Wha’s-Up?… & DMoms

Here are a few things brewing this lovely Monday:

First – We’re almost halfway through October (yikes!) and I’m just now getting to this month’s free give-away for folks who like themoatblog on Facebook. Click to “like” and you too will be entered for this month’s prize: lots of laundry goodies delivered to your home. And how fun for a lucky winner to have a big delievery deposited on her doorstep for her children to see. “What’s in that box? … Is it for me?!!” To which the winner can answer, “Why yes it is.” And, “Happy Day … now, get in there and let me see you use it,” with a big smile as she pours herself a nice glass of sweet tea… or brew a cup of hot tea depending upon where she lives.

Congratulations – and Thanks to Michelle Ham – last month’s winner!

If you have already “liked” themoatblog’s FB page, feel free to click the link above and share it with your friends to like. You will be entered to win with each share.

Second: I can’t remember what the second thing is… but I thought I had three to share. Oh well, another day.

Third: Check out DMoms moatblog post for today: Does Helicopter Parenting Promote Cheating?

Okay, so even typing that title makes my stomach hurt a bit. You know, I always one to question, but totally shy away from any type of accusation – mostly b/c I’m the one who stands accused. But they know what they’re doing over there at DMagazine – and get things fired up. And it is a topic worth contemplating. Here’s a snippet. Click on it to read the full text:

“Character is higher than intellect.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Cheating has found itself the topic of many a headline these past few weeks. The New York Times apparently started the current conversation with their article on Sept. 25 entitled: “Struyvessant Students Describe the How and Why of Cheating.” In June, 71 students were caught cheating at New York’s flagship public school, indication of an epidemic sweeping across academia all over the country.

Cheating is easy these days, even convenient. Technology places at the fingertips of every student the ability to gather and share information. Homework cheating is a given. Test cheating rampant. Standardized test cheating on the rise.

As tweenparent.com shares in their article “Cheating at School: Start the Discussion Early,” the stats are telling.

Academic cheating is a pervasive problem and if, as a parent, you have left the conversation until high school, or even middle school, it may be getting late. The number of students who cheat is simply staggering. According to the Educational Testing Service, between 75 and 98 percent of college students report having cheated in high school. And among middle schoolers, admitted to cheating while 90% said they had copied another student’s homework. Cheating occurs among both weak and strong students, male and female students and part of the rise in incidence is blamed on increase pressure for good grades and the decreased stigma associated with academic dishonesty.

Parents must start the conversation since kids start swimming in the murky waters earlier and earlier, justifying their actions with each stroke. Apparently, it’s not their fault they have to cheat, it’s “a system designed to grind them down…

(read more…)

There’s more… click and comment on DMoms site. I’d love to know your thoughts. Ever grateful to not be walking this road alone.

-Kay

Oh yeah … just remembered #2

If you’re in Dallas, please come join me on Saturday October 20, 9:30 – 12:30  at Watermark Community Church for Training Day. They have asked me to share about Cleaning House. It will be a fun and interactive morning. I would love to see you and hear ideas/question from your home. Here’s the blurb and link:

Taming the Youth Entitlement Trend: A Mom’s Twelve-Month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement

Do your kids expect clean folded clothes to magically appear in their drawers? Do they roll their eyes when you suggest they clean the bathroom? By racing in to make their lives easy, have you unintentionally reinforced your children’s belief that the world revolves around them?  Dismayed at the attitude of entitlement that had crept into her home, Kay Wyma got some attitude of her own. Cleaning House is her account of a year-long campaign to introduce her five kids to basic life skills and the ways meaningful work can increase earned self-confidence and concern for others.

To register, click here: Training Day.