Heart to Heart: The challenge of raising a gifted child

 Question: Dear Adele, Our son is in primary school in the local school system. We think he might be gifted, and his teachers have suggested we have him tested. I’m wondering what experience you have with gifted children and what ideas you have for me about raising him. We want

Heart to Heart with Adele: Checkups for children’s mental health

 Question Dear Adele, My former husband is telling me our school age daughter is experiencing a mental health issue and that she wants to talk to a counsellor. I am unsure about how to handle this, as she has not expressed that desire to me. I do not want to

Heart to Heart with Adele: Allowance

 QUESTION Dear Adele, My son is nearing seven years of age and is starting to ask more often for money to buy things he wants. I grew up earning an allowance by doing chores once a week but I’m not sure what is the best practice these days. I’d love

Heart to Heart with Adele: Teaching and learning

 QUESTION Dear Adele, My child was assigned to a teacher I have heard mixed reviews about recently. I would like to find out whether I need to be concerned and what I should do about it, if anything. What has been your experience with this, and what advice do you

Heart to Heart: Learning outside the classroom

 Question Dear Adele, The Ontario government and the Teachers’ Federations’ are at loggerheads over a contract, and rotating strikes are causing me concern about my teenagers’ learning this year. What ideas do you have to deal with this political situation beyond our control? No Control Answer Dear No Control, It

Heart to Heart with Adele: Be a wingman to your child

 Question Dear Adele, Our teenage son brought home a project he completed with a ‘D’ grade. He says the teacher dislikes him and gave him a lousy grade because he is a thinker and challenges her ideas in class. Should we call the teacher or request an interview to get

Heart to Heart: French immersion?

 Question: My otherwise well adjusted daughter is attending a French Immersion program in second grade. She often does not want to go to school, feins tummy aches or headaches to stay home and turns into a ‘wild child’ in the evenings when I try to help her with a bit

Heart to heart with Adele Blair

 “My partner and I have decided we do not want to have any children. We plan to tell both of them tonight”. There are few parents who have survived the challenges of raising children who cannot get a chuckle out of this recent jocular post on Twitter. While numbers vary

Should Parents Shame Their Kids Into Better Behaviour?

 Last month, a mother in Splendora, Texas, made headlines when she forced her grade 5 son to wear a t-shirt that said, “I am a bully” to school. After finding out that her son had been bullying other children, Star (last name not disclosed) felt that this was the best

In a world of buzz-word parenting, what’s a parent to do?

 Helicopter parenting. Tiger parenting. Free-range parenting. These are buzz-words we hear all the time that are supposed to describe the “best” approaches for parents to take raising their children. We all want the best for our children and parents happily and eagerly adopt the latest, greatest advice. Even governments enact

Here’s What Happens When I Write About Parenting a Child with Autism for the Mainstream Media

 I’m not entirely sure why I write about my personal experiences parenting a child with autism for the mainstream media.  Mostly I hope my own experiences may help someone else on their autism journey – and they won’t stumble through as I have done in the early days.  Parenting a

Current Patchwork of Funding Policies for Children’s Medicine in Canada Needs Critical Attention

 You are the parent of a sick child.  You have a limited budget and you must decide to buy the medicine the doctor prescribed for your child or provide food and shelter for your family instead.  What do you do? Sadly this dilemma is one too many Canadians are facing.

We Need a Radical New Approach for Kids in Care

 Families seeking support services should not have to worry their children will be taken away from them Six advocates for First Nations children have gone on a symbolic hunger strike at the Manitoba Legislature to try to raise awareness across the country about Manitoba’s broken child welfare system. Why? Well, here’s one

Monkeys and Crocodiles Play Baseball: an interview with Angel Krishna

 Illustration by Angel Alvarez. In the game of baseball, it’s easy to see when there’s a lack of communication on the field. Whether it’s a wrong pitch, jumbled infield pass or a missed fly ball by two outfielders, communication can make or break the game. Both on and off the