Do timeouts work in your household? Do they extinguish your kids’ bad behavior? Do you find detentions and other punishments used at school pretty effective too? Great! You’ll have no use for “The Good News About Bad Behavior.” If there are one or two readers out there, however, who suspect that there’s a better way […]
Ann Farrar
Posted inSpecial Issues
The village of Capital City Parent
It takes a village to raise a child. We all have a village. Some are big and traditional (large extended family who live nearby, helpful neighbors who know and love and look out for your kids) and small (one parent and a babysitter or teacher). Most of us have something in between – and can […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Getting creative with child care
A dear friend of mine has three children under 5½. And she’s one of the best, most grounded, least edgy moms I know. She’s not the mom with blown out hair and a full Lululemon wardrobe or spotless babies with giant bows stuck to their heads. She’s the one pumping breastmilk in the car as […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Diet no more
I wanted Michelle Obama arms when I walked down the aisle in my strapless dress nine years ago. I worked with a personal trainer and tried to eat healthily, with smaller amounts of beer and frozen yogurt, my standard treats. But I have never been a good dieter. Hunger and abstinence are not really in […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Fall on stage
The Midwest is rife with simmering discontent and sweet poppy distractions all at the same time. Connections are missed and women have had it with the patriarchy. I’m talking about fall theater offerings, of course. Here in Springfield, there are some shady characters at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. If your kids are fans […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Letting our girls be girls
A 2015 study by Common Sense Media reported that 80 percent of 10-year-old girls have been on a diet. More than half of girls ages six to eight said they wanted to be thinner. Dieting, besides being a self-esteem killer, is a huge distraction for girls in the midst of growing up and learning about […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Eat simple, eat whole
So you’re nearing 50 or 60, perhaps 70, and you notice your metabolism has slowed down. Your immune response isn’t as efficient as it used to be. You have interesting, new, digestive troubles and you feel overwhelmed by the prescriptive “health foods” at the supermarket and conflicting diet advice from your vegan daughter and paleo […]
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Arsenic and old musicals
Popular musicals abound around central Illinois this summer. Whether you’re into dancing paper boys or have a soft spot for recalcitrant beasts, pack your bug spray and your rosé. New Salem’s Theatre in the ParkAladdin Jr. June 2-4, 9-10. Based on the Disney film of the same name, for children. State Fair June 23-25, 29-30, […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Keeping bugs at bay
Yes, cold season is upon us. But fear not. While you may want to keep your child in a bubble to avoid germs altogether, it wouldn’t do much for anyone’s sanity. There are plenty of more effective measures you can take instead to strengthen your child’s immune system and keep bugs at bay. Colds are […]
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Parents prioritizing exercise
Don’t let exercise be the first thing you eliminate when you are feeling the crunch because it might be what you need to maintain your balance and sanity. – Carson Tate When we parents travel on planes, we are reminded to put our oxygen masks on first. As a health and fitness coach, I trot […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Growing better gracefully
Disrupt Aging: a Bold New Path to Living your Best Life at Any Age, by Jo Ann Jenkins with Boe Workman. Public Affairs: 2016, 237 pages. “At 50, I began to know who I was. It was like waking up to myself.” –Maya Angelou Disrupt Aging serves as both a declaration of middle-aged and senior […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
The stages of fall
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder is at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis Sept. 13-25. PHOTO COURTESY FOX THEATER At the Hoogland Center for the Arts, classics abound. First though is A Letter to Heaven, an encore presentation of an original gospel play by local playwright Donna Jefferson about a cancer patient’s spiritual […]
