Advice for Working Moms Juggling Career and Kids

Mastering the Mommy Track book

Book Review of Mastering the Mommy Track: Juggling Career and Kids in Uncertain Times

 

If you are looking for advice for working moms who are struggling to juggle kids and their career, then this book was written for you and for me. I recently had the chance to review Erin Flynn Jay’s new book, Mastering the Mommy Track: Juggling Career and Kids in Uncertain Times. Jay addresses four areas of life that concern each of us as women and mothers: home, health, parenting and work-life issues. Self-care is the underlying theme throughout the book and Jay reminds us how important it is to keep ourselves healthy! This book is full of tips, advice and reminders on everything from triggers that cause communications problems with your spouse to how to select the right type of childcare for your family. I found the book to be an easy read, full of stories of real women who have experienced struggles similar to mine and my friends. Plus Jay offers effective, simple solutions for finding the balance we crave.

Know When to Have Your Child Tested for Learning Differences

Learning Differences in Kids

School more of a challenge than expected?

Signs point to when to have your child tested for learning differences

by Sarah Jayroe

The first day of a new school year should be an exciting time in every child’s life.  There are exciting books to read, science experiments to perform and art projects to create.  There are clubs to join and sports teams to cheer on.  Don’t forget, of course, all of the new friends to make.  The lifelong love of learning is beginning to blossom.  Unfortunately, this is not the sentiment for all students.

For some students, going back to school can be a time of dread.  Anxiety, uneasiness and feelings of low self worth can set in and, unfortunately, can have lasting repercussions.  These are the students that have a feeling that something is “off” or that they are “different.”  These students may not grasp academic concepts like their peers.   How do you know if this is simply a phase or possibly something more?  Could this uneasiness in your child be caused by an undiagnosed learning problem?

Help Your Tween Handle Stress

Help your tween handle stress

How to teach your children effective ways of handling stress

by Dr. Caron Goode

For many people the words childhood and carefree are interchangeable. Lazy summer days, best friends, and Friday night pizza parties are the stuff childhood memories are made of. Unfortunately, so is stress. Stress, the overwhelming feeling of self-doubt in one’s ability to cope, has become as much a part of childhood as Little League.

Children experience stress in different ways during different stages in their development. An elementary age child may complain of stomach aches and headaches. Older children might become irritable or depressed, while teens may rebel. In the case of my daughter, her middle school years were fraught with low self-esteem and sleepless nights.

I began to notice a change in her behavior in seventh grade shortly after she joined the track team. She had always been an active child. She played basketball for a local league and was on the swim team at our neighborhood pool. Therefore, when she tried out for her middle school track team, I wasn’t surprised. At first, she met the challenge of daily practice and Saturday meets with enthusiasm. Towards the middle of the season, however, there was a change in her attitude. Her stories about practice were not as animated as they once were. I had also started to notice dark circles under her eyes. When I asked if everything was alright, her reply was a meek and unconvincing, “Sure.”