Tag Archives: public

Staying on Top of Your Brood in Public

One of the most stressful and scariest parts of being a parent is trying to keep track of your child when you are out in public. When you have more than one child, or several children to keep track of and there is only one of you, it can be extremely nerve-wracking! While I only had three children close together in age, I often had some “extras” along when we were out and about so I developed a few tricks for keeping track of everyone. I have also gathered some ideas from some of my friends who had more heads … Continue reading →

Is Your Discipline Different in Public Than at Home?

A hundred years ago, it was common for the more financial affluent families to have a parlor or a room in their house that was not used for the family but existed merely as a place to entertain. This room was better furnished, often cleaner, and may have been the only room in the house that was really decorated since it was the public face of the family. While it would be ridiculous for me to assume that there is not a difference between how we act in public and how we act when we are in our comfortable homes … Continue reading →

When People Make Assumptions and Say Rude Comments in Public

Dealing with rude comments and people’s assumptions is one of those life realities that has a tendency to catch us off guard. No matter how many times you have been on the receiving end of an inappropriate comment, I don’t know if we ever get used to it. Surely, it is not just single parents who have to wrestle with this problem but I do think we get more than our fair share. What can we do when we are on the receiving end and what can we do to make sure we are not the ones making rude or … Continue reading →

How Do You Know if They Are Too Crabby for Public?

You’ve started out the door on an outing or an errand—you absolutely have to get to the store, the library, the bank, and the school. Your child has had a nap, even though she was a bit on the cranky side earlier in the morning. Once she gets in the car, though, she starts whining and complaining—should you abort the mission? What if she throws a fit on line at the library? Should you push on? How do you know if your child is just too crabby for public? Well, how much can you handle and how much should everyone … Continue reading →

“I Don’t Want to be Seen in Public with You”

Well, I have to appreciate their candor—my son is the last to go through this stage of my three children and my older girls have moved through it and are into going to lunch, shopping or to a ballet with me again. My son, however, would rather be caught dead than caught out and about with him mom… A few years ago when my eldest started down this teenage path I actually got my feelings hurt! It took some time for me to gain perspective and it wasn’t until my second daughter “rejected” me that I was able to get … Continue reading →

Observations at the Library on a Saturday

I usually make my trips to our downtown branch of the library during the week. Our huge, beautiful library building is located in the center of downtown and very easy for me to stop at when I am commuting to and from work-related activities, my favorite local deli and grocery store, or things I am attending for my kids. But, yesterday, I decided to take a Saturday morning trip to the library and was surprised to find the library swarming with parents of very young children. I suppose Saturday is a perfect day for working parents to take their children … Continue reading →

Dealing With the “Ex” in Public

After a divorce or separation, you may be hoping for “out of sight, out of mind.” Or, at least, you might like to only have to deal with your ex at pre-arranged times for transfers and child-related decisions. However, there is the “public” factor to be considered—all the sporting events, special occasions, and performances involving your child where you will have to deal with the ex, and possible his or her new partner, in public. I don’t know about you, but the public events were the hardest for me to get used to. I would get “triggered”—particularly at my kids’ … Continue reading →

What Do You Think “Family Friendly” Means?

I’m going to stick my neck out here and say that I think that most of our society is NOT family-friendly. Over the years, there have been times and places where I felt comfortable as a family—but overall, many places and situations were not particularly friendly or welcoming to a single mom with three kids in tow. Granted, my children are older now and we don’t do a lot out in public all together as a clan, and they are well-behaved enough to eat at any restaurant or attend events—but it wasn’t so long ago that I was still struggling … Continue reading →

Have You Ever Been Scolded in Public?

The Summer, 2006 issue of “Brain, Child” magazine has an interesting essay written by Katy Read dealing with the issue most of us parents face at one time or another–having our parenting skills dressed down in public by total strangers. The unsolicited parenting advice and judgment doesn’t stop once the baby is out of diapers, either. Seems everyone has an opinion on how, where and why parents should handle and care for their children. The article got me to thinking about how I’ve honestly been on both sides of the fence on this one–I’ve definitely been the recipient of unsolicited … Continue reading →