House rules seemed much simpler when I was growing up, and they were inherently understood. There were no discussions, no debates; the rules were the rules, and that was that. Once I became a teenager, curfews were set and they were enforced. When I was a freshman in high school, I had to be home by 10 p.m., a curfew that was extended by a meager half hour each consecutive year until I graduated.  I thought this was ridiculous and restricting. My mom used to tell me that she could not go to sleep until she knew all of us were home safely. At the time, I felt my parents were being unreasonable…

Our kids teach us the most basic but poignant lessons in their everyday efforts. They don’t even realize the power they hold in their small hands and whimsical smiles. Sometimes I step back and just observe my children in their daily personas — how they interact with one another, how they step through making a decision on their own or how they take on a new challenge. However, many times as a parent I try to anticipate every moment, disappointment or obstacle, and I quickly jump in to break the fall, buffer the outcome or avoid what I know will be hurt feelings. I am very guilty of doing this…

If you have a child who has played a sport, then you are familiar with the time and commitment involved in being part of a team. Whether playing a field sport or in an organization, the schedule can be grueling on everyone. When kids reach a point of exhaustion or frustration, it’s not uncommon to hear them say they want to quit.  As parents, we try to teach our kids about commitment and follow through and encourage involvement that will foster team-building and self esteem. But when should a parent consider allowing a child to quit?   Sometimes parents should push to keep their kids going, …

The other night, my daughter’s cellphone sat on the kitchen counter, repeatedly beeping as multiple text messages beckoned her attention. She was asleep in her room, unaware she had left her phone out. She normally guards it with her life, never leaving it accessible. I hesitated but decided to pick up her phone and scroll through a few of her recent text messages, something I have never done before. Earlier this summer, my daughter and a friend were caught sneaking out of my house one night. They were busted by intercepted text messages her friend’s mother discovered a week later. My …

When it comes to conceiving children, staggering advancements over the years have made conception possible from test tubes, donors and surrogates. However a baby comes to be, finding out its sex used to be dependent upon the aid of medical staff and impossible to predict with high accuracy before 16 to 20 weeks of pregnancy. In recent years, several over-the-counter gender prediction tests have become available at pharmacies and online. These at-home tests include urine tests that detect gender-specific hormones as early as 10 weeks. With proper use, these tests claim to predict a baby's sex …

I hate shopping. I just didn't get the shopping gene, but somehow it doubled up in my daughter’s DNA. Lucky me. For weeks now, my soon-to-be high school freshman has been strategizing and mapping out her back-to-school wardrobe spree, calculating every detail based on her given budget. She's spent countless hours creating outfits with paired accessories online to ensure that she would know where and what to buy down to the very last dollar. The impending shopping day is something I’ve dreaded all summer. Not only did my daughter want to make an epic day out of it, she also wanted me to go to …

I’m convinced that my 14-year-old daughter is a bat. A DNA test might prove my theory, but based on sheer observation, science isn’t necessary to convince me. It’s 10 p.m., and the house is winding down for the night – everyone except the bat. She scurries around in her cave generating clatter to warn that her “day” is just about to begin. Clanking noises and the sounds of furniture sliding across her bedroom floor echo into the hallway as she has a sudden burst of energy to rearrange her space. Her door suddenly flies open, banging against freshly painted walls, and she makes her debut into …

The saying that it gets easier as kids get older is the biggest lie ever. I was in the grocery store skimming over coffee flavors when I overheard what sounded like a trainwreck heading around the corner.  I looked up to see a young mother, disheveled and out of breath, trudging behind one of those obnoxious kid carts that are nearly impossible to turn corners with (clearly not designed by a woman). With a screaming infant in the front lap seat, another child climbing out of the plastic car and an older child pleading for his mother to buy something she had no intention of getting, she had …

It’s as if I just woke up one morning to find that something had taken over my child.  My son had always been verbally and physically affectionate with me, often wooing admiring women at the grocery store. On his own accord, he would wrap his arms around me as I stood in line and say with his soft but confident voice, “Mom, I love you.” I could feel mothers and grandmothers around me melting at his sweet and self-motivated gesture. It happened on many occasions, and I was always very proud knowing that I was a coveted recipient and the envy of others. My child was not embarrassed to display …

Thumping around the house with one black heel on, I was on a quest to find its missing mate. I had five minutes to throw myself together and head out the door. After giving up on the search, I opted for a different pair of shoes and realized I had one minute to spare. Throwing my laptop case over my shoulder, I simultaneously reached into my purse to feel around for my keys. Women have an amazing way of sensing items with our hands. It’s as if we have a pair of eyes on our fingertips. Lipstick, eyeliner, pack of gum ... I moved to the other pocket. Suddenly, I felt something foreign, and I …

It was the summer before my eighth-grade year in middle school and I was spending the night at my friend’s house. Her bedroom was at the front of her house facing the street, making it easy for us to keep watch. It was around 11 p.m. and, for us, the night was just getting started. She’s a fellow redhead so we were always a dangerous combination. Volume cranked up on the stereo, we locked the bedroom door and started executing our plan. We slid out the screen of her old six-panel window. We had to pop out two of them to make enough crawl space to climb through. Once outside we dashed to the …

My daughter and her “pack” have already started mapping out their summer social strategy complete with sleepover schedules, concerts and many other time-consuming plans. As a kid, I remember the smell of summer. I remember deep breaths of freshly cut grass, the simmering asphalt and the burning of charcoal from back-yard barbecues. I would get my first whiff as I walked out of school as the last bell rang. School was out and I was free. Two months back then seemed like an eternity. I remember falling asleep in my bathing suit after late-night swims and waking up as late as I wanted. Those …

I don't recall my mom ever having to harp on us to clean up after ourselves, or to pitch in and help around the house, or tell us to do our homework.  With four kids in the house, if you left something out, it was pretty much fair game for someone to claim. So we just learned early on to put things away when we were done using them. If we didn't, it wouldn't be long before our mom would tell us to stop what we were doing and get up to take care of it. We knew when we came home from school to put our backpacks, jackets and shoes in our rooms. When we were finished brushing our teeth, we knew …

We don’t always get it right when it comes to parenting. We often learn as we go and make the best decisions we can for our children at the time. When it comes to the topic of parenting, Lisa Hein of Seminole has certainly walked the path. She offers strikingly candid, real and compassionate advice based on her experience raising her son. Now an acclaimed parenting author, radio talk show host and speaker, Hein reaches out to help other families by sharing the mistakes and struggles she endured during very trying times. Her gift is her message to other parents that they are not alone in the …

Getting my daughter to answer her cell phone almost always results in getting sent straight to her obnoxious voice mail with Lady Gaga screaming back at me. But send her a text and I get a response within 30 seconds flat. What I receive, though, is a jumble of characters and jargon that I don’t understand. Such as “ttyad” for talk to you after dinner or “hk” for hugs and kisses or “idk” for I don’t know. There is something greatly missed when a human voice is replaced by a buzz on my cell phone. As technology becomes more advanced, real-time, portable and integrated, a rift between parents …

In today’s baby industry, there is more availability and selection when it comes to baby food and products than ever before. For new parents, it’s especially hard to know where to begin when deciding on the right first foods for their infant. Like many new parents, Courtney and Brett Washmuth of Sarasota were faced with the same challenging decisions. They also realized they had a unique need that soon turned a family dream into a reality. In 2008, this young, avid hiking and marathoning couple decided to take on a 23-mile adventure on the Appalachian Trail with their 9-month-old infant son, …

Every morning, my alarm goes off at 5:45 a.m., to remind me that the craziness of day is about to begin, yet again.  After feeding the dog and letting him out, taking a shower, getting my son up and moving, and rushing out the door to take him to school, I realize I’m halfway to work and I’ve left my laptop at home.  My veins are throbbing in my neck from the stress and I haven’t even had my first cup of coffee yet. I trudge through the day jumping meetings, managing project teams and staying on top of deadlines. My small reprieve comes from the drive home at lunch to let the dog out. But as …

Seat selection is critical. I pay extra for early bird check-in just to be guaranteed that I can get a good seat. And I always pick a window and row that is near the front of the plane for a quick exit once I reach my destination. Trust me, I have it all figured out and I always have a plan. That was until the flight attendant uttered those dreaded words over the intercom, “It’s going to be a full house and all seats will be taken.” Groan. Thoughts surged through my head as I scanned boarding passengers as they made their way to the aisle. I looked like a prairie dog popping up from my seat …

  Six o’clock in the evening would come around and that meant one thing. Walking through the front door would be our father dressed in a suit and tie with his tattered leather briefcase in hand. His heavy footsteps would echo against the cold slate in the foyer as he sighed from a long day at work. After greeting all four of us kids, he’d walk into the kitchen, deeply inhale the wonderful aroma from whichever pot my mother had simmering on the stove, and ask, “What’s for dinner?” Dinner in the Weber household was no small feat for our mom who prepared food for a family of six every single …