If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
For me, spring begins when the air fills with the crack of the bat or the snap of a ball hitting a glove. It begins in February, when baseball spring training gets underway. As a parent, my real joy comes from watching Little Leaguers play. I can't wait to root for my kids on the ball field.
The physical risks to football players should be taken with the utmost seriousness, but the more important questions are about what lessons kids are learning about how to define themselves and to relate to one another.
Steering the Republican Party away from its accustomed negativism is an ancient endeavor. Henry Simons, a founder of the ardently free enterprise Chicago School, tried unsuccessfully to do so in the 1930s.
As a child, I was clueless to the level of poverty we were living in. Mom raised us to work as hard as possible at whatever task was before us, be willing to help others in need and be grateful for what we are given... all lessons that made the foundation of who I am today.
It's completely normal want to protect your kids when they come home crying because someone was blatantly mean to them. But isn't it true that dealing with these situations helps build character? And if they can't deal with these situations and only rely on us, aren't we setting them up for failure in the future?
With four kids, money rarely physically stays on my person for more than a minute. It comes directly from the ATM, barely touching down into my wallet, before it goes out to the waiting hands of a retail merchant. I think this is partly because of safety concerns, but also it's also somewhat due to our own gullibility in believing what they really "need."
So I know Yoda is a Jedi Master and all that, but he's got something wrong. One of his most favourite claims -- "Do, or do not. There is no 'try,'" -- has a big hole in it. He's suggesting that if you make enough of an effort to achieve a goal, you should be able to reach that goal. And that if you fail, your effort or conviction was lacking. That certainly hasn't been my reality.
There may be a screen between your family and the online world, but that doesn't mean everyone is protected. When it comes to the web, there are online screen names, cell phone use and GPS to consider. Make sure the kids are safe and secure online with these Internet Safety Tips.
Public concern has been growing about the long-term effects of concussions for athletes, professional and otherwise. Here's how parents of young athlete can best minimize the risk of concussions in contact sports.
These athletes have special stories that make all of these things true. Athletes are role models in the world for a reason and they all have stories to share that should never be untold.
As kids return to school and embark upon a new school sport season, stories like Tracy's have put MTBIs -- as well as other sports-related injuries -- at the center of a debate that asks whether the price of getting hurt for the game is too high.
The point isn't to criticize children. But it's to recognize that self-esteem really, truly comes as the result of achievement -- in the classroom, on the field, at home -- rather than false accomplishments.
Concussions in children and adolescents over 10 years of age are more likely to occur in organized sports than other activities. It is sometimes amazing that our children survive their early childhood.
Wearing his #10 jersey, Heemo is glued to the TV screen watching the Olympics soccer matches. The refugee camp boundaries may confine him physically, but soccer lets him see beyond the end zone to his next goal.
As a parent of a two-year-old boy, the recent public shootings in Toronto have left me shaken. But what they have not done is shake my confidence in our decision to raise a downtown baby.
Does an overnight camp experience still make sense in this competitive, resume-building world? From this psychologist's point of view, the answer is a resounding YES.
