Around the Web:

Mom Versus Mom:

Over at LovingMyLot.com, there’s this great post about motherhood and the dangers of comparison.

I don’t know exactly when the quiet voice began to whisper, do you even know what your’e doing?? But I do know that initial thought was just a hop step and a jump away from this one: That mom sure looks like she knows what she’s doing. And then there was the really quiet thought that always buried itself in a place I would never share with anyone: Maybe she’s a better mom than you.

Super. There is so much here that we need to remember as we try to build genuine community. Read more.

Teens and Unrestricted Access: Time to Repent

John Perritt writes about the danger of providing pre-teens and teenagers with unlimited, unsupervised access to the internet.

We rightly claim that pornography is an addiction, but we don’t seem to be challenging the dealers of this drug. Who are these dealers? Parents. Parents who foolishly give their teens (and pre-teens) free rein with their smartphones and by doing so have invited the world into their child’s bedroom each night.

He’s got some steps for parents to think through. He mentions how to find resources locally to help you fight this battle. He’s spot on. Read more.

School Is No Place for a Reader

Jennifer A. Franssen writes about the agony of watching her child, a natural reader, try to fit into the “reading program” at school.

Watching my daughter caught in this predicament I find myself troubled by the paradox of an institution charged with teaching children to read that seems unable to offer either welcome or nourishment to the ardent reader within its walls.

This feels so wrong to me, in a “it can’t really be like that, can it?” sort of way. Read more.

Quick Hits:

There was so much good and funny that I couldn’t figure out what to leave out. So, here are four quick hits: Read about the humorous history of Christianity and Beards at Christianity Today. Check out a Bill Watterson tribute comic filled with Watterson’s wisdom (zenpencils.com). Read about why the line you’re in always seems to move slowest (lifehacker.com). And, warm your heart reading about these accidental break-in artists who did the right thing (consumerist.com).

Something to Try with Your Kids:

Earlier I mentioned that I tend toward geekery. If you have older kids (10 and up-ish), and they’re at all inclined to play around on computers or tablets or phones, you may want to engage them as creators instead of just consumers. Lifehack.org lists ten sites that help you learn how to write code, how to make the programs that people run on their phones and computers. There is art (and careers!) being made in games. Check it out.