Last night, I accompanied Ben to a meeting for boys interested in playing high school basketball this winter. Whoa – what a throwback for me! And what an incredible experience to be the parent in the crowd, listening to a coach, who sounded oddly familiar – almost as though he once sat through one of my own long ago pre-season meetings… Continue reading
Archive | Dealing with Adolescents RSS feed for this section
You Tell Me the Difference….
20 MayWhat’s the Difference Between a First Grade Group of Boys and an Eighth Grade Group of Boys? Continue reading
The UP Side of Living with Teenagers
12 MarIn the past several weeks, I have been with lots and lots of teens and their parents – a ski trip up north with few other families, a trip down south with my cousins, their children and their friends, a couple of basketball games and some family dinners with close friends. Continue reading
Melancholy….For a Minute
16 NovFrom June 2012…
I’ve never been overly sentimental about most things – I haven’t saved every single pair of my kids’ shoes since birth (are you reading this, Amy?), I have kept only a handful of art projects (actually, if you saw them, you’d know why), a smattering of the interesting school papers, stories, tests and projects (is it bad that I only saved the ones that got A’s?) and a few of Ben’s favorite books or stuffed animals. I also am not one for anything but high school and college graduations – these pre-school, kindergarten, 3rd grade, 5th grade, 8th grade ceremonies kill me! The most Ben gets as a ‘present’ for completing a grade (which is required, by the way) is maybe a package of double-stuffed Oreo’s. I sometimes feel bad that I’m not that gushy mom, but not bad enough to weep over it. Continue reading
Monday Memorandum #5
26 NovFive more points from TCC’s Parent-Teacher Partnership Skills Session
“Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
Albert Einstein Continue reading
The Simplicity of Adolescent Behavior
23 OctWhile listening to the radio the other day, I heard an expert in pre-teen and teen behavior explain to the listening audience what goes on in the minds of adolescents as they are pushing our buttons and being obstinate, obnoxious, rude or disrespectful. She was relaying what she routinely articulates to kids and their parents when they come to see her as an adolescent psychologist. Her explanation went on for five or six minutes. That’s a long time on the radio. I’m betting it would feel like a lifetime to a kid sitting in her office, because it occurred to me, that no one could process all those fancy words and complex concepts in such a short time. Continue reading
Everyday Mental Preparation
21 OctI was going over some notes for a presentation I’m giving at a coaches conference in a couple of weeks titled: Mental Preparation for Athletes. The main point of my session is for coaches to create a secure practice and team environment where athletes can achieve a desired state of ‘relaxed focus’. Continue reading
Game Day
18 OctI learned the hard way what the power of suggestion could do for kids…
Many years ago, I coached a cheer team that was going after a State Championship repeat. I had been coaching a few years by then, so I should have displayed a bit more grace under pressure, but hadn’t quite learned my lesson yet. Continue reading
Dear Cell Phone Mom #342
12 Sep
Dear Cell Phone Mom #342,
I was behind you in the new drop-off line today. Being the first day back and all, and seeing that our school installed a completely new driveway and entrance-exit procedure, I kind of expected you to do something I hadn’t yet seen you do in the three years we’ve been driving our kids to school at the same time… get off the phone. Continue reading
tccwarmregards 