Raise a Math Kid
Having taught math to over six hundred area elementary school students, I am a firm believer that children need to learn math concepts – not just math procedures. Let’s take cooking as an analogy. Right before my husband and I…
Help Your Dog Deal with Anxiety
If you have struggled calming your fearful dog, you are not alone – especially in Central Virginia, where intense thunderstorms are typical. Fear in dogs seems to be a very common issue, no matter the dog’s size or breed. Whether…
It’s August and your poolside reading is here!
Call it a guilty pleasure, but we’re giving you permission to put your feet up and soak in the last full month of summer, right along with this issue of RFM. Just moments before I sat down to pen this…
Goth Kids and Teaching Tolerance, Inclusion
Q. My seventh-grade son has started wearing a lot of black, goth-type clothing this summer and he gets strange looks in public. How do I get him to wear something else without shutting down his sense of individuality? A. Pre-teens…
The Crutch Master’s Lament
Sam, our younger son, recently injured his hip. Nothing terrible, but enough to land him on crutches for ten days. As parents, Dena and I have had to manage the requisite injuries one might expect in a household with two…
Collaborative Doodle
Artists of all ages and abilities will enjoy this fun and creative game. Just put pen (or pencil, marker, or crayon) to paper and don’t hold back. Whether you draw a stick figure or a detailed sketch, the end product will…
Parenting an Only
This month, Susan Brown tackles two questions on the same topic. As the mother of an only child, she knows the territory well. Q: My husband and I made a decision to have one child and we are happy with…
What’s Eating …Your Teeth?
It’s your family’s biannual trip to the dentist’s office. You anxiously sit in the waiting room with hopes of a cavity-free report. After a less than perfect visit six months ago, you purchased all the recommended toothpastes and rinses. Your…
What’s in a Name?
When we first moved to Virginia, my husband changed his name. We had been married for a little while with our respective last names and, since having a child, we made the family decision that we’d like to have the…
Parenting Blog Best Picks
When baby number one was still an infant, breastfeeding and naptime were spent soaking up parenting books. Many of my friends were in a similar stage in life and were eager to swap stories and suggestions. Expert advice and the…
