
Helping your Teen Transition to High School
The first day of high school can be a flurry of emotions for your kids. New school. New experiences. And new freedom to gain. It’s both exciting and frightening.
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The first day of high school can be a flurry of emotions for your kids. New school. New experiences. And new freedom to gain. It’s both exciting and frightening.

Halloween is upon us and one of the common complaints you hear about this holiday is that some trick-or-treaters are too old to be knocking on doors looking for goodies. To this, I say: Get over it. I have to admit, I have a long history of being afraid of teenagers.

I was recently invited to an event hosted by the folks from GoodNites to have a bigger conversation around bed-wetting. It’s actually a topic that really interests me because I had a kid who really struggled with this – and I mean well into puberty.

Two of my real life daughters are ages 13 and 14. Out of respect for their privacy, I couldn’t possibly talk about their entrance into teenage-hood.

When you’re raising school-aged children, it’s pretty easy to make friends with other parents. I’ve spent many years enjoying the friendships I’ve made simply because my kiddos made friends at school and those kids have nice parents.

We recently went on a family ski trip that involved very little skiing.
Mother Nature has not been well behaved, so we had no snow and conditions were not even cold enough for the snow-making machines to do their thing.

March is birthday month in my life. March brings birthdays for both me and Mabel’s Labels. I also have a daughter with a birthday this month. I recently had a parent ask if I had any birthday party activity suggestions.

Our family is going overseas for the holidays this year. I hate the thought of Santa having to turn up at our holiday destination because it means I have to lug oversized bags full of gifts both there and back. A family of eight has enough gear to drag around.

With such a big family, I’ve always told my kids that they can’t be on travelling sports teams. When my children have asked to try out for such teams, my response has consistently been, “There are enough kids in your own city that are good enough to play with you.”

Despite the fact that Valentine’s Day can be a bit of a contrived holiday, kids love it! And with six kids in elementary school, it’s generally a very busy holiday in my household. I try to remember that it’s only a Hallmark holiday – there’s no point in letting it cause stress. So, I have a few easy tips to keep Valentine’s Day in perspective:

Thirteen years ago, I had my first child. He arrived into this world all tiny and delicious after a fairly unpleasant delivery. Our eyes met and I fell in love. He’s always been my baby boy. Until recently.

The first day of high school can be a flurry of emotions for your kids. New school. New experiences. And new freedom to gain. It’s both exciting and frightening.

Halloween is upon us and one of the common complaints you hear about this holiday is that some trick-or-treaters are too old to be knocking on doors looking for goodies. To this, I say: Get over it. I have to admit, I have a long history of being afraid of teenagers.

I was recently invited to an event hosted by the folks from GoodNites to have a bigger conversation around bed-wetting. It’s actually a topic that really interests me because I had a kid who really struggled with this – and I mean well into puberty.

Two of my real life daughters are ages 13 and 14. Out of respect for their privacy, I couldn’t possibly talk about their entrance into teenage-hood.

When you’re raising school-aged children, it’s pretty easy to make friends with other parents. I’ve spent many years enjoying the friendships I’ve made simply because my kiddos made friends at school and those kids have nice parents.

We recently went on a family ski trip that involved very little skiing.
Mother Nature has not been well behaved, so we had no snow and conditions were not even cold enough for the snow-making machines to do their thing.

March is birthday month in my life. March brings birthdays for both me and Mabel’s Labels. I also have a daughter with a birthday this month. I recently had a parent ask if I had any birthday party activity suggestions.

Our family is going overseas for the holidays this year. I hate the thought of Santa having to turn up at our holiday destination because it means I have to lug oversized bags full of gifts both there and back. A family of eight has enough gear to drag around.

With such a big family, I’ve always told my kids that they can’t be on travelling sports teams. When my children have asked to try out for such teams, my response has consistently been, “There are enough kids in your own city that are good enough to play with you.”

Despite the fact that Valentine’s Day can be a bit of a contrived holiday, kids love it! And with six kids in elementary school, it’s generally a very busy holiday in my household. I try to remember that it’s only a Hallmark holiday – there’s no point in letting it cause stress. So, I have a few easy tips to keep Valentine’s Day in perspective:

Thirteen years ago, I had my first child. He arrived into this world all tiny and delicious after a fairly unpleasant delivery. Our eyes met and I fell in love. He’s always been my baby boy. Until recently.
Kids Events and Fun Things To Do in Toronto, York Region, Peel, Durham, Halton, Simcoe County and Southern Ontario for Families.