Brian Pacilio was a typical teenager: Busy with sports, school, and friends. But he was not too busy to help out with dinner dishes, do some of the laundry, take out the trash, and keep his bathroom ‘hotel ready.' That’s because for Brian’s mom, Cheryl, it was about more than getting help with housework. It was about helping her son, too. Chores can be an important part of kids’ lives. Not only do tasks at home teach life skills and allow kids to contribute to the running of the household, they also yield benefits that support your child’s academic life.
My kids love animals; especially dogs. We had a wonderful family dog named Charlie (aka Choo Choo) who was hit by a car recently and passed away. As a parent, I felt helpless when my three children cried in my arms at the sudden loss in their lives. It was the first time we had lost a pet with such a tragic ending. I wasn’t sure what to say, other than, “I am so sorry about Choo. I know you miss him. Mommy does, too.”
It’s the worst day of my life,” is a common refrain from my son. When I pick him up from school or an activity, he often starts with a list of what went wrong during his day. For a person who strives to find the positive and keep her sense of humor about life, it can be challenging to parent a child who tends toward the negative. My standard comeback is that he needs to tell me ‘an equal number of positive comments to balance out the negative ones.’ Sometimes this reduces the list of complaints and, at the very least, it teaches him perspective.
Do you ever wonder what life was like for your ancestors? Where did they come from? How did they live? Did their choices have an impact on how you live today? Genealogy, the exploration of your family history, is a pastime for those people who want to make that connection to the generations before them. The hobby that was once associated with retirees and maiden aunts has recently grown again in popularity.
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