Beth
Beth is mom to a high school sophomore and a first year college student. After fourteen years as a professional writer and editor, she earned graduate degrees in counseling and play therapy. Now she exercises her creativity as a school counselor. Beth loves reading, especially mysteries.
Life Skills for College Students
I see you, Senior Mama. You're planning for graduation parties and senior pictures and college dorm rooms.
More important than having the right stuff for college, though, is making sure your kid has the right...
How to Help Your Teen Get (and Keep) a Job
Over the years, I’ve joked about hoping my kids can live on their own someday, rather than hanging out in my basement forever. This may not seem like a lofty parenting goal, but it...
How to Get Your Kid Ready for College Living
Like most things in parenting, getting a kid ready for college or their own apartment is easier the second time around. I know now what is important and likely to be helpful—and what isn’t...
Building a Full Life in My Empty Nest
We’re a few weeks into the school year and our family is already caught up in the fun and excitement of senior year for our younger son. We’ve been to football games and watched...
Parent Hard Now
I have a confession to make. I’m almost nervous to put it in writing because it feels a little like challenging the universe. I’m going to do it anyway.
We have enjoyed parenting our teenage...
Tips for Taking Your Family to the Drive-In Movies
Drive-in movies are a totally American invention! There are fewer than 250 drive-ins in the U.S. today, down from more than 4,000 during the Golden Age of outdoor movie watching during the 1950s and...
County Fairs Around Kansas City Metro Offer Family Fun
Let me start with a word of confession. I’m a grown-up 4-H kid. For a few years, I pledged my head to clearer thinking and my heart to greater loyalty. And I won two...
Keep Kids Learning During Summer Months
You’ve probably heard about summer learning loss, a growing learning gap between kids who take summers off and those who continue to study. This idea has been pretty well accepted in education circles for...
Adjust Your Parenting Style to Deepen Parent-Child Relationship
I have a clear memory of my first night as a mama. My four-week pre-term baby was spending most of his time in the St. Luke’s Hospital nursery under a light. The nurses brought...
Getting Ready for the ACT and SAT: What’s the Best Plan for Your Kid?
As surprising as it sounds, your tiny baby will most likely eventually go to high school and then prepare for something after graduation. I was as surprised as you when we entered the almost-ready-for-college...
Writing the Perfect Holiday Letter
In the spirit of full disclosure, I should say that I love holiday letters. I read every one we receive each year and share the best bits with my husband or my parents or...
Building an Emotional Vocabulary
Even before our babies are born, we begin talking to them. We read and sing and tell stories as a way to connect with this new little person. We talk about what we’re doing...
What To Do If Your Kid Struggles at School
Like many of you, we took a class before our first baby was born. We learned about breathing and packing for the hospital and a whole bunch of other things that were really only...
To Kindergarten or Not? That is the Question.
Our first baby was born in June, four weeks before his July due date. In the blink of an eye, we were faced with the question: Do we send him to kindergarten at 5...
Birth Story: And Everyone Had Cake
This birth story series is sponsored by HCA Midwest Health.
We were grown-ups when we got married. In fact, we’d been grown up for several years when we found each other and fell in love....
