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Dad tip #4 – Traveling with teens
Traveling with Teens
The protracted screech of a braking train is perhaps the only thing less pleasant than the thought of a no-escape vacation in close quarters with a teenager. Travel can bring out the worst in people and if you are going through a rough patch with your teenager, don’t expect a family vacation to bring out the Waltons in you. There are things you can do, however, to increase your chances of good holiday. Ask your teen to help plan the trip, and make sure it includes things he or she wants to do. Avoid long drives in the car. Allow time for more leisure activities like time in the pool, even if you’re in a “once in a lifetime” spot. Go easy on iPod and video game restrictions to allow everyone a chance to chill out. And, try to keep your own emotions and reactions in check and stop yourself from saying things out loud that will only create more conflict.
Summertime travel can sometimes feel like a sacrifice when each person can’t get exactly what he wants. Travel dynamics and logistics are not nearly as easy as when you were a couple without kids. But like a lot of things in life with kids, if you look at children as an opportunity rather than as an obstacle, you can find things to do together that are made even more special because you are seeing things through their eyes.
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Dad Tip #2: Give your child responsibility
Give your child responsibility. Little kids need to gain independence, so it’s important to realize the things they can and cannot do. If they are ready to dress themselves, or take their dishes to the dishwasher, began to make that expectation. Experts say that teaching responsibility, not only can free you up, but is good for a child’s self-esteem.
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Dad Tip #1: Show them who’s boss.
Show them who’s boss. Kids need limits, especially as they navigate a new world around them. Good parents set consistent boundaries that are wide enough to let kids explore but that also tell them where to stop.
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Dad Tip – Combing Wet Hair May Be Best Way to Find Lice – NYTimes.com
Lice is part of life, especially for parents of girls in kindergarten through about third grade. At our school, lice checks are always done in the morning, on dry-haired kids. Research, and practical experience, says that lice checks need to be done on wet hair. This is when you can see not only the nits (the eggs), but the actual moving lice which spread the epidemic.
living lice are the moving transmitters of the epidemic, and visual inspection found only 6 cases, while wet combing found 19. In other words, the odds of finding moving lice were about three times higher with wet combing.
[From Vital Signs - Combing Wet Hair May Be Best Way to Find Lice - NYTimes.com]
Happy nit picking. No one likes lice, but it’s just part of growing up.
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