A Wild Ride: Our Blog

The first three days of high school behind him, my son seems to take the days in stride. But then the year is young.

As my son begins this new school year at a new school with new (and old) friends, I want to publicly proclaim a few promises. This year:

• I promise not to nag.
• I will not check the school website for anything other than your lunch money balance.
• I will believe you when you say you have it handled.
• I will not doubt your ability to read the book the night before the test.
• I will trust that you will give me all mandatory documents several days prior to the deadline.
• I will forgive you for staying up late to finish your homework even though you kept me up half the night.
• I will reflect back on my own high school years remembering my own dread, anxiety, and embarrassment over my lack of friends and feel relieved that you have numerous friends and social opportunities.
• I will understand when the social pressures of the day make you cranky.

These are my promises to you my son. What will you promise in return?

Posted by Elizabeth at 3:22 PM in Back to School | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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FRIENDSHIP STRATEGIES

Here it is -- September already. The "not-so-lazy daze" of summer is waning as we gear up for another school year. If you have a school-age child, her emotions may be all over the map; from anticipatory excitement to extreme dread.

This is true for pre-schoolers as well. This may be the first time your little guy has been away from his parents on a regular basis. A big change that may give the whole family the shivers.

The social scene at school, though it changes as children age, presents countless challenging situations: difficulty sharing, hurt feelings, bullying, teasing, competition, pressure to fit in.

To help your child (ren) work on making and keeping friends, I offer various strategies depending on the age of the child. Some of those strategies include:

For preschoolers:
1. Make sure your child's play dates are short, about 1-1 1/2 hours.
2. Listen in with a baby monitor so you can short circuit any conflicts that could quickly turn sour.

For school-age children:
1. Discuss how her behavior affects other kids and her friendships with them.
2. Share with them your own stories of friendship challenges when you were growing up.

Learning how to be a good friend and positively and collaboratively interact with others is a lifelong process. The more positive reinforcement you can give your child now, the better!

Check out my complete list of ideas by visiting Strategies. ~Mary

To learn more about Mary, visit Sound Parent Coaching.

Posted by Elizabeth at 8:52 AM in Back to School | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)