The Summer Camp Dilmena
by Christine Duval

Summer Camp - to go or no?

I think the hardest thing I’m facing right now is weighing the desire for my daughter to experience sleep-away camp (or as they call them now, residential camp) versus the part of me that isn’t ready to let go. So, the guilty side of me that feels like maybe I’m holding her back has become obsessed with finding the perfect day camp. That way, she won’t notice if she’s home all summer. She’ll be having so much fun, she won’t think about it.
Or I won’t, at least…until next year.

Ending Math Anxiety in Girls

By Christine Duval

I don’t love math. I admit it. It never was a favorite subject of mine. I didn’t do horribly in it, but I realize looking back to my school days that I didn’t get a lot of encouragement to enjoy or excel at it either.

Recently while struggling to help my daughter with a complicated word problem, I realized that my attitude towards math might be affecting her attitude towards the subject as well. I started poking around the internet to see what other people might be saying about girls and math.  I was surprised to find that girls are still far behind boys when it comes to pursuing math or science fields especially today when technology plays such a vital role in every facet of our busy lives. There are so many interesting, highly lucrative careers that require a good math base and I’d hate to think our daughters are missing out

The Los Angeles Times had an interesting article recently about how girls might be learning math anxiety from their female teachers. Granted I’m not my daughter’s teacher, but I do help her with math homework. Could my under-confidence in the subject keep her from excelling at it?  Based on the findings of psychologists at the University of Chicago, it seems to me it could. After following female teachers who admitted to being anxious about their math abilities for a year, they found the girls they taught turned out to be more likely to have math anxiety and score lower on tests.

Of course it would be hard for me to know how confident a teacher is in teaching any subject. I don’t see myself asking in a parent/teacher conference, “So, how secure are you in your abilities?” But, I do have control over what happens at home. So, I’ve decided when it comes to math, rather than get frustrated or anxious, I’m better off explaining that just because I didn’t excel at a subject, it doesn’t mean she can’t and encourage her not to give up. I may not know how to solve every equation, but I’m resourceful enough to help her find the tools to build her skills.

And be sure to check out Danica McKellar’s great book for tween girls – Math Doesn’t Suck (this from the gal who played Winnie on the Wonder Years – yup she grew up to be a math whiz…)

Here are some tips for making your Mother/Daughter book club successful. First, you should come up with some ground rules for how you want the club to run. For instance, how will you choose the book (by vote, picking a title out of a hat, or by choosing the featured girlmogul.com book pick). How often will your club meet and where? Some book clubs rotate from house to house, others meet at the library, and still others opt to meet at a local book store. Second, you should make sure that the club is not run by the moms. Let the girls have a say in what food is going to be served, what questions are going to be asked and encourage them to participate in each discussion.

Once you’ve found committed members and have your club rules, get creative. Sure it’s easy to sit around a table talking about what each person liked or didn’t like about a book. But, there are other ways to make the experience more enjoyable. You could serve food that is in keeping with the theme of the book. If the book was made into a movie you could all watch the movie together and then discuss the differences of the two. Another idea is to play a game. Stick the names of characters from the book onto the backs of members as they come in without them being able to see who they are supposed to be. Then encourage everyone to give clues to each other while mingling (you may want to cover up any mirrors for this). The first person who figures out which character they are wins.

There are lots of ways to make a Mother/Daughter book club fun and chances are your daughters will come up with some very clever ideas. And, if you are unable to get enough people to join because of scheduling conflicts or lack of interest, don’t be afraid to form a Mother/Daughter book club between you and your daughter. After all, sharing a book is a great way to stay connected.

A recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation study shows the average kid between the ages of 8 and 18 spends 7.5 hours a day online. Struck by the numbers, I decided to conduct my own “study” to see just how much time my tween daughter spends in front of a screen — – be it a computer, Ipod or TV on a typical weekend day.

Do Tweens Spend Too Much Time Online?

8:30 am – 10am: Woke up, came downstairs and turned on the TV. Watched The Suite Life of Zach and Cody On Demand followed by Tru Jackson On Demand, followed by iCarly On Demand while eating French toast sticks.

10am – 12pm: With television still on, pulls the laptop out and begins emailing friends, checking her Kidzui account, culminating in a game of Wizard 101 for an hour.

12 – 1pm: Finally (with much coaxing from Mom) leaves the couch, gets out of PJ’s, makes bed.

1pm -1:30pm: Pokes around the house, has lunch.

1:30 – 3:00pm: Plays with little brother.

3:00 – 5:00pm: Turns television on again and grabs laptop. Interactively plays Club Penguin with her brother who is on the other computer while also watching Disney Channel.

5:00pm – 6:00pm: Plays Wii Fitness (at least now she’s off the couch).

6:00pm – 6:30pm: Has dinner with family.

6:30pm – 8:00pm: Watches iCarly and Tru Jackson.

8:00pm – 8:45pm: Goes up to bed, changes and reads a book.

In the 12 ½ hours my daughter was awake, she was online in one form or another for 8 hours! That’s six hours longer than what is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and five hours more than I feel good about. Next weekend I’m pulling out the kitchen timer and setting some limits!