Parenting

Guest Post: Your Child’s First Elementary Teacher

| Patti Webb

It’s been a couple weeks since our kids started school. This is the first time my twins and Mary’s son are going to “big school” and a lot of stress popped up in some very weird places.

Luckily, one of my lifelines is my cousin Dani. She is a former elementary and middle school teacher with her Master’s degree in Elementary Education. She has over two decades of experience working with kids of all ages and in multi-age environments. Again, hooray for having a super-accomplished inner circle.

We gave her some questions about helping kids with their first couple days back at school, and things parents may overlook.

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Child(ish) Reads: Thirty Million Words

| Patti Webb

This book appeared on my radar earlier this year. Author Dana Suskind, M.D. just came out with a new title, Parent Nation: Unlocking Every Child’s Potential, Fulfilling Society’s Promise, and this was one of her previous books listed in her bio. Thirty Million Words was available from my library, so I gave it a try on a work trip in April.

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Motion Sickness and the Vestibular System

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

To get anywhere, we have to move; relying on forms of transportation to get us from point A to point B. However, it’s easier said than done when you’re a parent. Some kids don’t do well with movement outside of their control, including travel by car, boat, or even using the elevator. Thus, we get the ever-dreaded…motion sickness.

Motion sickness occurs when there’s conflicting information between what the eyes are seeing and what the body is experiencing. This can happen when we attempt to read a book while riding in a car, or experience turbulence while on a plane, or having “sea legs” after getting off a boat to name a few.

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Family Values on Vacay

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

Family vacations can be a gift or a curse. In our last post, we shared how a trip with the kids can prove to be equally a gift and a hassle, especially if you’re not prepared and basing expectations on a previous double-income-no-kids lifestyle.

But, please don’t be discouraged. Family vacations are definitely worth the investment. We’re planning a family beach trip later this summer, and it’s already created a positive shift around the house.

Research shows that family vacations provide so many benefits for both you and your kids. Let’s break it down.

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When a vacation is not

| Patti Webb

After my Worst Day Ever, I am very familiar with when a family vacation is more of a gauntlet. 
One of my close friends even imparted that if you are traveling with kids, it’s a trip; not a vacation. The element of “relaxation” that we take vacations for can be non-existent. 

Being a frequent traveler since I was a child, it was very important to me to expose the girls to new places from an early age. Being comfortable on a plane, trying new foods, seeing nature in its different forms; it’s a big priority for us. We’ve taken the girls on a handful of big trips since they were born, but honestly, none of them have been relaxing. 

Beach trips, road trips, family trips; while they all are an escape from our professional jobs, it’s really just 24/7 parenting in a new location.

So here are some things to keep in mind to help you prepare for the additional turbulence that comes with little kids on vacation.

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