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DADLINE: Family roles redefining dad
Today we bring you a special edition of Dadline for Father’s Day. At the end of a long day at the office, I like to go home, loosen the tie, put my feet up, light my pipe, pat the (silent) children on their heads and read the evening paper as my wife emerges from the kitchen and greets me with a peck on the cheek and a scotch on the rocks. The life of a working father can be so hard on a man! OK, so this scene of domestic tranquility is a fabrication. For one thing, I don’t wear a tie to work.
DADLINE: A parents' guide to summer
GREAT AMERICAN BACKYARD CAMPOUT The biggest campout in the United States happens June 22, right in your own backyard. The National Wildlife Federation encourages families to sleep under the stars, commune with nature and, if you are so inclined, raise some money for the federation’s programs. The NWF cites research that has found only one quarter of America’s children play outside every day.
How to balance your ex's gift-giving to kids
Your ex buys the kids tons of toys. How do you answer their pleas that you do the same? Parent advice (from staff contributors): To the kids, I would explain that while new toys are great, since they live with me, I buy them things that are also great and needed: food, home, clothes, medicine, etc. To the ex, I would discuss this in private (away from kids) if I
'Gifted and talented' son needs to overcome laziness
Q: Our 9-year-old son Bobby is very intelligent and capable of doing good work in school when he wants to, but he is generally just downright lazy. As a result, he makes mediocre grades and we have to monitor his homework to make sure he does it. Even then, 30 minutes of homework takes him a couple of hours, during which time he finds every possible way of dawdling. Believe
DADLINE: Not enough to do blues
Except for college, being a teenager was the best seven years of my life. Playing baseball, going on first dates, seeing my first rock concerts and getting my driver's license were highlights from that bygone era of the last century. But when I really remember my teenage years, one pastime stands out - cruising. Cruising was the name given to the incredibly (and inexplicably) popular activity of driving around in
'Thumb-sucking report card' may resolve the matter
Q: My 5-year-old is going to kindergarten soon and still sucks her thumb. We’ve tried everything to get her to stop, even a dental appliance, but she won’t give it up. Do you have a solution for us? A: Before I offer my best “solution,” let’s get a few facts out of the way. First, although thumb-sucking is a form of self-calming and certainly induces a feeling of security in
Ways to make summer count before the kids go back to school
Q: What should you and your family make time to do before school begins? Parent advice (from our panel of staff contributors): A guy I know takes his grade-school-age son and daughter out, and they walk the perimeter of local baseball diamonds, collecting lost baseballs. They walk beyond the outfield, through the high grasses in foul territory and look for balls early in the day or after games have been
A promising future of parenting relies on the past
Sometimes, the so-called “good old days” really were better. For example, if the data is correct, then the state of parenting in America has been in slow but steady decline since the 1960s. Child mental health and school achievement were much better back then, when the go-to parenting experts were grandparents. In my public presentations, I sometimes begin sentences with “I’m a member of the last generation … ” and
How to stamp out jealousy during a sibling’s playdate
Your son and daughter get along famously but get jealous when one has a pal over. How to deal? Parent advice: You draw boundaries. (Early on would be best!) We are all a family, but we all need our own space; each of you is not allowed to enter the other’s room or use the other’s items without permission. As much as we enjoy each other’s company, we also get
DADLINE: Not another family flick
Family Film Fatigue has set in at my house. In the past eight months, my wife has seen “The Croods,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Monsters University” and, most recently, “Despicable Me 2” — with our 6-year-old daughter. As for old dad, he cleverly devised other plans on the nights of these animated outings. Those plans usually involve leaving town for several hours. These are the kinds of movies adults are forced to see when you
As grandparents, be gentle and know when to back off
Q: Our daughter and son-in-law have consented to be the guardians of our first grandchild, due in a few months. In preparation for this momentous event, we want to understand what our boundaries are. They will be living fairly close and we anticipate seeing them fairly often. When should we give advice and when should we not give advice? If we see them handling something wrongly, should we mention it
Help daughter to love her body, choose comfortable swim attire
Your 11-year-old is embarrassed to wear a swimsuit. Should you encourage her to don one anyway? Parent advice (From our panel of staff contributors): Long-sleeve swim T-shirts are in style and in stores. Similarly, wet suit-style pants to the knee are too. Even the stars wear them. Check out People Magazine. That should solve the problem if her reluctance stems from an unwillingness to show too much skin. But maybe
PMS: A safety guide for men
To the males in my household and all the rest of you: We have arrived, yet again, at that odious interlude of each lunar cycle when there is a small chance that I will throw something heavy at your head. There’s also a chance that during the next three days I will snatch something out of your hands because you are doing it wrong, shriek “WHO ATE THE LAST BROWNIE?”
DADLINE: Preparing teenagers for the driver's seat
Allison Akers is in the market for a black cargo van. She wants a van she can drive to the Starlite Drive-In in Christiansburg, throw open the rear doors, wrap up in a blanket and watch movies such as “World War Z” from the comfort of her very own space. She wants to drive it to Christiansburg High School, where she will be a senior next month. Until she finds
Boy says he hates summer camp. So what?
Q: My 10-year-old son is having a miserable experience at the two-week camp we sent him to. He says he hates it there, that the other kids don’t like him, and the counselor he was assigned to is mean. All this after just two days. He wants to come home. My instinct is to go get him, but my best friend says he’s manipulating me. What should we do? A:
DADLINE: What local parents had to say on their own teenage drivers
A sampling of what some parents told us on Facebook about their own teenage drivers. To read more comments or add your own, go online to www.facebook.com/roanoketimes. We allowed our girls to get their learner’s permit at the appropriate age but they had to keep it for two years before they took driver’s education. We really felt they needed more experience and to grow in maturity before taking on such
Nice daughter might need to learn to set boundaries
Q: Your daughter’s pals always cry on her shoulder. You fear she’s being taken advantage of. Do you step in? Parent advice from staff contributors: Not unless other people’s problems are weighing heavily on her. It’s nice that her friends trust and respect her enough to come to her. It’s good practice for when she has a whiny family of her own. It might be good to let her know
Parents yell because their technique is flawed
“I’m a yeller,” she said, she being the mother of three young children. “No,” I replied, “you’re not. There is no genetic predisposition toward yelling, and no biochemical or neurological condition that makes yelling inevitable much less irresistible.” “But I yell at my kids all the time it seems.” “I’m not arguing with that.” “Well, why then do I yell?” “My best answer, based on experience, is that you yell
Preventing a forgetful but fatal mistake
This column won’t make you laugh. In fact, if you even crack a grin then I’ve done something wrong. But I have to talk about this issue because it haunts me and I need to believe some good will come from airing it. Every year in this country, about 20 infants and young children die after being accidentally left in a car. Not left for 30 minutes while a frazzled
How to deal with parents who post their kids’ personal info online
Your friend posts uncomfortably personal stuff about her kids on Facebook. Should you tell her to stop, for her kids’ sake? Parent advice (from the Chicago Tribune staff): No, don’t tell her to stop. No one likes to be told to stop anything. And, if you do, you then get into a big fight with the friend. But I’d ask, “What does Little Johnny/Janie think of you telling people that?”
Parenting columnist John Rosemond targeted by Kentucky board sues
John Rosemond has been dispensing parenting advice in his newspaper column since 1976, making him one of the longest-running syndicated columnists in the country. But some Kentucky authorities want to put him in a time out. In May, Kentucky’s attorney general and its Board of Examiners of Psychology told Rosemond his parenting column — which regularly offers old-school advice and shows little tolerance for any kind of parental coddling —
Nanny's responsibilities don't include entertaining
A mom asked me a most interesting and currently pertinent question the other day: “How much one-on-one interaction should take place between a nanny and a child under her supervision?” The question is pertinent because increasing numbers of upper-middle-class parents are choosing to use nannies for daily child care instead of or in addition to day care centers and preschools. I will say, up front, that I have no general
1. Britney Spears spotted at Lynchburg restaurant
2. Roanoke resource officer's quick action saved young girl
3. One person injured in Friday night shooting in Roanoke
4. East Carolina poses new challenge for Virginia Tech football
5. Captive in Roanoke County describes harrowing time with angry friend
6. Lowe's tapes may hold clues to Roanoke woman's death
7. Roanoke County electrical short quiets 5 Wheeler radio stations
8. William Byrd stuns Salem in football win
9. History says this one will matter for Virginia Tech
10. Concert review: Timeless Willie Nelson plays to appreciative crowd
THE ROANOKE TIMES
