Archive for July, 2013

For your back to school assignment…

Sunday, July 28th, 2013

The summer night is like a perfection of thought.  ~ Wallace Stevens

 

I overheard a conversation/debate this weekend about the summer being over.

Now we could consider the optimist/pessimist point of view, but I prefer to say we have another half of the summer remaining.  But it will come to an end, and what will you have to show for it?

When your children go back to school the teacher will ask what they did over the summer.  How will they respond?

Since I started this blog in 2006 the message has been the same.

We model the behavior we want to see in our children.

So let’s change the assignment.  What if you had to write a paper in September about what you did over the summer?

  • Did you read (or better yet write!) the next great novel?
  • Did you start a new exercise routine?
  • Did you get out your easel and paint?
  • Did you take a class in something that has always interested you?
  • Did you start new family traditions like long walks, or shooting hoops after dinner?
  • Did you connect with friends?
  • Did you intentionally do nothing but recharge?

Airlines recommend parents put on their own oxygen mask before helping children put on theirs.  By my estimate, you still have half the summer left!

Begin by having a memorable week!

 

Tina Nocera, Founder

Parental Wisdom®

 

Posted in Time | 1 Comment »

Is it really possible these days to be bored?

Sunday, July 21st, 2013

“I’m bored’ is a useless thing to say. I mean, you live in a great, big, vast world that you’ve seen none percent of.

Even the inside of your own mind is endless; it goes on forever, inwardly, do you understand? The fact that you’re alive is amazing, so you don’t get to say ‘I’m bored.” – Louis CK

Is it really possible these days to be bored?

I remember learning at a very early age never to say that I was bored.  When I said that, all sorts of menial labor projects came out of nowhere.  Fortunately, I got wise and was no longer required to dust the bottom legs of the dining room chairs or shine my father’s shoes.

Today we really don’t get bored. We simply pickup an electronic device and get ‘busy’ which I suppose is the opposite of bored.  But is being busy all the time a good thing?

Raising kids in our always connected world is a challenge because being bored is actually a good thing.  It gives a child time to think, day dream, create something new, something novel, something that is their own, and more importantly, time to interact with family and friends. 

Please comment below and share some ‘unplugged’ ideas for kids.  That is, if you are lucky enough to hear your children say, “I’m bored.”  I for one would love a little boredom!

 

Have a great week.

 Tina Nocera, Founder

Parental Wisdom®

Posted in Creativity, Technology | 4 Comments »

Sandcastles matter more than you realize

Sunday, July 7th, 2013

The good thing about taking the kids to the beach or the lake is the poor cell coverage.

Very poor cell coverage makes for great family fun like building sand castles, playing Marco Polo, counting handstands in the pool, playing cards, or finding interesting shells as you walk along the shore.

When you are with your children don’t wait for a limited number of bars on your phone to have fun with them.  People talk about their ‘bucket list’ when in reality, the kids get it.  The buckets that matter are those filled with sand because the sandcastles they build will become the memories of their childhood spent with you.

Memory is a child walking along a seashore.  You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things.  ~Pierce Harris, Atlanta Journal

Have a great week!

Tina Nocera, Founder

Parental Wisdom®

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Childhood, Memories | 1 Comment »