Saving the World One Teen at a Time

Sending My Son Off to College

CEO — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 12:14:21 -0700

By Abby Margolis Newman

On the day my eldest son left for college, my youngest son got his first zit. This had to be some kind of sign, I thought. Time marches on or some such thing. Maybe this was God’s little joke aimed at a mom whose “baby” is no longer a baby and whose first child was flying the coop. If so: not funny.

The SAT Cheating Scandal - What the %$@#?

CEO — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:42:21 -0800

More than 20 kids have been arrested in Long Island for allegedly paying off fellow students to take the SAT exam for them. Have we placed such an unreasonable importance on this one test that children are cheating to deal with the stress?

Sex Scandals and Our Sports

CEO — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:46:33 -0800

As the Penn State sex scandal rocking the nation, parents are faced with another challenge - how to explain the situation to their kids.

The Loss Of A Grandfather

CEO — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 08:46:10 -0700

Until last week, my three children had no experience with death. And strangely enough, although I’ve lived almost five decades, neither had I.

My Child Hates Reading!

CEO — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 10:47:46 -0700

Is it possible to instill a love of reading in a child who hates to read? Or is it, as Cletus from “The Simpsons” might say, “an exercise in futility”?

Overinvolved Sports Parents: A Plea for Sanity

CEO — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:21:07 -0700

Did you hear the story about the crazed “Little League Mom” who stalked, threatened and harassed a Little League official after her son failed to make the summer travel baseball team- and who then arranged to have the official killed?

How Young is Too Young for Facebook?

CEO — Wed, 25 May 2011 10:12:11 -0700

How young is too young for Facebook? I’ve been thinking about this question because my youngest son, Henry (age 12) asked about getting a Facebook page. Henry has two older brothers (ages 16 and 17) who are both on Facebook, but I am not inclined to let Henry participate until high school.

East Coast College Extravaganza, Part 2.

CEO — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:17:59 -0700

In my last piece, I wrote about my five-day college tour with my oldest son, Jonah, specifically about our impressions of Brown and about the admissions process in general. What I didn't really touch upon - and which, in the scheme of things, was more important - was the whole strange and wonderful phenomenon of spending five days alone with my oldest child. For a mother of three, this was a rarity indeed.

East Coast College Extravaganza, Part 1.

CEO — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 21:03:10 -0700

Yesterday I flew 3,000 miles from our home in the Bay Area to Boston with my oldest son, for what I’m calling our East Coast College Extravaganza. We're looking at five colleges in five days. If you’ll indulge a bit of sentimentality (though I realize this is neither original nor a revelation): how the hell did this happen? Wasn’t he just a pumpkin-headed 2-year-old who used an upside-down plastic bucket as a hat?

Tucson: a Family Tragedy, an American Tragedy.

CEO — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 14:06:29 -0800

My kids are no strangers to political rallies. They have met John Kerry and John Edwards, and have accompanied me to protests against the Iraq War. I have a picture of my middle son, Aaron, from a local newspaper in 2004: he is sitting on my husband's shoulders, holding a handmade "Down with Bush! Go Kerry!" sign.