Dear Readers, The Mommybites staff informs me that my 11/27/12 column, “Grandparents Grapple with Question: Is Santa Claus Real?” generated a lot of interest. Several readers said that it doesn’t really matter what the grandparents think, should their grandson raise the Santa Claus question because, as expressed by one reader: “The question poses a bigger problem […]
Author: Dr. Karen Rancourt
Karen L. Rancourt, Ph.D., has over 50 years of varied experience. She began her career an elementary school teacher, went on to become a college professor, management consultant to Fortune 100 companies, career coach, and author of six books and a dozens of articles. Dr. Rancourt has helped thousands of parents, professionals and grandparents make important relationship decisions.
Guidelines for Giving and Receiving Gifts
Dear Readers: During the busy holiday season and throughout the year, I hope you find my six guidelines for giving and receiving gifts make giving and getting gifts more fun and enjoyable for your child, as well as for your child’s gift givers. 1. Help your child create a “gift wish list.” At a very […]
Grandparents Grapple With Question: Is Santa Claus Real?
We have two grandchildren, five-year-old Danny, and three-year-old Jessie. We live near them and spend a lot of time with them. As we head into the holidays, here’s our problem. Our daughter-in-law Bethany “does Santa” in a big way, e.g., leaving cookies and milk out for him, planting reindeer hooves marks in the yard, having […]
Grandparents and Grandchildren Help Us Smile
Dear Readers, Because so many of you are facing extraordinary challenges as a result of Hurricane Sandy, I want to use this column to help you smile, however briefly, by sharing some humor from grandparents and grandchildren. (I thank my dear friend GP for sending these to me.) Message on Grandparents’ Answering Machine Good morning […]
Son Marries While Grandmother is Dying
My friends, Sally and Mark, never saw their grandchildren (ages five and seven) until a year ago. The family estrangement happened nine years ago when Sally and Mark’s son, Ronnie, was getting married to Emily. Ronnie and Emily had planned their wedding to take place on a cruise ship with family and some close friends […]
Young Parents Deal with Legal Guardianship
My husband and I are working on our wills and we have some questions for you. Do you have suggestions about how to and whether to discuss guardianship issues with grandparents, just in case something should happen to both parents? What if you are selecting one set of grandparents over another? What if you want […]
Remembering 9/11
My column today is about remembering. We remember and grieve for family, friends, responders, those we knew, those we did not know – everyone who died on 9/11. We remember and join with heartfelt sympathy all those who lost a loved one. We remember and thank all of the surviving responders, many of whom have […]
Mom Feels Guilty about a School Decision She Made
The problem for Barbara is that having her girls in two different schools last year in different parts of the city was a scheduling and transportation nightmare, between getting the girls to their schools in the morning and to their afternoon activities and doing the pick ups.