“Mommy, I’m scared. Please don’t make me go!” All over the world, moms, dads, nannies and other caregivers hear the same refrain, morning after morning. Kids who don't want to go to school. Kids who are afraid to go to school. My Facebook feed has been peppered these past few weeks with the … [Read more...]
A Young Woman of Great Promise
Any parent of a daughter (and let's face it: parents of sons, too) should be justifiably frightened by the emerging details of the Rehtaeh Parsons case. Pretty much any of us can imagine it: a fifteen year-old girl goes to a high school party, maybe even her first big party. Some booze is passed … [Read more...]
Thank You Kaitlin Hrudey
There has been a lot of media coverage lately of the youth mental health crisis, which is particularly bad here in Calgary. And it's about damn time. I've known about this crisis for a long time now, because I've been part of it. And it's getting worse, not better.My oldest daughter has anxiety. And … [Read more...]
Taking Back the Power
Bottom line: dealing with severe anxiety and school refusal (my daughter has been diagnosed with severe Social Anxiety Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder - along with a few other things) is no easy task for either the child suffering from them or the parents. So in order to help me understand … [Read more...]
The Stolen Child
My girl is gone. And it happened so slowly, so insidiously, that I hardly noticed it taking place. Just like in one of my favourite poems, she has been carried away almost, it seems, by faeries...Come away, O human child!To the waters and the wildWith a faery, hand in hand,For the world's more full … [Read more...]
“I don’t wanna go to school…”
So this post is not about the common "school-aroo-stay-home-is" (thanks Mom, for the decidedly wacko label for it!) that I and my sisters occasionally suffered from as kids. This is not the, "gee, I really don't feel like it today so I'll stick the thermometer in my hot oatmeal" shenanigans that all … [Read more...]
I Love School. She Hates It.
I've been really interested in the dialogue that Erin's got going over on Multiple Musings these days regarding education. I have a couple of compelling reasons to be so interested in Erin's thoughts on education (apart from the fact that she's my cousin and I have a lot of respect for her … [Read more...]