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Home › Articles › Parenting Strategies › Finding the Fun

Finding the Fun

How to Put the Joy Back
Into Parenting

By Shel Franco

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"I enjoy the friendships and the information we exchange at our playgroup for my 3-year-old," says Croft. "It dawned on me how wonderful it would be to have something like that for Ben's age."

Croft mulled over her idea for a few months, all the while looking for anything similar that was available in her community. When she couldn't find anything, she went looking for other parents of preteens and teens who would be interested in a weekly Parents' Night Out. She placed an ad in her local parenting newspaper, posted flyers on her church and school community boards and ran a brief note in the school newsletter.

"We had eight parents the first week," says Croft. "Dads came, too!"

Cohen-Posey agrees that parent support groups and the give and take of information are important. "What works with other young people will not always work with yours, but it will help to get an idea of what normal behavior looks like," she says. "Most importantly, it will help you get a life."

The Bully Within

Parenting classes and support groups will give you plenty of fodder for thought and the immediate relief of getting out of the house and into a preteen-free zone. Still, you can't be gone every night, and you are bound to be home during at least one bought of preteen furor. How do you cope, then?


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