As parents we try to help our children become successful. We teach them to set goals, work hard and achieve the best. Sounds simple enough, right?  Well, reality is, just like every other aspect of parenting teaching our kids to find success isn’t always an easy task. Let’s face it there’s a fine line between encouraging success and simply pushing kids too hard. How, exactly, do you encourage kids to have goals but, at the same time, remind them that they may not reach each and every one of them? As the mom of a 12-year-old boy I find that many of the lessons I try to teach come in the form …

As moms, we know all to well that children go through stages. Not every child goes through every stage but, reality is, they all have ups and downs. There are babies who can’t bear to give up binkies and bottles, toddlers who want nothing to do with anyone but their mom, kids that cry every day as they leave for kindergarten and an endless variety of daily crisis that only a mom can fix.  No two kids are the same, no two stages are the same and no two moms handle things the same way. Somehow we all survive and, as if by miracle, seem no worse for wear in the long run.  Yes, it’s a dark little…

  Yesterday we celebrated Memorial Day, the unofficial start to the New England summer.  We often associate Memorial Day with the weekend the pool gets opened, the first trip to the beach for the summer, a chance to cookout with family and friends, the green light to resume wearing white for the summer and, of course, three days without school or work. For my family it was a weekend filled with a Little League tournament and a trip to Fenway Park to watch the Red Sox. What struck me this weekend, however, is that many of us have also forgotten the real reason we celebrate Memorial Day. Sure, …

Let’s face it, being a mom isn’t always easy. Yes, as moms, we love our kids unconditionally but, like anyone else, we also have our bad days. As a matter of fact, I don’t know of a single mom who doesn’t occasionally have days that simply can’t end soon enough. That doesn’t mean, however, that we should all just give up and admit defeat.  You’ve heard the old saying that laughter is the best medicine and, for moms especially, it couldn’t be truer. Perhaps no one knows this better than stand up comedian Jerry Caruso.  Along with his comedy career, Caruso is the co-founder of “Comics for a …

This weekend I was lucky enough to have a mother and son St. Patrick’s Day and, once again, take my son to see The Dropkick Murphy’s. Yes, for those of you who follow “Life in the Mom Lane,” this was our second trip to see The Dropkick Murphy’s this year. Everything was perfect and we had a great day but I was reminded of something that, at this stage of motherhood, I had almost completely forgotten about. As moms and dads of small children know all too well, there are certain obstacles when you are one parent out with an opposite sex child.  For us, security at the concert posed a bit of a …

One of my best friends, Eileen, and I have a unique relationship. We have not lived in the same state in over twenty years. Actually we haven’t lived on the same coast in twenty years. We are however, in spite of the distance, closer than most sisters and completely in tune with each other’s lives. We speak at least several times a week and share just about every detail of our children’s lives with each other.  That, of course, doesn’t mean that we always agree. Long ago we “agreed to disagree” when it comes to politics and have an unwritten rule to simply respect each others viewpoints and …

  The winter of 2011/2012 may go down as one of the mildest in history.  Temperatures have been unusually warm and one look outside the window tells the whole story. There is absolutely no snow on the ground and, in some places, the crocus are already starting to show up. What that doesn’t mean, however, is that it has been a mild season for colds, flus and other winter ailments.  As a matter of fact I feel like nearly every call or email I have made in the past couple of weeks has been answered the same way. Responses like, “Sorry I’ve been out sick for the past few days,” “My whole house …

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about teaching cursive in the schools.  Some parents and teachers believe that traditional cursive is an important part of students’ education while others feel that it is out of date and simply doesn’t have a place in today’s schools. At the risk of offending many traditionalists including, I might add, my own mom, I have to admit that I, too, feel like cursive has run out of time in our education system.  Now, I need to make clear that it’s not that I don’t value tradition or even that I don’t appreciate the beauty of cursive versus printing.  Yes, …

As parents we strive to teach our children all the right lessons. I can’t even begin to count how many times over the course of my son’s toddler years I spoke the words, “Make sure you share your toys, keep your hands to yourself and, of course, be nice to your friends.” Eventually, kids get older and the lessons become bigger and more important.  One of the most difficult lessons is often teaching our children to be charitable and generous as they grow up. I’m a firm believer that kids learn from experience and, for many children, it’s simply hard to understand why others need their help. As…

Recently, while I was out with a few mom friends, an interesting subject came up. Sparked by news coverage of a school in Toronto that had banned students from using “hard” balls at recess, we began to question when the work of trying to keep our kids safe turns the corner and, instead, leads to sheltering them entirely. It seems that recess was getting a bit out of control at this particular elementary school and the decision was made to enforce a long forgotten rule which banned the use of hard balls, such as soccer and footballs, during recess. Many parents and students were outraged and …