Author Archives: Jodi Cohen
Letting your child experience disappointment
I think it’s human nature to want to protect our children from hurt and disappointment. As a result, we are sometimes quick to anger when another parent’s actions cause our children any upset. “How dare they do that to my child,” we fume. “If I were them, I would have handled it differently,” we rant. [...]
Posted in Blame Game, Conflict with Friends 1 Comment
Shame — How others influence your parenting
At a birthday party this weekend, another mother who I have known causally for years snapped at me that my son was too close to her daughter. It wasn’t so much what she was asking – her kid doesn’t like people too close to her and I respect that – but how she did it [...]
Posted in Conflict with Friends, Shame Leave a comment
Taking Discipline into our own hands
I previously shared an incident where a woman seated in front of my daughter hit her legs mid flight. Apparantly this situation is not unique as Phoenix police are currently investigating an incident on a Southwest Airlines flight where a woman allegedly grabbed a child who was kicking the back of her seat in March. [...]
Posted in Air Travel, On The Go 1 Comment
The Art of Doing Nothing
Two children are fighting over a shovel. My instinct is to step in and mediate or fix the problem. My wiser friend recommends doing nothing and as a result, letting the kids resolve it for themselves. I know she’s right. It teaches them conflict resolution. Empowers them to handle their own situations. Lets them [...]
Making sure your kid wins
We went away for Memorial Day weekend and met another nice couple with a child the same age as my older daughter. They taught her some fun card games at the beach which both girls seemed to enjoy playing, until my daughter started to figure out how to win. At this point, both her new [...]
Posted in Competition, Playgroups and Play Dates Leave a comment
In Support of Lice in Schools
If a kid is identified as having lice in school they should be sent home immediately. Right? Not necessarily, according to some moms on my local email group. In the midst of a lice outbreak, we learned that our local public school system is no longer allowed to send children identified as having lice [...]
Posted in Leave your sick kid at home, Preschool 1 Comment
Even Charlotte feels Judged
In the new Sex in the City movie, Charlotte and Miranda struggle with mommy guilt and judgment. Miranda for picking work over her child’s milestones and Charlotte for feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and imperfect, even with full time help (think Mary Poppins, sans the bra). Over lunch, when Charlotte’s child starts to cry inconsolably, Miranda tries [...]
Posted in Conflict with Friends, Judgement Days Leave a comment
Lice
My daughter’s t-ball team was sharing batting helmets which has lead to a minor lice epidemic, in both our preschool and elementary school. The preschool brought in professionals to check the kids and sent the lice infested ones home for treatment. The elementary school is no longer allowed to send children with lice home. A [...]
Posted in Leave your sick kid at home, Preschool 1 Comment
My Purse is NOT a Toy!
In the changing room after swimming, I put my purse down on the bench to help my 4 year old get his clothing on. As I’m working his buttons, I see a little girl who is probably around 18 months waddle over and start looking through my purse. In a very gentle and kind voice, [...]
Posted in Mean Mommies, On The Go 1 Comment
The Benefit of Not Siding with Your Child