NORTH BAY BOH E MI A N | SEP T E M BE R 1 2–1 8 , 20 1 2 | BO H E M I AN.COM
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Parenting ( 21
AT THIS FRENCH CHARTER SCHOOL” should also be dealt with cautiously. How to Deal In lieu of a Xanax prescription from your doctor, make sure to take some time off. Find a good, dependable babysitter. At this stage, finding adventurous things for both you and your child to do together is key—camping is great, because kids love nature. Outdoor concerts, baseball games, bike rides and the ocean have also worked well for me. Embrace all those hokeyass activities you did as a kid, like Train Town, Howarth Park, the Mexican circus, the municipal swimming pool, the family series at the Wells Fargo Center, the Russian River, the cartoon matinee and the Rose Parade. Complain about how all these things used to be better, while remembering the power of free, simple pleasures. If all else fails, just bang your head against the wall. It works!
Child By Stett Holbrook, father of Everett, age seven What to Expect As your kid enters first grade and beyond, you’ll find he or she straddles
two worlds: toddlerhood and childhood. They get long in the limbs, lose teeth as if they were spitting out sunflower seeds and finally graduate from a car seat to the simple bliss of a booster seat. And yet in many ways they’re still babies who have nightmares, wet their pants, throw tantrums over sock colors and want you to hold their hands. Savor it. What You’ll Need Patience. The sleepless nights of infancy may be over, but now that your precious one is a full-fledged walking and talking child, you’ll need a calm demeanor to handle the iron will and debating skills of a growing child. Cocktails (for you) are helpful, too. What You Don’t Need TV. Plastic toys. And sugar after 3pm. How to Deal Connecting with other parents is great. Slowing down and letting your child set the agenda for a change is good. And striving to listen and connect with your kid and really see and hear him can work wonders—for both of you. “They grow up so fast” is the world’s most unoriginal parental insight, but like most clichés, it happens to be true.