Middle School Chronicles: Questions With No Answers

January 26th, 2012 . No Comments »

My son comes home from school on Friday and informs me that he has a detention and his teacher is trying to get it cancelled because it wasn’t his fault, but if he has to serve it – he will have to stay after school on Monday. This means he will miss the school bus, and I will have to take off work early to pick him up. He explains that he was late to class and got caught in a tardy sweep, because another boy prevented him from getting to class.

“What do you MEAN he prevented you?”

Apparently the other boy blocked his way and pulled on him to keep him from getting to class. So they both get caught in the tardy sweep and get assigned to detention. “Let me get this straight – he put his hands on you?” I ask as I try to keep my tone and expression together.

I called the school on Monday morning and asked if I could leave a message with the teacher to call me back about the detention my son was given. The front desk person says because this is about detention, you’ll have to talk to the Assistant Principal (AP) over discipline or her secretary and she will take your message and have the teacher call you. The Discipline AP is busy I’m told, but her secretary says she can probably help me. I ask to leave a message for the teacher regarding the detention. She says we don’t take messages for teachers, the front desk will have to do that for you. I take a deep breath and explain that the front desk just told me it was a discipline issue and they don’t take messages for teachers regarding discipline issues. Then she says, have you e-mailed the teacher? When I said no, she said you’ll have to go to the school website get the email address and send the an e-mail.

My next question (after a mental deep breath and extended eye roll) was – “Is there a reason why you can’t just take my name and number and give it to the teacher or give me her e-mail address? I’m on the phone with you NOW. I can and will go look it up if I have to, but I don’t understand why I have to.”

Complete silence…

“Can you please hold?” She goes away. I’m wondering if she has to get permission to take a message – I mean she is the secretary after all – isn’t this part of the secretarial job description? Shouldn’t she have some sort of directory at her fingertips with this information? After a few minutes, she comes back and agrees to take the message and give it to the teacher – which is pointless, by now I’ve decided to e-mail the teacher, because I think this woman will put my message in the trash.

Then I ask about the policy of scheduling detention the next day following a transgression. I understand they want the consequence to occur as close as possible to the transgression. However, if I have to take off work to pick him up because there’s no late bus, then my schedule should be given some consideration. This policy is not conducive to working parents. In addition, my understanding is the reason for the tardy wasn’t his fault – so why should my schedule be impacted based on whether or not somebody else’s child decides to act like they have some sense? Should I advise my son in the future to get to class by any means necessary?

Again, complete silence…

I imagine she’s wondering why she answered the phone. Finally she says that detentions can be rescheduled, but I’d have to write a letter to request it.

Cutting to the chase, I did eventually end up speaking to the teacher and the detention was ultimately cancelled – but what is the deal with the total lack competency with the school personnel?

Posted in Adventures in Parenting
Tags: ,

Book Giveaway! Baby MEDBASICS: Emergency Action Steps At Your Fingertips

July 25th, 2011 . No Comments »

Every parent wants to know what to do in case of an emergency with their child. From allergic reactions, bites & stings, bleeding, burns, and choking, to CPR, falls, fever, poisoning and rashes, Baby MEDBASICS covers a wide range of situations with simple step-by-step instructions on how to respond. This book offers readers concise, effective information to take immediate action as their baby’s first responder in many emergency situations. Baby MEDBASICS provides emergency care tips for infants from birth to one year and fits perfectly into any diaper bag.

An excerpt of the book is provided below and the friendly folks at FSB Associates have graciously provided a copy of the book for Diva and Mom readers. To be entered into the contest leave a comment below. For an extra entry follow Diva and Mom on Facebook. A winner will be selected randomly on August 15th. Good luck!

Bites & Stings
By Luke Hermann, M.D. & Tara Summers Hermann, R.N., B.S.N.,
Authors of Baby MEDBASICS®

Being bitten or stung can be a painful and frightening experience for your child. Insect stings and animal bites can cause distinctly different medical complications. Understanding why will allow you to take care of your child immediately and know when to seek medical attention. So if your baby has been stung or bitten by an insect or animal, turn to this section, and we’ll show you what to do.

BITE Basics

Dog bites account for most bite wounds in children followed by cats and rarely humans. Although the bite itself may damage the skin and underlying tissue, the most common complication from bite wounds is an infection caused by the bacteria that live in the mouth of the biter. Unlike stings, allergic reactions do not complicate bite wounds.

Types of BITES:

Dog Bites
• 80-90% of all bite wounds.
• Most occur in children less than 10 years of age.
• Most often the dog is known to the child.
• Most children are bitten on the head or neck.

Cat Bites
• 10-15% of all bite wounds.
• Most bites involve the hand or arm.
• Because cat bites tend to cause puncture wounds, they are at the highest risk to develop infection.

Human Bites
• Most involve the hand or arm.

BITE What to do
1. Control bleeding by holding direct pressure to the wound (see bleeding section).
2. Clean bite wound with running water.
3. Cover bite wound with a clean bandage.
4. Give ibuprofen (if older than 6 months of age) or acetaminophen (Tylenol) to help alleviate your baby’s pain.
5. Check wound for infection every day.

Signs of Infection: Redness, drainage, increased swelling, worsening pain, fever

Which wounds should be seen by a doctor?

Most bite wounds should be seen by a doctor because of the high risk of infection. This is particularly true of the following types of bites.
• Any bite wound to the hands, feet, face, or genitals
• Any puncture-type wounds
• Any bite that penetrates deeply beneath the skin

Rabies
Rabies is a concern in bites caused by wild animals (i.e. raccoons, skunks, etc.) or stray cats or dogs, particularly if the bite was unprovoked. If you have any suspicion that the animal could have rabies, see your physician immediately.

STING Basics
Most stings are caused by bees, hornets, or wasps.

Responses to a Sting
1. The most common response is a local reaction. Your baby’s skin is reacting to the venom injected by the sting. This can be painful but is not serious. Your baby may experience burning, swelling, or redness around the immediate area of the sting. Symptoms typically improve within hours; however, about 10% of children will develop a much larger local reaction that may take days to resolve.
2. Rarely a generalized (severe) allergic reaction may occur. This reaction is severe, life-threatening, and requires immediate emergency care.

Symptoms May Include:
• Skin: generalized hives (rash)
• Nose and Mouth: swelling of lips or tongue, changes in the sound of your baby’s voice or cry
• Lungs: wheezing, difficulty breathing
• Circulation: becomes weak or unresponsive
• Gastrointestinal: abdominal cramps, vomiting, or diarrhea
DIAL 911: For severe allergic reactions, call 911 immediately or your country’s emergency response number.

STING What to do
If your child is stung, remove the stinger as quickly as possible to limit the amount of venom released into her skin. If you see a little black dot at the site, most likely part of the stinger is still present and needs to be removed.

Local Reaction
1. Apply a cool cloth or ice pack to the area of the sting.
2. Give ibuprofen (if older than 6 months of age) or acetaminophen (Tylenol) to help alleviate your baby’s pain.
3. A paste made of baking soda and water applied to the site may provide additional relief.

Generalized (Severe) Allergic Reaction
1. Call 911 or seek immediate medical help.
2. If your doctor has prescribed an epinephrine auto-injector (EpiPen), use it now.

When to Call Your Doctor
• If your baby has multiple stings.
• If she was stung inside her mouth or nose (swelling in those areas can cause difficulty breathing).
• If after being stung your child has a large local reaction (3+ inches in diameter) that persists for days.

Prevention
• Never leave your infant alone with an animal.
• Do not let your baby poke, pull, or hit an animal.
• Never allow your infant to approach an animal that is eating, sleeping, or caring for babies.
• Always ask the owner before allowing your child to pet an animal.
• Do not let your baby approach unknown animals.
• Never let your child feed wild animals.
• Avoid bee hives amd nests — bees and wasps tend to be aggressive only when their nest is disturbed.

Wearing bright clothing does not increase the chances of being stung.

The above is an excerpt from the book Baby MEDBASICS® by Luke Hermann, M.D. & Tara Summers Hermann. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

Copyright © 2011 Luke Hermann, M.D. & Tara Summers Hermann, R.N., B.S.N., authors of Baby MEDBASICS®

Author Bios
Luke Hermann, M.D. & Tara Summers Hermann, R.N., B.S.N., authors of Baby MEDBASICS®, founded the company MEDBASICS® LLC. They live in New York City with their three children, Nicholas, Oliver Beckett, and Vivienne.
For more information please visit http://babymedbasics.com and Amazon.com, and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter

Posted in Adventures in Parenting
Tags: , , ,

Dealing with a Resistant Reader

July 18th, 2011 . 2 Comments »

Summer is almost over – yay!

Uh oh – summer is almost over.

What I mean is summer is almost over, and my kids haven’t read very many (if any) books. Well honestly one kid has read books and one kid hasn’t. I have a ravenous reader and a resistant reader. What to do? I know all of the books say read to your kids. The truth is, I’m not sure how much that really helps. I read to my son daily from before he was born probably until about the time his sister was born. My daughter got the second child treatment – very little daily reading. He is the resistant reader and she is the ravenous reader.

I use the term resistant because he can read, he just doesn’t want to. He’s an above average reader by any school measure; he’s just more interesting in running and jumping and video games. In his mind, there’s no such thing as reading for pleasure. Reading involves a number of things that just aren’t at the top of his priority list right now, like sitting still and being quiet – plus it’s something you do by yourself and where’s the fun in that?.

I struggle with how to get him to read without it feeling like punishment for him. I’m trying not to expect him to love reading just because I do…I don’t understand what’s not to like. It’s not just that I want him to love reading. He is going to need to be able to sit himself down and read whether he likes it or not to make it through middle school, high school, college and career…and that is just a fact of life. He has to be able to do it without being forced, coerced, or fussed at. Hmm…what to do?

We’ve got about a month left before school starts, and here’s my new plan (since the one I had at the beginning of the summer didn’t pan out – turns out just thinking about the kids reading doesn’t actually get them reading):

1. Lead by example. Somehow I need to let the kids see me reading more. This will be a challenge as I do most of my reading after they are gone to bed. New plan – carry my kindle and read while I’m waiting on one or the other to finish at practice, in a waiting room, or whenever there is a free moment.

2. Let them pick the books. This is one of the harder ones for me, because given a choice my son will want to read a magazine or something from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid genre – something that I may consider foolishness, but I will tell myself that at least he’s reading. A trip to the library, used bookstore or chain bookstore is in order.

3. Designate a reading time. It would be unrealistic with our schedule to assume we could schedule some reading time everyday, but we can designate reading times a couple of time during the week. In order to make this productive, we will all have the same designated reading time. All TV and electronic devices will be turned off to eliminate distractions (this will not be popular).

4. Discuss what was read. I’m going to have to move beyond basic questions on what was the book about. He’s clever enough to read the inside cover of the book and the first and last chapter and try to tell me what the basic plot was. I may have to read the books myself to be able to discuss them. Hopefully showing an interest in what he’s reading will help.

5. Stick to it. What good is an un-implemented plan? Exactly. Consistency is the key success.

Now we’ll see what happens.

Posted in Adventures in Parenting, My Two Cents
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Mama’s Car Drama

July 14th, 2011 . 2 Comments »

At what point do you just give up on your car? I mean just throw up your hands and declare that it has reached hoopty status?

My confidence in my car and the local dealership is quickly eroding. Granted the car is 7 years old (but is that really old in car years?) and has a lot of miles (150K), but it has been well taken care of. I expect more from my Nissan and the Nissan dealer than the foolishness that has been going on. They recently replaced a radiator in my car and two weeks later the car overheats again in the midst of the sweltering humid Houston morning traffic. Add to that $145 dollars just to tow it about 60 feet to get it out of the moving traffic, then an over an hour wait for AAA to tow it to the dealer and it was a lovely start to the morning.

The dealership followed up by telling me that the radiator they put in the car two weeks ago was bad, i.e. cracked in several places. The service rep used the technical terminology “the radiator fell apart inside the car.” Wow! Really? If I had been blogging like I was supposed to, you’d already know about the cracked radiator, bad timing chain, broken motor mounts, and gasket and cover replacement of a couple of weeks ago. I’ll try not to complain (much) about the new tires, two new batteries (yes two in less than a year), CV joints, serpentine belt replacement and air conditioning repairs not too long ago either.

The service rep first informed me that because they installed an aftermarket radiator, that they would cover the part to put a new one in, but not the labor. Well first of all, no one informed me of the warranty difference when they offered me the cheaper part. As a matter of fact the service rep told me it was a better radiator than the Nissan radiator and at a cheaper price. Who wouldn’t go with that deal? Secondly, what benefit is there to going to the dealership if they don’t stand behind the parts they put in? I could have taken it to a local repair shop for an aftermarket part, and I’m pretty sure that they would have replaced it parts and labor if there was a problem two weeks later. Crappy crappy service Mr. Nissan Dealer.

Ultimately, the dealership decided to cover the part and the labor. With some negotiating, they also reimbursed the cost of the tow and provided a rental car for a day while they fixed my car. However, the kicker is while agreeing to those changes they “found” something else that needed repair for an extra $400. The timing on that is entirely suspect. The jury is still out on my feelings about the service provided by the dealer. I guess I will eventually settle that in my mind provided the car doesn’t break down again in the near future.

On one hand, I’ve been blessed that both times the car overheated I didn’t have my kids with me and really nice people stopped to help. On the other, I’m left trying to figure out how much more foolishness I’m willing to endure in the name of no car payment. I keep telling myself, that essentially the car has been rebuilt and should be all good now…but I’m sooo skeptical.

Posted in Randomness at it's Best
Tags: , ,

Clean(er) Eating

July 12th, 2011 . No Comments »

In my quest to be the best me I can be, one of my friends turned me on to Clean Eating Magazine – a great magazine full of recipes for adopting a healthier eating lifestyle.

What is clean eating you ask?

Here’s the definition straight from the magazine (shortened):

1. Eat fix to six times per day. Three meals and two to three small snacks. Include a lean protein, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and a complex carbohydrate with each meal.

2. Drink at least two liters of water a day. Preferably from a reusable canteen.

3. Get label savvy. Clean foods contain just one or two ingredients. Any product with a long ingredient list is human made and not considered clean.

4. Avoid processed and refined foods such as white flour, sugar, bread and pasta.

5. Know thy enemies. Steer clear of high

6. Shop with a conscience. Consume humanely raised and local meats.

7. Consume Healthy fats (essential fatty acids, or EFAs) everyday.

8. Learn about portion sizes and work toward eating within them.

9. Reduce your carbon footprint. Eat produce that is seasonal and local. It is less taxing on your wallet and our environment.

10. Drink water with a lemon wedge instead. A glass of red wine for a special occasion is OK, but it should be a rare indulgence. The health benefits of red wine are reversed after more than one glass a day.

11. Slow down and savor. Never rush through a meal. Food tastes best when savored.

12. Take it to go. Pack a cooler for work or outings so you always have clean eats on the go.

13. Make it a family affair. Food is a social glue that should be shared with loved ones. Improve the quality of your family’s life along with your own.

I have to admit that this is an intimidating list, 1 and 2 alone are going to be a challenge. I’m committed though. So far every recipe I’ve made so far has been great. I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going.

Posted in Fit and Fabulous
Tags: ,
« Older Entries