an Asian police officer stood by and did nothing to stop George Floyd’s death. In response to this act, my cousin rightly pointed out that “it is not ok to stand silently by in quiet solidarity. Friends, silence makes us complicit.” Boy, oh boy, did that last statement hit me like a ton of bricks! It made me realize that for far too long, I had been silent. But as an Asian American, where do I start finding my voice as an ally? How should I start leaning into anti-racism? [Read more…]