GenParenting

Parenting resources for all who love and care for children

How Covid Affected Student Learning – Part 1

How Covid Affected Student Learning – Part 1

The Week of March 4th, 2019

The country had been going crazy with the politics of President Trump. Protesters were wreaking havoc in cities. Random fires were being set. A real threat to our safety was felt throughout the neighborhood, school, and home.

My first experience/awareness of the panic with COVID-19 was a routine Thursday evening trip to Costco. The parking lot was full like it was a day in December getting close to the holiday season. We could barely find a place to park. The store was packed and buzzing with people. This is super unusual for Thursdays. The main reason I shopped on that day of the week was because it was not packed. On this particular Thursday you could find some people masked while shopping. [Read more…]

How Parents Support Their Children’s Milestone Activities

How Parents Support Their Children’s Milestone Activities

Guest blogger P J Caposey described his daily challenges in teaching his kids how to manage their laundry. Should we give them access to the washer and dryer at age seven or wait until they’re teens? This is a dilemma parents have struggled with for generations.

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Parenting an Athlete

Parenting an Athlete

by P J Caposey, Guest Blogger

I have a confession to make . . .

My oldest son was in fourth grade. I was a Superintendent of Schools in the neighboring district to where he was being raised and I previously served as principal in the district he was attending and in the same building as his youth basketball game was taking place. [Read more…]

Washer and Dryer Dilemma

Washer and Dryer Dilemma

by P J Caposey, Guest Blogger

I often use this question when speaking to educators, but it applies (perhaps even more directly) to parents as well.

At what age should children start doing their own laundry?

I would argue that the earliest a child could start doing their own laundry is as soon as they can read and safely reach all of the appropriate buttons, soaps, and other necessary components to running a washer and dryer. I assert that a child should start doing their own laundry commensurate with the skills and lessons you are intending to teach them. Context matters. [Read more…]

Purposeful Parenting and Ovecoming Challenges

Purposeful Parenting and Overcoming Challenges

Guest blogger Erik Youngman’s blogs on purposeful parenting and learning from challenges embrace the following ten practical approaches to parenting:

  1. Through positive, patient, and purposeful problem-solving, parents can model effective limit setting for their children. This includes clearly defined boundaries and goals for daily living.
  2. Parents incorporate play in project-based learning activities at home. These may include messy art projects, science explorations, performing arts, creative writing, and sports.
  3. Children are encouraged to ponder and creatively reflect on their various learning activities for continuous improvement and growth.
  4. Kids learn to pivot and respond resiliently to life’s great adventures and challenges.
  5. Parents encourage their children to embrace and learn from mistakes and challenges.
  6. Children effectively manage daily challenges through time management and understanding their family’s clearly defined boundaries.
  7. Parents help their children overcome difficulties by modeling effective problem-solving skills and encouraging new skill development.
  8. When students own their learning challenges, they identify how they can overcome learning and skill development difficulties and ask for help for added guidance.
  9. Children are inspired to do their best through resourceful goal setting and self-self-assessments.
  10. When parents collaborate with their children’s teachers, they can help their children ask deliberate questions, model through example, and encourage classmate support.

[Read more…]