March has been an incredibly busy month around here and in so many wonderful ways, and I wanted to share some of the highlights.
1. First, I really hope you’re enjoying the look and feel of the newly designed Between Us Parents site, with the correct URL to match. This is a sister site to my ChicagoNow blog of the same name. I post regularly on both blogs and content between the two is different, it is aimed at parents of older kids. There are posts like this Easter Scavenger Hunt, though, that work for kids of all ages.
2. I loved writing the article How to Raise Confident Girls for Make It Better magazine.
The experts with whom I spoke offered so much valuable insight and advice about how to address the fact that seven in 10 girls believe they are not good enough or do not measure up in some area.
I loved this from Mary Ellen Young, Director of Programs at Helping Girls Navigate Adolescence, a nonprofit organization, “Most women know how to fit in, but belonging means people accept you for who you are. We all want to belong to something. Girls have to learn that if they have to change who they are to fit in, that is not really where you want to be.”
“It is so important to encourage our girls to think about being authentic and able to focus on what they like and enjoy.” – Mary Ellen Young
3. We were invited as guests of Walt Disney World to check out some of the offerings they have for older kids and as I wrote for Chicago Parent, Tween fun abounds at Walt Disney World.
It was a truly amazing trip that included a lot of firsts for us, including a chance to explore the newly reimagined Disney Springs. I shared our favorites from that fun area here. We were also filmed and interviewed for a video, which was new for me and my girl. I’ll be sure to share that as soon as I have it, as well as more fun from our trip.
4. It’s currently National Poison Prevention Week, and I’m honored to have written 6 Ways Parents Can Help Prevent Medicine Abuse that is featured on the blog of StopMedicineAbuse.org.
It’s concerning to know that there are 40,000 active websites pushing counterfeit or otherwise illegitimate medicines to U.S. consumers and that kids can also visit social media pages that promote medicine abuse and even offer instructions on how to go about it, but parents can and should and really must do what they can to address the issue, from disposing of unnecessary medicines to talking with their kids, often.
I’m sad that the Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop takes place next weekend and conflicts with my daughter’s spring break, so I’m unable to attend. I’m confident, though, that Erma would say I’m making the right choice to enjoy the time I have as a parent, especially given that my girl has only has five springs breaks left, and two of those she’ll be with her dad.
I think of Erma often, and hope I’m making her proud. I fear that I’m not funny enough to do so. But when I look back on the month and see that I’ve been able to write about things that bring me joy, address topics I find important, and share good advice from experts with other parents to hopefully help make this parenting journey a little easier and our kids a little healthier, I think that Erma would approve, and that makes me so happy.
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