A Father-Son Bike Ride To The Extreme

By Tashween Ali

In his book Rising Son, NYC dad Charles R. Scott chronicles a bike riding expedition through Japan that gives new meaning to quality time with family.

risingsonbook A good adventure will always bring a family closer, and perhaps no one knows this better than Charles Scott, father of two and author of Rising Son: A Father and Son's Bike Adventure Across Japan. It all began two years ago when Scott took three months off from his corporate job at Intel to bike across Japan…with his 8-year-old son,… [more]

Honor A Great Local Teacher

By Eric Messinger

Our editor encourages all city parents to nominate their favorite teacher for a Blackboard Award. Deadline: 5/10.
bb This may be the best part of my job: asking you, reminding you, encouraging you to take five minutes right now to nominate a great teacher for the Blackboard Awards For Teachers, which celebrates excellence in local education. New York Family has been sponsoring the awards for more than 10 years, and I promise you these teachers who give so… [more]

Is Test Prep Getting The Best Of Our Kids?

By Eric Messinger

Our editor witnesses a cathartic scene at his son’s school drop-off.
em I kid you not. Before line-up this morning, one of the girls in my son's third grade class put her official "Test Prep" folder on the ground, and then she and her and friends took turns stomping on it, each with a different style. It was kind of like they were taking turns jumping into the middle a Double Dutch… [more]

Sports In Our Schools

By Gabriella Rowe

A local education expert discusses how an investment in sports can be an investment in education.
877668_sport_balls_4 Most people would agree that athletics and organized sports can be a vital part of a well-rounded education for our children. But while we accept this theory almost as gospel, we do very little to put it into practice. Besides the obvious health benefits of physical activity, there are untold numbers of social, educational, and developmental lessons to be learned… [more]

The Art Of Eating An Oreo As A Kid

By DJ Duckworth

A local mom reflects on her Oreo-eating childhood, and how she’s instilling some healthier habits in her own son.
oreo As a kid, I relished Saturday mornings. I grew up in a small town in Arkansas—a sleepy place on the weekends where not much was going on except children playing in the yards and everyone getting ready to go to church on Sunday. I would wake up well before my exhausted parents who just wanted to sleep in and not… [more]

Talking To Kids About Inexplicable Violence

By Tali Rosenblatt-Cohen

A local mom realizes that she’ll have to start having some difficult conversations with her three young children.
1315423_usa About a year ago, I began writing for New York Family magazine and was talking to editor Eric Messinger about possible parenting topics to explore. We somehow got on the topic of 9/11 and I mentioned that my husband and I hadn’t yet fully discussed the events of that day with our children, the oldest of whom was 7. Eric… [more]