The power of hello
How a simple 'hi' can brighten your day
A simple hello held the power to brighten my day.
I had picked up a prescription at my local drug store when a small child, maybe 4 years old, peeked out from behind his mother's leg. He smiled at me and said hello. I heard him speaking Mandarin earlier, so I smiled back and said "nǐ hǎo."
He laughed a coy but mischievous laugh, . . .
Posted in: friendlinessschoolsix degrees of separation
A Beautiful Time
A birthday song for my younger son
A BEAUTIFUL TIME
Today you are 9
I'm feelin' fine
A beautiful time
To be with you
You know it's true
Today you are 9
When you were born
I had sworn
To love you, my son
You know it's true
When I put you to bed
And give you a kiss
Oh, I'll never miss that
I'm lovin' you
I feel your smile in the sun
I feel your pain in the rain
I . . .
Why I let my kids take more risks
Even if it goes against my instinct to protect them
I'm not sure when the switch from "that looks like fun" to "that looks dangerous" happened. Being a parent has really changed my outlook on risk.
As kids, my brother and I challenged ourselves. At home, we'd slide down the staircase railing. Then we'd climb the stairs along the outside of the rail. When we got to the second . . .
Posted in: brothersriskrisk-taking
The Worst First Day of School Ever
A short story
Image: Three Brothers playing Catch. By Suzanne Berton. Shared under Creative Commons license
MY NAME IS SIMON. I am eight years old, almost nine. I had the worst first day of school ever.
My two best friends are Jonah Jason and Arthur. (Jonah Jason is actually his first name, not his first and last name, by the way.) Our Grade 3 . . .
Posted in: friendshipkid storiesschool
Screen time squabbles: Dad versus kids
I let my son decide his own consequence for a video game infraction. He made a pretty mature decision
When I was a kid, I really liked to play video games. I grew up on an Atari 2600. The games were two-dimensional, blocky, with bleeps and blurts. It was good fun. Asteroids, Missile Command and Defender were my favourites. Yars' Revenge was pretty cool, too.
I liked the Atari so much, as an adult, I bought an Atari Flashback . . .
Posted in: ataridisciplinescreen timevideo games
Why I'm saying 'no' to perfectionism
Imperfect action is a lot better for my mental health
Perfectionism is not altogether a bad thing. It's good to have high standards.
But it's doing me more harm than good.
I think I may have unwittingly passed my perfectionism on to my kids.
I realized this playing catch with my son. He was way too hard on himself because he wasn't catching every ball.
One of my simplest . . .
Posted in: baseballmental healthperfectionismsports
How a school play brought together a community
Manor Park School's production of The Lion King Jr was magic
One part art. One part story. One part love. Mix together: The result is magic.
Kids from Manor Park Public School in Ottawa brought together a community with their production of The Lion King Jr.
I once told my children to think of school as a community. Instead of the physical building and walls that . . .
Posted in: lion king jrschooltheatre
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