The Haitian Earthquake: How to Involve Our Kids + Old News Already?

When the story broke about the Haitian earthquake, I found myself glued to the TV in a state of sadness and shock.  I found the images, as I’m sure many of you did, to be quite graphic and disturbing and made it a point to either turn off the TV or change the channel when [...]

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Red Pill Readers: How Do You Handle the Springtime Candy Onslaught?

Valentine’s Day and Easter — other than Halloween, nothing rivals these two springtime holidays for sheer terror in the heart of a sugar-averse Red Pill Parent.  My household is by no means ‘clean’ of the offending substance, but I do try to not get carried along by the prevailing cultural insistence that these two holidays represent [...]

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I’ll Admit It: I Yell At My Kids

I hate this about myself as a parent.  A little voice says, “Red Pill Parents don’t yell.”  It usually happens when we have to be somewhere at a certain time, when being late has consequences (the bus stop, dance class, a birthday party, etc.)  And it’s typically because despite all the literal verbal clues I’m [...]

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A Rhyming Game You Can Play In The Car

Two summers ago, when my daughter was really getting interested in letters, I started playing a rhyming game with her in the car one day that was both lots of fun and educational.  My daughter really got into it and we were able to play it for long stretches, which helped the travel time pass [...]

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“Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” – The Last Lecture

“Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.” – Randy Pausch Red Pill Parents, it’s late at night, but this was just too good/important/uplifting/moving not to share with you immediately!  I just finished watching this 1 hour 16 minute lecture by Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon professor who is most famous [...]

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Movie Ratings – Half the Story, or More Like 5%?

Last year I purchased a kids’ movie (rated PG for “momentary language”) based on a book that I read and loved as a child, and have read over and over with my daughter especially.  I figured the movie was based on such a fantastic book that it was a pretty sure bet, and in general [...]

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Specifying Gifts: Party Invite Faux Pas, or Conscious Parent Protocol?

Anastasia (faithful reader, commentor and Red Pill Parent) brought up a really interesting point after reading my It’s Time to Fall Out of Love With Cheap post.  She writes: It’s difficult to control children’s possessions when well-meaning family and friends give gifts that you wouldn’t buy for your children (i.e., cheap plastic). Not only cheap [...]

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Talking To Our Children About Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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Today, my dear friend Ann Ruckert, a musician, composer, arranger and educator, posted the following on her blog at www.annruckert.com. While she may have been born at an earlier time than many of us current parents, she is the embodiment of a Red Pill Parent. A conversation that I had with her several years back [...]

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Raising Thinking Citizens

As a gentle snow fell on New York City this past New Year’s Eve day, I had the good fortune of attending a US naturalization ceremony at the Federal Courthouse in Manhattan. While observing the faces of the new citizens and their friends and family who came to share this special day with them, a [...]

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Oh, This Bloody Coke Thing

Consider if you will: a public elementary school has a fundraiser for Juvenile Diabetes.  This school offers reduced-fat and whole wheat items on its lunch menu.   Its students are asked to bring a healthy snack and water to school each day.  Some of its students have the opportunity to earn play money for good [...]

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