http://parkcityjournal.com/familyantics Wed, 17 Oct 2007 19:54:30 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en             A female friend of mine recently asked me if I thought she should have a baby.  She is about to turn 35 and feels like that bus is whizzing by and she needs to either get on or let it go.  “That’s not a good reason to have a ... http://parkcityjournal.com/familyantics/2007/10/17/listen-to-your-body/ When I was a kid, it was an annual summer ritual to shop for new school clothes with my mom.  She would haul my sisters and I to Lloyd Center in Portland, Oregon, which at the time, with 104 stores, was the largest shopping center in the world.  (They didn’t ... http://parkcityjournal.com/familyantics/2007/08/27/school-shopping-101-for-boys/     There is one event that both kids and parents track with equal interest as it looms closer each year, and that event is the first day of school.  And even though it’s on the radar for both, it’s dramatically different for each group.  For kids, it’s that dreaded day ... http://parkcityjournal.com/familyantics/2007/07/15/independence-day/ My 12-year-old son informed me that he wants a credit card. Now, there’s a recipe for disaster. “You don’t even qualify for a credit card,” I told him. “And be happy that you don’t because once you’re entangled in the quagmire of credit, you might as well just kiss any home ... http://parkcityjournal.com/familyantics/2007/05/18/i-dont-want-to-take-the-credit/ Dear Mom and Dad,  Camp Moneybucks is very fun this year.  I’m so glad you bit the bullet and paid the extra $900 so I could do the adventure hikes, which included bungee jumping off Teddy Roosevelt’s nose on Mount Rushmore and water skiing down the Snake River rapids on ... http://parkcityjournal.com/familyantics/2007/04/24/passive-agressive-letters-from-camp/       I’ve been using scissors for decades.  My first memory of scissors was when I cut my cousin’s hair with pinking shears when we were toddlers.  My aunt wasn’t happy, but it really wasn’t my fault.  Since I had used packing tape to style my cousin’s hair (we couldn’t find ... http://parkcityjournal.com/familyantics/2007/03/13/preschoolthe-other-higher-education/    I, like every mom and dad I know, got into parenting for one reason; the money.  No, wait.  That’s why I got into high risk junk bonds.  Now why did I get into parenting again?  Oh yeah, for the rewards.  Not the monetary kind, mind you, but the kind ... http://parkcityjournal.com/familyantics/2007/02/22/with-spring-coming-family-camping-is-just-around-the-corner/         Are you planning your child’s first birthday party this year?  Let me share something with you they don’t tell you when you take your little miracle home from the hospital.  The evolution of the children’s birthday party is not unlike a twelve-step recovery program.  In other words, it takes ... http://parkcityjournal.com/familyantics/2007/01/02/the-big-birthday-bang-theory/      The other day I went into my 10-year-old son’s room to ask him a question and found him and his buddy glued to a 10-inch TV screen while they maneuvered joysticks with the precision of fighter pilots.  They were so intent on avoiding land mines in the latest iteration ... http://parkcityjournal.com/familyantics/2006/12/15/the-name-of-the-game/