GenParenting

Parenting resources for all who love and care for children

Teaching and Parenting Middle Schoolers

Teaching and Parenting Middle Schoolers

Having taught middle schoolers for 10 years, I would say I had the privilege of experiencing and learning all about this this pre-adolescent age group even before my own children reached this stage in life. Whereas most parents would dread the middle-school-aged years, I have enjoyed and still relish my interactions with my own daughter, a 13-year-old middle-schooler. Here are some of the teaching and parenting principles that gave excellent perspective and insight for parenting my own children. [Read more…]

Yikes! My Child Is Struggling with School

Yikes! My Child Is Struggling with School

Winter report cards were just distributed and your child is struggling with various core subjects. Many parents feel overwhelmed when their child is not happy with the daily school routine. The report card may reflect many of these ongoing challenges. To clarify frustrations, consider asking your children these questions:

  • What frustrates you about school?
  • How do you get along with your teacher?
  • What can I do to help you succeed in the classroom?
  • What can you do to improve your relationship with your teacher?
  • What can we do at home to build your learning and resiliency skills?
  • How can we partner with the school to ensure your success?

[Read more…]

Preparing for a New Year of Blogs

Preparing for a New Year of Blogs

I recently decided to return to the classroom to help second grade students learn basic subjects. I am also considering becoming a substitute or long-term part-time teacher for a local school. When I write the blogs and parenting articles for families, I need constant contact with kids and their parents. This challenge has been solved by:

  • Providing workshops on parent education topics for schools and nonprofits serving families and education
  • Distributing reading materials for families at workshops and community fairs
  • Reading to kids and families at local events
  • Demonstrating how kids learn when playing with toys at toy stores and through community presentations
  • Working with teachers and parents in classrooms and modeling how to differentiate learning strategies for children

[Read more…]

A Father’s Story About Teen Suicide

A Father’s Story About Teen Suicide

Jason Reid is a father who lost his 14-year-old-son to suicide 18 months ago. In response to this tragedy, Jason created a website for parents and their children to learn more about suicide help at www.chooselife.org. When learning about this website, I interviewed Mr. Reid to better understand how families can support his mission of ending teen suicide in the United States by 2030. The website contains basic information about teen suicide, the national suicide prevention lifeline phone number at 1-800-273-8255, and website resources at www.suicidepreventionlife.org. [Read more…]

Helping Your Youth Respond to Difficult Situations

Helping Your Youth Respond to Difficult Situations

Now that my kids are ages 10 and 12, they are becoming more aware of politics in the news (like gun violence and gun control) and are even eye-witnesses to social issues (like homelessness). Youth today may even hear of news from other classmates while in the school quad or they may get their news from videos on the internet. With such immediate access to news (fake or not), youth and pre-adolescents may notice they are getting affected by it. As parents, how can we help our children process this new input and respond to it in healthy ways? Here are some tips you may consider: [Read more…]