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The joys and stressors of being a parent in Potomac.If your child is on the Internet, psychopathic predators have a pathway into your home. That is basically the message U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein gave parents last Friday, when he held a press conference to warn parents to closely monitor where their children surf and to report potential threats. Warnings and worries about kids and technology are nothing new, but increasingly I am becoming a parent who is a big believer in how easily technology can take over our kids’ lives if we let it. Sure, it’s about safety — online enticement of kids is getting worse, and the kids are getting younger. …
It’s that time of year again: the azaleas blooming, kids are breaking out the shorts, and we’re heading out on after-dinner dog walks to enjoy the days staying lighter a little bit later. And it’s May, which also means elementary school parents are often inundated with school-year-end drama performances, chorus shows, poetry reading nights, art shows, pool club payments, camp carpool preparations and much more. This month also means thinking about the next school year coming up – PTA board elections, people asking parents to chair future committees, recommit to events or sign up to run …
I bought myself a nice shiny green new bike about 11 years ago, all excited to spend hours riding along the C&O Canal. I had a great Saturday morning ride from Glen Echo to Georgetown. The bike never moved again. I realized I was pregnant. For some reason, I was scared to ride the bike in fear I’d hurt the baby. I never took it out as my kids grew older, letting their dad teach them to get rid of their training wheels and worried the paths would be too crowded for new riders. Then suddenly, last month, as that baby of mine nears his tenth birthday, I dusted off the bike and headed out …
Last October, in one of my first Parenting in Potomac columns, I wrote about parents encouraging (and worrying about) their kids’ independence on our suburban streets. In that column I talked about how an 8-year-old boy had caught my eye when I was driving home from work. He was alone, on a bike, with a cell phone in one hand and a grip on the bike’s handlebar with the other. I was interested, concerned and curious. Was he old enough to be out biking alone? Shouldn’t he have both hands on the handlebars? Was he in danger doing his cell phone while “driving?” Or was this the smartest …
For moms like me who work at full-time office jobs, keeping current on what my kids are doing in their elementary school classrooms can be a real challenge. I can’t really volunteer to spend time helping out in my sons’ classrooms, whether it’s setting up for a party or running an art project. But, this year, I can go online anytime and learn what’s going on through their teachers’ websites. Not only can I see this week’s homework assignments and pictures from recent class events, I can gain insight into what my kids may be actually saying and get some scoop into what’s on their minds. One …
For five years, I never paid attention to school lunch menus at my sons’ elementary school. By fourth grade, my oldest son had still never asked to buy lunch. Though I dreaded taking three minutes each morning to make his lunch, I found it reassuring to know exactly what he would have. Also, drawing on my childhood memories, I longed to make him smile at noon when he opened his brown bag and found an unexpected Hostess Ho-Ho or favorite treat inside, with love from me! It was a little way of staying connected to him during the school day (though I am not sure he saw it that way, I did). …
In the rush to get to Suburban Hospital’s emergency room last night, flashes of ER trips past rushed through my mind: the time my older son cut his chin when his little brother threw him into a coffee table; the day they hooked my then nine-month old up to an IV to combat dehydration. This time, I was the patient. It was a lot less scary now that it was me, the parent, and not my kid. At first. In pain on my lower right side, I had a feeling it was my appendix. A quick call to my mom in Chicago confirmed my instinct to go right to the hospital in case it was an appendix about to burst. …
My kids often shake their heads in amazement whenever I say “When I was a kid, I didn’t have ... cell phones, computers, Wii, video on demand, Nintendo DSis …” and a dozen other things luckily part of their everyday lives. In fact, it’s hard to find things that haven’t changed, except for the tried and true Valentine’s Day class party. For once, a school memo comes home I can relate to. Class parties are coming up for Valentine’s Day, and if you bring in a valentine for one classmate, you must bring in a valentine for all classmates. We will participate, of course, just like when I was a kid…
The cold, windy blasts of January remind us spring is still quite a ways off. When families don’t have time to get away for the day to go skiing or snow tubing, what’s a parent to do to keep kids entertained? Before everyone goes bouncing off the walls with boredom (or Wii overdoses) from staying in the house, here are some great local things you may not have thought of: Open Gym at Potomac Community Center. Did you know that Potomac Community Center holds open gym hours several times a week? Sports-loving kids will enjoy the regulation size gym, which includes basketball, volleyball and …
I can’t wait to go to Wine Harvest, a recent addition to the retail shops at Park Potomac near Seven Locks and Montrose Road – and I’ll tell you why. I haven’t been there yet, but I am excited about it. It sounds like a place has finally arrived in Potomac that offers residents in their thirties and fourties a place to find a seat, meet for a drink and hang out in an interesting atmosphere. In the seven years I’ve lived in Potomac, I’ve spent a lot of time in the courtyard at Potomac Village. I’m thankful it’s there — I’ve enjoyed gathering with friends or family members with a Starbucks …
Families across the Potomac area will ring in the New Year this week. While picking up noisemakers and pouring sparkling apple cider to welcome 2011, I'll also be handing my kids a paper and pencil and asking them to write. No, it's not homework or punishment, it's new year's resolutions – theirs. Almost all my life, and, yes, that means before I was a mom, I have written three New Year's resolutions for myself. Nobody really cares or remembers them, but doing this makes me feel better. Some I remember, some I don't. About three years ago, I wrote: Get fit, get friendly, get published…
I often describe how many Potomac parents (including myself) and kids are overscheduled, with little down time between work and school, household to-dos, kids' after school and evening activities and practices, shopping, carpools, homework and everything else. Maybe that's why, when the snow comes, it's almost a welcome relief. Yes, we have to search for the boots, buy ice melt, and do the mad rush to Giant for food. We have to modify our plans for the day and night based on canceled activities. Basically, we have to run around for a few hours in order to do nothing. But doing nothing is the …
As a Jewish child growing up in the Chicago public schools, I was one of three kids in my grade who celebrated Hanukkah. Through Hebrew school and family celebrations, I learned to embrace Hanukkah's well-known traditions like lighting the menorah, enjoying latkes, playing dreidel and, of course, opening eight nights of gifts. Yet, as all my friends geared up for Christmas – decorating their trees and laying out cookies for Santa – I longed to celebrate Christmas, at least a little bit. Luckily for me, my Christmas-celebrating friends introduced me to their traditions, inviting my parents …
My 9-year-old son used to complain there was "no good food in the house," that he struggled to find the "right pillow" and was, at times, "bored." (Yes, we live in Potomac. He's hardly short on the necessities — or luxuries — of living.) A few months ago, he voiced these complaints one too many times. And I decided to do something about it. For years, I'd said things like "Some kids would be thrilled to have 'fill-in-the-blank,'" or tried to convey he should appreciate what he has – from the comfy bed and soft blankets to the Nintendo DSi and the dozen games to go with it. But it never seemed…
Last weekend across Potomac, many parents breathed a sigh of relief as many fall sports seasons ended and gave way to late fall sports – and an easier, single-sport Saturday schedule. Like many families throughout most of October and early November, my son's sports overlapped, which meant rushing from soccer to football, changing shirts and cleats in the car on the way. And sneaking in a quick snack, for energy (theirs and mine) to sustain us. Some conflicts arose along the way, when two game times started too close to each other, but many kids sports leagues were receptive to moving or …
So many current news stories and studies focus on what age is the right age for kids to have a cell phone. Could this be a case for it? Driving down a side street in Potomac last week, I was startled to see what looked like an 8-year-old boy riding his bike alone and talking on a cell phone. At first I was shocked he would try to do both — balance with one hand on the handlebars and carry on a conversation with the other (talk about "distracted driving"). My next concern centered on the fact that he was alone, out riding without an adult looking after him. Then, I wondered: was he on the …
Driving through Potomac and the surrounding neighborhoods, you can't help but notice all the school construction: a brand-new building for Bells Mill Elementary; the rising structure of what will be a modern Cabin John Middle School and the demolished lot where Seven Locks Elementary School just recently stood. New school buildings excite parents. Yet no solid research proves that student achievement is affected by physical surroundings. I would think some extreme building factors might impact learning, though. Certainly kids who have to walk by graffiti-ridden walls may not be in an optimal…
On a recent sunny Saturday morning in Potomac, hundreds of five-year-olds gathered around the league director for fall soccer season kickoff day. He welcomed the gaggle of little guys who were anxiously awaiting their first "game" on the fields behind them. The parents proudly stood around (not so sure why we were proud - simply because we'd successfully squeezed our kids into their shin guards and soccer socks and actually got them out of the house on time?). This was the early group – 9 a.m. — and the director must have thought the crowd was a little sleepy. "Did your parents have to come…
Do your kids actually converse with you in the car? Heading into this school year, I had high hopes of finding at least a little quality time to chat with my two sons, ages 5 and 9, in the midst of our hectic schedules. So I was excited when I found an article on MomLogic.com offering tips for "Making the Most of Car Time with Your Children." I thought about all the times I would be schlepping them to after-school activities or running errands, but after reading and trying to take the advice, those dreams of quality conversations were almost dashed. One tip was to take advantage of …
For many parents, back-to-school season is absolutely exhausting. Two weeks in, memories of school supplies shopping seem like the easy part. For elementary school, there is homework to haggle over, help with and check; after-school child care or schedules to coordinate; play dates to arrange; fall sport sessions to begin; activities to sign up for; morning madness with breakfast to force down or rush through; and school lunch stuff to buy and pack. Don't forget signing up for the PTA, picking something to volunteer for, keeping track of backpacks, visiting the school website, keeping up …
