admin, Author at Mothering in the Middle

Meditation for Mothers

Now

No matter what the clock says, the only time is Now. That beautiful smile on your little one’s face is Now, so don’t miss it. The inquisitive eyes, the questions about love and babies, are happening Now, so don’t put them off. Your teenager is asking your advice Now, and for all you know, it may be the first and last time it happens. This moment with this child on this day will never come around again. So revel in the Now – and in every Now that’s bound to follow. Focus your attention on this moment, this book, this child, this stormy night – not on what you’re going to take to the dry cleaners tomorrow. Bring your presence to this scraped knee, to this picture of a pony, to this exquisite human connection right Now – not to a replay of the blowup you had yesterday with the man in accounting. Every time you retreat to the past or the future, you’re certain to miss what is Now.

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Tips for Going Back to School: Sexting and Parenting in the Digital Age

Rosemary Lichtman, Ph.D. and Phyllis Goldberg, Ph.D.

Are you concerned that your teens are back to risky behaviors on the Internet – sending inappropriate sexual pictures and texts on their cell phones? If so, you’re not alone. A recent survey of parents with children between the ages of 10 and 18 found their number one worry was not school shootings, bullying or grades, but sexting. Nearly half said their child had received some kind of racy message or image in the past. And with impulsive teens not fully grasping the gravity of their actions, many are hitting ‘send’ before they consider the consequences of their actions. […]

Truth About Consequences: Letting Children Learn from Reality

by Linda Anderson Krech

“If we allow a child to experience the consequence of his acts, we provide an honest and real learning situation.” Rudolf Dreikurs, M.D.

There we were — my four year old daughter and I, along with her twin friends and their mom, waiting with antsy anticipation for the small-town extravaganza parade to begin in Vermont’s sweet little town of Bristol. We had arrived at the town green an hour early due to a misprint in the local newspaper calendar and had spent about 45 minutes swinging, sliding, and spinning around the gazebo and playground. Energy was high, spirits were even higher, and all was well until . . . my daughter began the look-at-what-a-brat-I-can-be performance. […]

Word of the Day

Moisturizer.

The Oldest Kindergartener

by Andrea Lynn

Last week, I walked my daughter to her first day of kindergarten. We did all the typical first-day things, the new backpack, the special outfit, lots and lots of photos on our front steps, the Facebook share of that first-day-of-kindergarten moment in time. It joined my newsfeed of other first-day at school photos from friends – including the “first day at university” photo of a friend and his daughter, smiling from a lecture hall on a leafy campus. My friend is exactly my age – 40. And while I acknowledge I got started a little late on this whole parenting thing, it still boggles my mind that someone I went to high school with 22 years ago is driving his kid to a far-flung college campus while I walk my 4 year old down the street to kindergarten. Another friend touring university campuses with her daughter exclaimed: “How did this happen so fast?!” My reply as I prepared for kindergarten: “How did this happen so slow?” […]

Perrie Meno-Pudge

http://perriemenopudge.com

Six Ways to Beat the Blues

by Phyllis Goldberg, Ph.D. and Rosemary Lichtman, Ph.D.

Your thoughts are mental products although they don’t necessarily reflect an absolute reality. However, for you, they do represent how you feel. Some people can’t help but wear their hearts on their sleeves. Others are more able to manage their emotions and function as if everything is fine. […]

Stretching the Start of Motherhood

by Susan Newman

“This is a good article about why, in terms of fertility, it is not a wise idea to wait,” wrote a commenter in response to The Ideal Age to Have a Baby. However, a new study shows that the likelihood of having a baby after 40 is quite good.

Yes, you can reverse your biological clock. For so many reasons, we all can’t—and don’t—have our babies in our 20s and early 30s. In response to my post, 40 is the New 20 for Having Babies, here is one of several similar comments that explain why many of us come to motherhood later: “I think everyone’s situation is unique. I think if I had a time machine and could have met my husband when I was in my mid to late 20’s, we would have had 2-3 children by the time I was 35. But life doesn’t work that way. I am so blessed to have our son and, yes, even at 41, we are considering another child probably also requiring IVF.” […]

2012 Financial Checkup

Believe it or not, more than one-half of 2012 is over. That means it’s time for a financial checkup. Tax preparer Mike Johnson, EA ATP, owner of Money Matters (MN & ND), says a mid-year financial review is critical for families to reach their financial goals. […]

Eating Crow (Or, How to Ingest the Reality of Getting Older)

by Valerie Gillies

“In the course of my life, I have often had to eat my words, and I must confess that I have always found it a wholesome diet” – Sir Winston Churchill

I have long fancied myself to be a natural woman. Having worn denim for a larger percentage of my days than all other fibers combined, never having changed the color of my hair, succeeding in four unmedicated childbirths (like it was some sort of contest), remembering with grimaced face the few times I have been peer-pressured into manicures. For over 50 years, I have run pretty much on my own steam, glorifying in how well this machine was holding up, how tough and independent I could be. Well, baby, it’s now time for me to take her in for the 50,000 mile checkup, and I’m not liking it. […]

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