Parents Forum Blog
Be Kind and Carry On
Princess Diana: “The biggest disease this world suffers …is people feeling unloved.” #okaytosay @parentsforum @parademagazine
A revelation and a plea
The revelation:
Parents Forum should be free, in part because support that is freely offered is simply priceless/ The other reason, which leads to the plea, is that nobody seems to want to pay for what we offer. Sad face.
The heartfelt plea:
Could you kindly make a small donation, or a large one, to support our peer support program as we move into our second quarter century? With a lot of volunteer effort over many years and wonderful support from community-minded businesses, Parents Forum is now celebrating its 25th anniversary. I cannot quite believe it, but it’s true.
If you are in or near Cambridge, Mass. please join us next Monday, May 15th, on International Day of Families
bit.ly/2ogng0z
for our anniversary celebration. Tickets are still available.
And, wherever you are, please take a look at this article
http://bit.ly/2qCLuUj
in the spring newsletter of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Our collective blind spot
Almost every day I read an article on children's issues that completely ignores parents. What is wrong with this picture? The Economist's otherwise terrific article "Poor children fall behind early in life. Better pre-school education could help" (June 25, 2016) did...
Be the Change . . . award nomination
This quick word, with profound thanks to Sophia Luthuli in Soweto, South Africa, who nominated me, is to share a link: http://bit.ly/1TjMMKK The nomination for a Nelson Mandela - Graça Machel Award in the individual activist category is a great honor. It would be...
Ch-ch-ch-changes
It seems that I was the 12,733,144-th person to listen online to this song by David Bowie, who is now, sadly, gone from us. I confess that I did not follow him ... something about being busy raising children, working and all that ... during his heyday. I have been...
The wilderness right outside our doors
Scott Sampson's How to Raise a Wild Child affirms what I have long felt but couldn't explain: All of us, especially kids, need to connect with nature in all sorts of ways, large and small. He lays out the arguments for connecting children with the natural world and...
If the people lead . . .
Bartletts, or else my search technique, has failed me. The quote I am looking for is, "If the people lead, the leaders will follow," and it came to mind yesterday when Parents Forum board and friends gathered yesterday to mark Respect for Parents Day. I think we need...
Why do we so often think . . .
that economic justice is a problem only for poor people? that gender equity, along with sexual assault and sex trafficking, are concerns only for women? that intimate partner violence can be resolved by helping only the victims? that racial equality is an issue only...
Today’s the day for donuts …and discussions
What's more important, treats or talk? Both are of course and I am a big fan of chatting. I hope to see some of the readers of this (very occasional) blog at Davis Square in Somerville (Mass.) this afternoon between 1pm and 3pm. The address is 250 Elm Street, near the...
Report from Tunis, and FIEP
Steven Pinker ... a quote I read on a Chipotle bag, of all places ... said, "We will never have a perfect world, but it is not romantic or naive to work toward a better one." I am in Tunis this week for the 50th anniversary conference of the International Federation...