Editor's Note: The following column was submitted to Westwood Patch by Westwood resident and mother Abby Stern. Of course I love my kids more than anything else in the world - I’m a mother. But I’m also a realist, and know that I need a break every now and again. Don’t we all? How many of us have prayed that we wouldn’t end on the large slide during our 10th game of Chutes and Ladders? Yes, Goodnight Moon is a wonderful bedtime story, but, on occasion, I wish the old lady would just eat her mush and hush. And snow days? Sure, it’s a wonderful opportunity to take advantage of quality time with…

Certified Human Behavior Consultant Jeanine Fitzgerald knows more than a thing or two about bullying and peer conflicts. On Monday night at Westwood High School, Fitzgerald gave a presentation to about 30 parents on how to differentiate what is and what is not bullying, and gave tips on how to prevent bullying issues. “There are very distinct differences between peer conflicts and bullying,” she explained Monday night. Fitzgerald told the parents that peer conflict, which can be between peers or siblings, has a balance of power. In the end, nobody feels like they were taken advantage of, she …

For many parents, homework time is a stressful time. Parents struggle with issues around how much or how little help to give, how to support children who struggle to start their homework or to complete their homework in a timely fashion, and how to manage situations where children are overwhelmed or upset by some aspect of their homework. Here are just a few strategies that might be useful in supporting homework time for children of different ages: Creating a schedule. Parents and children of all ages are often overwhelmed by the idea of when homework time will be fit in among other daily …

Editor's Note: The following column was submitted to Westwood Patch by Westwood resident and mother Abby Stern. You may not know what the March of Dimes is. I didn’t. Until I became the mom of a premature child. I didn’t know that premature death is the number one killer amongst newborns; until I lost a newborn myself. I became involved with the March of Dimes in 2003 after my twin sons were born twelve weeks prematurely. I had a complicated pregnancy and my first born son; Zachary, survived for only 7 short hours. His brother, Jared, spent 180 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU…

Parents gathered at Thurston Middle School this past week to gain some insight into the pressures children endure on a daily basis, both in and out of school. Author, psychologist, and school consultant Dr. Michael Thompson explained such pressures during Wednesday's presentation, which was sponsored by the Thurston Parent-Teacher Organization.  Thompson has written several books, including the New York Times bestseller “Raising Cain.” He also conducts workshops across the United States on social cruelty, children’s friendships, and boyhood development. “In the issue of pressure, 'how much is…

In my work with children and families over the past 10 years, I have been constantly impressed with the level of care and attention that parents pay to the challenging job of parenting. I’ve also noticed, as have my colleagues, how little credit parents actually give themselves for those things that they are doing well, especially in comparison to the high levels of self-criticism and pressure they place on themselves as parents. This can create a recipe that has parents feeling guilty, anxious and hopeless to solve problems . . . not a good state of mind in a job that lasts forever and still…