I have been on Triond for over two months and I have written over one hundred articles.
Here are my fourteen absolute favorite parenting pieces and their viewer reception.
“Developing a Love of Reading” is an article that clearly states the steps that parents need to take to help their child learn to love reading. Children who love to read are successful adults.
A few teachers left me comments letting me know that they would be presenting this article to parents at student conferences in the future.
“Bullying is Not a Part of the School Curriculum,” offers some tangible and specific advice on how to help a child deal with a school bully. Several parents even took the time to comment that this article helped their child with strategies to handle a school bully. A few parents wrote to say, that the bully has left their child alone ever since they used some of the tips mentioned in this piece.
“11 Mistakes That We Make As Parents” continues to be viewed consistently and has received almost 200 comments in the over two months it has been published.
Many viewers have expressed their feelings about some of the suggestions, which they found controversial. But sometimes the truth is tough to hear.
I received the best and the worst of humanity in the comment section of this piece. Some comments ranged from attitudes about “believers” and “non-believers” and a faith-system to calling me as the author some very intolerable things. I actually had to delete about 30 tremendously rude comments written by both believers and non-believers.
One thing I did learn was that people today seem to have no debating skills whatsoever. They seem to feel that hurling insults and making personal attacks will win the argument. On the positive side, the comment section was and continues to be an interesting read.
I am proud of this piece and I stand behind my right to express my opinion however, I never forecasted that simply stating a “faith-system” is important to raising a child would blow the roof off the building.
“The Parent Trap-13 Tips for Teen Parenting” was another article that I have received much positive feedback. I am glad that I could help make teen parenting a little easier and let parents of teenagers know that they are not alone.
“13 Ways to Help Your Child Survive Standardized Testing” was written in response to all the stress on parents and students during the weeks of state standardized testing. Several readers let me know that the tips in the article did help their family get through the whole testing experience, as they knew what to expect.
“A Perfect Divorce” of course rarely happens, but this article focuses on putting the children first in divorce and calls on parents to be adults. Some readers were upset that I called divorce “perfect”, but others saw the big picture of the piece and found the article most helpful.
“Mean Girls: Society's Creation” was very well received and I even heard from two different counselors who wrote to tell me that they were going to use the article in their own “mean girl” conflicts at their school when they conferred with parents. Several readers completely related to the situations in the article and thanked me for writing such a comprehensive piece.
This article created a bit of a sensation in that parents were not aware of the dangers and high incidents of cyber-bullying. Several parents wrote to tell me that after reading this article they became more vigilant in supervising their child's texting and online time. They also took time to talk to their child/teen about what to do if they encountered a cyber-bully. I was just glad that I could help by creating an opportunity for parent/teen/child discussions!
This article drew a mixed response of opinion, which is always a good thing.
Some parents and teens left comments expressing that the article's point was a valid one. One comment was from a coach and said that we “babied” our kids too much already. I certainly was not looking for total agreement, as diversity of opinions and experiences is far more interesting.
“It's Blood-Sucking Lousy to be a Nit-Picker.”
One viewer read this article over a month ago, when it was first published.
Then last week after a slumber party she noticed a louse in her son's hair.
She quickly remembered my article and found it again online. She read the article and looked at the pictures. Sure enough her poor son did have lice. But by rereading the symptoms and advice on treating and getting rid of lice, this reader was able to get a handle on the pests early.
“Parenting Tips to Get Your Kid off the Couch This Summer”
I have heard from a few readers who appreciated the suggestions that I gave for keeping children active and learning this summer. One parent implemented most of the tips and will keep me informed as to her success. She was concerned that her son was overdoing the video games and after reading the article she decided to limit his video game time. Stay tuned!
“11 Summer Mistakes That Parents Make”
After the huge success of the original “11 Mistakes That Parents Make” I tried to
repeat my luck with a twist of adding “summer” to the title. It's not breaking the bank to say the least, but a few comments have said it was helpful. One comment lamented that I did not include the importance of “keeping a faith” in the summer. Maybe if I had heeded her advice there would have been more viewers and controversy!
“Newsflash: Teen Pregnancy is Not Glamorous”
This article received praise by viewers for stressing the importance of education and talking to teenagers about sex. Movies like“Juno” and celebrities such as 16-year-old Jaime Lynn Spears glamorize teen pregnancy and spread fiction. Parents must provide honest discussions and keep the lines of communication open with their teenagers.
This article won a “Triondy” Award for best parenting piece for that week and the recognition was a big compliment, which I appreciated tremendously. It felt great to know that someone was reading my pieces.
Several readers commented that this particular piece really hit home with them, as the humor made it funny and refreshingly honest.
As a writer and a parent I can honestly say that these Triond articles on parenting have brought me a deep sense of satisfaction.
Thanks to the many wonderful comments that these pieces generated I can again reflect on the power of the written word and the contentment in knowing that I made a difference. Thank you Triond for allowing my voice to be heard.
