For today’s parenting tip, we focus on the mind of the teenager. I give you the drama of the 15-year-old girl: She’s lying on her bed sobbing, stating that she can’t go on and will never leave her bedroom again. “I don’t care what you say, there is no reason to live! You just don’t […]
Category: The Purposeful Parent
Parenting can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be if you are Purposeful Parent. Racine County Eye is proud to partner with Kate Martin, an educator, and author of the column The Purposeful Parent.
Martin has been a high school teacher for 27 years and retired from the Racine Unified School District in 2015.
She taught students with special needs as well as those in general education. While working with hundreds of parents over the years, she discovered that there was a significant lack of resources and educational opportunities to help them navigate the many demands of parenting today. For this reason, in 2013 she founded The Purposeful Parent, offering workshops and resources for parents, teachers, and caregivers.
Martin’s column comes out on Wednesdays every week. She’ll also be doing a monthly podcast. She’ll offer up her best advice as well. So if you have questions, feel free to email her at martin5943@sbcglobal.net.
Posted inThe Purposeful Parent
The grading system receives an ‘F’ for flawed
Your child’s grade report is right around the corner. What will you do when you see the grades? Will you reward your child for obtaining As and Bs? Will you punish him for those nasty Ds and Fs? Is a grade of C admissible because it is passing at an average level or are Cs […]
Posted inThe Purposeful Parent
Would You Please Pass Me That Pacifier Mr. Smith?
So, you are a new parent! Here is a list of questions for which you may want to be prepared: What if he is still sucking on that pacifier when he starts school? What if she gets so attached to sleeping with us she never leaves our bed? What if he develops attachment disorder because […]
Posted inThe Purposeful Parent
The Purposeful Parent: The Power of Pausing
Will you please just be quiet for one minute? Growing up in a home with seven other folks I can’t tell you the number of times I was kindly asked to bring it down just a bit. But today’s parenting tip is not about strategies to deal with a young ‘Chatty Kathy’ like myself —Perhaps […]
Posted inThe Purposeful Parent
The Purposeful Parent: The Recipe For Learning
So often as parents and teachers we find ourselves frustrated with those children who just won’t perform in school. Adults with great intentions attempt to come up with clever and complex recipes for learning. I ask you to consider this: If you gather all the best ingredients and carefully mix them to make the fanciest most delicious […]
Posted inThe Purposeful Parent
The Purposeful Parent: My Needs WILL Be Met, With Or Without You
Last week I explained how all of us are constantly behaving in order to meet certain needs and are doing so in the best way we know and to the best of our ability. Given this information, we can conclude that there are no bad children but rather simply poor behavior choices and for you, […]
Posted inThe Purposeful Parent
The Purposeful Parent: Naughty Versus Need Fulfilling
As a teacher and parent educator of many years, I am now able to inform any parent at any time at any place the motivation behind any behavior their child chooses and do so with confidence! Pretty impressive, eh? Well, not really; it’s quite simple—Every child chooses every behavior in any situation in order to […]
Posted inThe Purposeful Parent
The Purposeful Parent: Make Time For Genuine Encounters
Life can get hectic having children, but making time for genuine encounters and good conversations helps immensely. A purposeful parent knows that the most beneficial parenting strategies start with being proactive. These parents focus on setting conditions and having procedures in place that NURTURE healthy choices thereby reducing the number and severity of behavior problems. […]
Posted inThe Purposeful Parent
The Purposeful Parent: Correct Your Child In Private
When you feel the need to correct or redirect your child it is best to do so privately. This includes instances when they are with their friends, family, at the grocery store, and yes, even during parent-teacher conferences. When you observe your child making poor choices you can do one of two things: hold off and bring […]
Posted inThe Purposeful Parent
Continued: The grading system receives an ‘F’ for flawed
Continued: The grading system receives an ‘F’ for failure! Lastly, there is something gravely amiss with the conventional grading system, and it doesn’t seem like anyone plans to address it anytime soon. It defies mathematical logic and actually sets our children up to fail. And, it doesn’t take a math degree to figure it out. […]