ParentMap, June 2007 Issue

Published on: June 01, 2007

ParentMap June 2007 issue

This month, we interview modern-day dads and discuss their ever-evolving role in raising kids. We tackle discipline in Ages & Stages, from first steps to coping with teen attitude, then head Out & About for fun with bugs and berries. Our Getting School Ready columnist Linda Morgan offers great tips for sneaking learning into family travel, and, as the temperature rises, Natasha Petroff covers talking to kids about climate change. We’re also proud to present our new special section about all things home and house- buying, Nest.

Feature: Fatherhood now: Redefining 'Daddy'



Ages & Stages:


Getting School Ready: Stealth summer learning

Out & About:

Media: ParentMap's media picks

 

Voice: Boys & Girls Clubs


Issues: We’re talking climate change, baby

 

From the readers: Letters to the Editor


 

About this issue


Dear Reader:
Alayne Sulkin
There was uproarious laughter at our weekly Friday night family dinner this week as a guest recounted her father’s dissimilarities to fathers and husbands of today. The kids fell off their chairs when our friend said her father’s monosyllabic utterance of the word “salt” had her mom jumping out of her chair to fetch it. I won’t indicated which male in the room mumbled “the last real man” under his breath. My 1960’s dad actually shopped, cooked and created the most delicious and frequent home cooked meals in our home from beginning to end.

We know dads today are far from being considered mom’s helper and child’s playmate, as they were in the not-so-remote last century. This month’s feature, “Fatherhood Now” highlights the continual evolution of fathers’ roles and the positive impact it has on the whole family.

Dramatic progress has also taken place in how we discipline and what makes it effective. As parents, we are most grateful for the guidance we get from today’s focus on reflection and teaching instead of yesteryear’s version of reaction and punishment. Who remembers the infamous “wait until your father gets home” mentality? Growing up in my house, we breathed a sigh of relief when it was Dad in charge. Unlike many of his peers, strict household disciplinarian was a title he neither desired nor could fulfill. “Discipline means teaching, not punishment” is a profound shift in thinking whether you are taming tantrums of your three-year-old or trying to refine the surly disrespect of your teen

And, as we blissfully transition from the end-of-year extreme school schedules to a smooth sailing summer, Out & About offers great Father’s Day adventures for all. Summer urban foraging suggests delicious wild berry escapades and education that will delight all. In the words of author Kathryn True, grab a bucket and go!

Wishing a Happy Father’s Day to all.

—Alayne Sulkin, Publisher/Editor

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