Childhood, Halloween Candy, Autumn Fun, & A Confession

I hope your family had a fun Columbus Day weekend – with or without the requisite fall activities. Our family did a bit of this and that, including attending our high school’s last home football game. I had forgotten the electric excitement of being among the crowd cheering on the marching band – I mean football players. With all the familiar faces in the stands, there’s a sense of being part of the larger community, rooting for the home team small town style.

I thought I’d share with you a bit of what readers are learning from me (and the great experts I talk to) in the regional parenting magazines this month. First, if you’re gasping over the pace of time going by thinking Halloween can’t be around the corner again already, then you need to check out my article “In the Blink of a Childhood” in this month’s issue of Treasure Coast Parenting. I rounded up the best tips from parents and experts on ways to slow down the passage of time in your family.

Speaking of Halloween, have you thought yet what you’ll do with all the excess sweets your kids will bring home that night? If you need some creative ideas for making it disappear (and not all directly into your family’s stomachs), read “Tricks For Getting Rid of Those Treats” found in one of the Chicagoland regional magazines, Family Time (Naperville friends look for copies at Park District locations or Babys ‘R Us).

And if you’re wanting to absorb the best, most quintessential of fall activities, sights, and eats, take a look at my top 25 favorites listed in Hudson Valley Parent’s “Fall Family Bucket List” (okay, so it’s not a true bucket list by my definition because, as I emphasize in my book Family Bucket Lists, it’s important for your list to come from your own desires and not what someone else tells you you should do. This is more just like I said, a list of favorites. Pick the ones that appeal to you to share with your crew).

Finally, I have a confession to make: I’m guilty of being “that mom.” If you’d like to learn just what it is that I did (and why I’m okay with it), check out my essay, “Blurring the Homework Lines” in Okanagan Child’s Fall issue.