Tag Archives: parenting

On second thought… The Moped

Posted on March 8, 2018 by Commander in Chief At home

In the interest of full disclosure, I want to revisit an issue I wrote about one year ago. Last March, soon after Horatio left for three months, Dwight tried to persuade us to let him get a moped for transportation. … Continue reading →

Posted in Living abroad, military family, No Nonsense Parenting | Tagged military family blog, moped for teens, parenting, parenting decisions, transportation for teens, wear a helmet | Leave a comment

Stop It With the Helicopter Parenting

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Commander in Chief At home

Back off. Let kids fail; Let them fall from trees and get Bs and Cs. The era of the helicopter parent must end now. Parents are stifling their kids. The evidence is clear. Young adults are leaving home completely unprepared … Continue reading →

Posted in No Nonsense Parenting | Tagged anxiety in parents, dangers of helicopter parenting, free range parenting, helicopter parenting, parenting | 56 Comments

Parenting Fails Happen

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Commander in Chief At home

I enjoyed the Grade 5 Recognition Ceremony at the boys’ school last night. Watching Bob celebrate the transition from the Lower School to Middle School filled me with joy and just a little bit of sorrow. I am not a … Continue reading →

Posted in No Nonsense Parenting | Tagged international school, living overseas, military blog, military family blog, navy family, opt out of testing, parenting, parenting blog, parenting fail, parenting fail of the week, school testing, testing | 2 Comments

Teaching Our Kids to Stick Up For Themselves in School

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Commander in Chief At home

When your kid is the one who (almost) always follows directions in school, he is bound to be stuck with the kid who (almost) never does. I understand the concept. I’m quite clear on the theory that the rule follower … Continue reading →

Posted in No Nonsense Parenting | Tagged advocate, anti helicopter parenting, helicopter parenting, parenting, student partner, students arguing, teaching, working together | 2 Comments

Vaccine Debate Over: Vaccines Save Lives

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Commander in Chief At home

The title of this piece seems to state the obvious, right? So why are the numbers of anti-vaxxers increasing? Fear. Misguided fear, but fear nonetheless. There is no dispute over the fact that vaccines save lives. The inoculations developed and … Continue reading →

Posted in Autism, No Nonsense Parenting | Tagged anti-vax, anti-vaxx, anti-vaxx debate, anti-vaxxers, autism, autism and toxins, autism blog, autism causes, family, herd effect, herd immunity, military blog, military family blog, parenting, parenting choices, vaccine choice, vaccine debate, vaccine exemption, vaccines, vaxx | 39 Comments

All in an Expat Weekend

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Commander in Chief At home

Sometimes weekends pass with nothing out of the ordinary coming to pass. This was not one of those weekends. Nothing dramatic happened but we saw several things that made me double take. Life abroad is full of things we don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Living abroad | Tagged army, expat life, family, living abroad, marines, military, military blog, military blogs, military families, military family, military family blog, military kids, military moves, military spouse, military wife, navy family, navy wife, parenting, pcs, single parenting, Taiwan, US Navy, yangmingshan | Leave a comment

Seeking Medical Care Abroad- When Dr. Google Fails, You Have No Choice But to Go Outside Your Comfort Zone

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Commander in Chief At home

We have a very good Regional Medical Officer where Horatio works. I’ve taken the boys to see her for various ailments during the six months we have lived in Taipei, but one of the boys has been unwell since October … Continue reading →

Posted in Living abroad | Tagged dealing with deployment, expat living, hospital overseas, illness overseas, joining forces, living abroad, medical care abroad, military, military blog, military blogs, military families, military family, military family blog, military kids, military moves, military spouse, navy family, navy wife, NTU hospital, overseas living, parenting, Taiwan | 1 Comment

Oh The Twists and Turns of This Life We Lead…

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Commander in Chief At home

The windy mountain road we navigate to get to and from our house is a metaphor for our life here in Taiwan. It is full of twists and turns and near misses; but overall, lovely and with perks. Like many … Continue reading →

Posted in Living abroad | Tagged dealing with deployment, deployment blog, Driving overseas, drivingin Taiwan, expat life, expat Taipei, expat Taiwan, family, joining forces, living abroad, military family, military family blog, military spouse, military wife, mountain driving, moving, Navy, navy family, navy wife, parenting, plumbing flood, sewage flood, Taiwan, US Navy, yangmingshan | Leave a comment

To Curse or Not To Curse, WTF is a Parent to do?

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Commander in Chief At home

I’ve never been a big swearer. I can remember as a 10 year old in fifth grade, when my peers started to use “bad words,” thinking that using the F word in every other sentence was a cop-out for taking … Continue reading →

Posted in No Nonsense Parenting | Tagged expat life, f bomb, f word, family, hear no evil, kids cursing, kids swearing, married single mom, military blog, military blogs, military families, military family, military family blog, military kids, military spouse, military wife, Navy, navy family, navy wife, no nonsense parenting, parenting, parenting teens, see no evil, single parenting, speak no evil | Leave a comment

Let The Fearlessly Be Themselves (even if it’s hard)

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Commander in Chief At home

No one who has actually had a child said that parenting is easy. The key is to make it as easy as possible, though. As in most other areas of daily life, I find it much easier to not sweat … Continue reading →