Parent:Wise Austin - Cover Story

Charter Schools: Do They Measure Up?

Brian J. Stankiewicz — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 03:46:45 +0000

By:

Kim Pleticha

When it came time for Martin Lujan to choose a high school for his oldest son, one thing was clear: he wanted a school in which discipline and academics were a priority.

About:

Kim Pletcha is the editor of Parent:Wise magazine.

Beyond the Burger: What Are We Doing About Childhood Obesity?

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 20:29:05 +0000

By:

Julia Ramirez

In 1974, I was 10 and like most 10 year olds, I didn’t give any thought to what I ate – namely the caloric or fat content – nor did it ever occur to me how much physical activity I got. My parents didn’t concern themselves with it either, but back then it was a time when daily school lunches were prepared in the cafeteria kitchen and hour-long, required gym class were givens. Ugh, how I loathed the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, which was mandatory. Oh, and when “I’m bored” was uttered it was easily resolved by being told to “go play outside.” Eating fast food? Yeah, right. That just wasn’t an option, especially since my parents had six other children to feed and we couldn’t afford that “luxury.” But when it came to the weight of schoolmates, the heavy ones weren’t obese they were “fat.” And they weren’t bullied, they were teased.
Thirty-four years and a new century later, a lot has changed.

About:

Julia Ramirez is a former editor of Minnesota Parent.

Why Can’t I Adopt? A Single Man’s Quest to Create a Family

Admin — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 04:24:00 +0000

By:

Kim Pleticha

In 2009, the last year for which U.S.

About:

Kim Pleticha is the Editor and Publisher of Parent:Wise.

The Fall of FamilyConnections: How Fraud Cheated Families

Kim Pleticha — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:55:45 +0000

By:

Sugandha Jain

The news hit like a tornado in April: FamilyConnections, arguably the best-known family assistance nonprofit in Austin, would shut its doors.

Effective immediately.

The reason? Suspected fraud.

A real tornado could not have been any more devastating.

Overnight, more than 30 employees lost their jobs and parents throughout Austin lost a resource that had provided them with education, assistance, and camaraderie for nearly two decades.

About:

Sugandha Jain is an award-winning journalist and a member of the management team for a local preschool. She and her family live in Austin.

Dream Come True: An Amusement Park for Special Needs Kids

Brian J. Stankiewicz — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 20:03:45 +0000

By:

Hannah Diller

Imagine a theme park where a family of four could get in for fifteen dollars – for the entire day. Imagine arriving by public transportation or enjoying free parking right outside the park’s entrance. Imagine bringing your own food and drinks through the gate, rather than paying extortionist prices for less healthy options. Imagine never waiting longer than ten or fifteen minutes to board a ride, and never worrying about losing a child in the crowd. Imagine a place where people of all levels of physical and cognitive ability are welcome and even celebrated.

Open your eyes. You’re at Morgan’s Wonderland.

About:

Hannah Diller is the Parent:Wise Sizzle Sights columnist (although she took a break from that this month to write this article). She and her family live in Austin.

Leaning on St. Valentine-How to Go From Lovers to Parents (and Back Again!)

Brian J. Stankiewicz — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:37:01 +0000

By:

Karen Grinstead

Marriage is not a noun; it's a verb. It isn't something you get. It's something you do. It's the way you love your partner every day.

That’s how relationship and personal growth expert Dr. Barbara De Angelis describes marriage: a union that must be nurtured through constant tending.

Easier said than done…especially if you’re a parent.

For many of us, finding that special someone began so innocently — easy-breezy laughter and silliness, long talks and longer walks, holding hands and candlelit dinners. Love comes easily and follows a natural progression in our daydreams: a fabulous wedding, an enviable marriage, perfect children, and growing old together rocking on the porch. But for so many in this country, those picket fence images all too often fade into divorce. The estimate for first marriages ending in divorce currently sits between 40% and 50%. Divorce happens for myriad reasons, but for a lot of couples the unexpected stress of having children is a big one.

About:

Karen Grinstead is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Parent:Wise, The Charlotte Observer, Parent Teacher Magazine, Properties Magazine, and local NBC-affiliated television newscasts across the country. She and her family live in Leander.

You Are What You Eat: Kids & Behavior Modification Diets

Brian J. Stankiewicz — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 18:40:44 +0000

By:

Sugandha Jain

He was always the worst-behaved child in the room. It didn’t matter where he went. Or when. Three-year-old Cameron* simply couldn’t control himself — ever.

“He was bouncing off the walls all the time,” recollects his mother, Susan*. “I loved him dearly but couldn’t bear to be around him because he was so obnoxious, in-your-face, he could never sit still, never stop moving, couldn’t control his impulses—he was always hitting, kicking, jumping or touching.”

Desperate to figure out what was going on with her son, Susan stumbled onto an article about a little girl whose behavior seemed nearly identical to Cameron’s and who was “cured” through a special diet.

About:

Sugandha Jain is an internationally published journalist and a part of the management team at Kids R Kids Child Development Center. She and her family live in Austin

The Dyslexia Diagnosis: Better Readers, Happier Kids

Kim Pleticha — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:25:40 +0000

By:

Julia Ramirez and Kim Pleticha

If anyone should have noticed her daughter had a learning disorder, Liz Green figured it would have been her. As a kindergarten teacher, she had been specifically trained to spot learning difficulties. But since her daughter, Hayleigh, was an excellent student and an enthusiastic reader, the subtle clues went unnoticed.

“Each night we read, Hayleigh made more and more substitution errors,” she says. “She read ‘rampant’ for ‘repellant’ and ‘habitat’ for ‘hatchery’.”

It didn’t make any sense. Ms. Green asked her daughter’s teachers about the errors, but nobody seemed particularly concerned. Until second grade.

About:

Julia Ramirez is a former associate editor of Minnesota Parent magazine. Kim Pleticha is editor of Parent:Wise Austin.

It’s 2012 Should Your Family Be Family Prepared?

Admin — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:04:19 +0000

By:

Kim Pleticha

Are you ready?

Maybe for a flash flood? Earthquake? Tornado? Bioterrorist attack?

This isn’t some 2012 doomsday scenario: it’s an actual question posed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

And the answer, for most people, is no.

About:

Kim Pleticha is the Editor and Publisher of Parent:Wise.

’Tis Better to Give: Fun Family Volunteering for the Holidays

Kim Pleticha — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:04:30 +0000

By:

Kim Pleticha

At some point between Dec. 21 and New Year’s Day, every single family in Austin will at one time or another ponder the exact same question:

What the heck am I going to DO with these kids?

About:

Kim Pleticha is the Publisher and Editor of Parent:Wise. Contact her at Editor@ParentWiseAustin.com.