Blog for Later in Life Moms Over 35
Our group for later in life moms features mothers and experts sharing. We share about living life fully over age 35, and write not just about parenting experiences, but life, growth, aging, etc.
Given Robin’s personal passion for sharing cool finds, travel destinations, unique attractions and theatre going, she and others write periodic reviews of products, services, trips, Broadway and Off Broadway shows and other forms of entertainment, attractions and leisure pursuits….whether for kids, moms or couples.
If you’d like to submit a topic, product, destination, event, show or attraction for consideration, write robin@motherhoodlater.com. Happy to hear from you!
Click to determine which type of writing opportunity is best for you.
Thursday
June 17, 2021
As a workplace influencer, under my company name Admin On-the-Go, LinkedIn asked me to weigh in on the issue of workplace loneliness. I thought I’d share my contribution here on MLTS. I don’t think I knew that folks were experiencing this, since I erroneously believed everyone’s just out there having a ball collecting paychecks and shopping on Amazon from their desks. So here goes…
The Tried… the True… the Revolutionary. 6 ways to combat loneliness at work:
Nobody knew better than Silicon Valley just how much the twenty-first century worker 1) would be needed at the job… 2) would feel like they never leave the job… and 3) would learn to love it so long as their employers could intuit the perfect ways to make it all ok. With their pioneering work-from-home flexibility, their work campus playfulness by design, and their bring-your-baby-to-work magnanimity, companies like Apple and GOOGLE set the bar high for the rest of workdom by doing things that made people actually rather be at work than anywhere else. (For Pete’s sake my sister gets to do her laundry AND play Ms. PacMan at her San Francisco-based GOOGLE office that allows her to leave her car somewhere in … Continue reading..
Posted in Blog | No Comments by Pamela Francis
Thursday
May 27, 2021
Michele Borba has been a teacher, educational consultant and parent for many years, and she has never been more worried about kids than she is right now. She describes our kids today as strivers—educated, motivated and more privileged than ever before, yet depressed, lonely and empty, and this is according to hundreds of interviews she has done with kids throughout the country. I had the opportunity to read her book—THRIVERS—and present her with questions. This book is a MUST READ for any parent!
Can you describe todays’ typical “Striver” and what is preventing them from being today’s “Thriver”?
A “thriver” is a kid who has a sense of agency and skills of reslience. So, when he’s faced with a challenge he is more likely to say, “I’ve got this” and not rely on adults for rescue. The result is that he’s more likely to bounce back and succeed. Strivers are kids who want to succeed but when faced with challenges rarely go the full 9 yards and overcome. The biggest reason is that that lack the skills of resilience that could help them do so. Reasons that prevent them from becoming a Thriver are many. We have done too much … Continue reading..
Posted in Blog | No Comments by Robin Gorman Newman
Thursday
May 27, 2021
How Do They Know?
Did you ever wonder why babies quickly develop a social smile and look you in the eyes? Is it surprising to learn that the muscles in your ears are set within the range of women’s voices at birth or that babies prefer looking at women’s faces versus men? Seeing a baby ignites rapid brain activity. In fact, researchers at the Institute of Child Health and Development find that the “cuteness” we associate with babies may help to facilitate well-being and complex social relationships by activating brain networks associated with emotion and pleasure as well as triggering empathy and compassion. In a seventh of a second, the orbitofrontal part of our brain becomes active at the sight of a baby. This rapid activity may partly explain how babies of any species appropriate our attention so quickly and completely.
What is the force behind these phenomena? The answer is a single word—instinct! It is our contention that in complex species instincts serve a critical role in shaping the developmental course through childhood into adulthood. Tens of thousands of generations of children allowed for many genetic mutations, some of which were adaptive. Some of these increased the likelihood that … Continue reading..
Posted in Blog | No Comments by Robin Gorman Newman
Tuesday
May 25, 2021
It’s graduation season and an exciting time for both high school and college seniors. You’ve done the work, studied hard and now it’s time to walk across the stage to Pomp and Circumstance and receive your diploma.
When all the fanfare dies down, what is your next move? Get a job? Start your own business? What do you need to do to become successful? For many students, it’s a very confusing time and one filled with doubt and uncertainty.
The good news is, there are a number of steps you can take to ensure success no matter what your intended career path, whether you get a traditional job or go the entrepreneurial route.
Get around successful people
The absolute best way to excel at something is from someone who has already successfully accomplished it or is far more advanced in it than you. Follows these people carefully. Even in your immediate circle, get around people who think big and want to make something of themselves because it will have a direct impact on your performance. Remember, winners attract winners.
Grind your heart out
Whether you decide to go the more traditional route and join a company, or your heart is … Continue reading..
Posted in Blog | No Comments by Robin Gorman Newman
Monday
May 24, 2021
Other People and Their Opinions
Remember trying desperately to fit in at high school? Spending hours pondering whether or not you were cool? Or funny? Or smart? Or pretty? Back then, we were caught up trying to evolve in a fishbowl full of judgy peers and social norms. Yet even now, many of us still fret about what others think of us, from our boss or our kids to the random person in the grocery store. The desire to be accepted is so innate that it can supersede rational thinking and influence all kinds of decisions.
Perhaps you are one of those lucky women who has always marched to the beat of your own drummer. If so, I admire the heck out you. But for the majority of us, the increase of social media can make it a challenge to keep our eyes on our own papers so to speak—especially as we reach midlife. Once again, we may be questioning our place in the greater scheme of things, especially when everyone’s picture-perfect lives can open up our own feelings of “compare and despair.”
Why does it seem that everyone else is always on stunning vacations? Or lifting a mimosa at … Continue reading..
Posted in Blog | No Comments by Robin Gorman Newman
Thursday
May 20, 2021
Reprinted with permission from Mommin’ It by Harriet Shearsmith, Kyle Books 2021
Let’s talk chores
When I first became a mum, I never really thought of chores as something that was a controversial or debatable topic. Your kids live in the house, they will one day have
to live alone – be that at uni or when they move out –
and it’s sensible to teach them how to run a house, right?
Well, apparently it isn’t that simple. There are endless opinions about chores (surprise surprise, isn’t that the
case with everything in parenthood?), from which chores are bad for kids to which are good for kids, and when
they should start doing them. I think, as with
all things parenting, there is one thing to
remember: do what works for you.
Do what works for you
In every family set up there will be a different way of doing things, and what Karen down the road thinks you should do is irrelevant, as is what your parents tell you that you had to do as a child. The task is to work out what works FOR YOU and run with it. It will take a bit of fiddling … Continue reading..
Posted in Blog | No Comments by Robin Gorman Newman
Friday
May 14, 2021
You might assume that graduating is every student’s no-duh conclusion after 12 years of early rises, sketchy breakfasts, hasty hygiene and barely escaped tidal waves of tardies. But as a classroom teacher, an educator for over twenty years, a student, myself, for 18 cumulative years, and now as a mom, depending on the student, the household, the educational system, the political climate, and the times, it’s no given. For Black boys in particular, that polyester cap and gown may as well be a suit of armor during the Crusades as much as it now signifies the Dear-God-I-made-it-out-of-there-ness of making it through school. A high school diploma, the least of which one needs to apply for employment in our society, may be all some of our children will ever clasp, as many parents in the African- American community, in particular, look askance at University price tags and student loan shackles.
Can my kid forgo this, some of us ask? My rolodex is rife with friends and relatives who are living quite the lucrative life devoid of Nelnet’s existence in their Yahoo contacts. I love my degrees, but I have people younger than me making 3 times what I make even as
…
Continue reading..
Posted in Blog | No Comments by Pamela Francis
Monday
May 10, 2021
Moving tends to be a stressful process for everyone involved. But as overwhelming as it might feel, you can be certain it’s just as bad for your kids, if not even worse. They have to leave their familiar environment and potentially friends behind, which can cause them a lot of sorrow. Depending on your child, the prospect of moving to a new environment and meeting new people may also cause them anxiety.
For these reasons, involving children in the moving process is a great idea. As Nancy Zafrani, general manager of Oz Moving & Storage, says: “Moving is stressful for kids because their environment is changing and they don’t have any control over it. Making them part of the process helps with this problem.”
With this in mind, here’s six strategies for involving your kids in the moving process…..
6 Ways to Make Moving Fun For Kids
1. Have Them Decorate the Boxes
If you want to make sure your kids have something to do while you handle more important things, this is one of the best ways to keep them busy and involved. Hand them marker pens, some decorative tape, and stickers, and let them have their … Continue reading..
Posted in Blog | No Comments by Robin Gorman Newman
