Month: October 2015

Family-Friendly Halloween Fun With Young Teens

No plans for Halloween yet? Does your middle or high schooler have nothing more than the school costume day (and maybe trick or treating) to look forward to? Don’t despair – with these last minute tips you can still cook up something in your witch’s cauldron for family-friendly Halloween fun with young teens!

What do they like best about Halloween?

Middle schoolers are fascinated by the feeling of freedom surrounding Halloween. Being able to roam around at night with your friends, wearing whatever you want, indulging in fantasy and mystery, meeting your strange neighbors, and getting free candy while you’re at it – all of these things create fun and lasting memories.

As high school students get older, it’s less appropriate for them to go around the neighborhood asking for candy. (“Aren’t you too old to trick-or-treat?” is what they get.) They can leave that fun to younger siblings or enjoy get-togethers with friends. The drama and excitement of dressing up in costume is the high light of Halloween for teenagers. (It can also lead to woeful laments of ‘I have nothing to wear!’, that when you hold on to your patience and pull out some creativity.)  I think there are many ways to make Halloween age-appropriate and enjoyable for everyone.

Middle schoolers and young high schoolers alike are quick to assume parents don’t care about Halloween; but we’re not fun-suckers, some of us want to be blood-suckers too! Halloween is an opportunity to get into your kid’s world and show them that you care about the things they like. While attending to the usual needs for health and safety, plan your haunted  around what will be interesting to them.

Here are some fun-tastic Halloween ideas that are great for kids of all ages and your inner child, too.

 

Go to the Movies

There are plenty of horror movies being screened on Halloween this weekend! Personally, I love staying in and having Halloween movie marathons. There’s just something about being in the dark with a bunch of your loved ones and getting paranoid about everything in the house!

Go on a Haunted House Tour

This is a must-do family activity if you want to fully experience the Halloween season–whether it’s one of those interactive super scary haunted house productions, a staged haunted house, open haunted houses, or one of those local places that are simply believed to be haunted. There are plenty of reviews online to figure out what’s age-appropriate, and most importantly–most spoOoOooky!

Build Your Own Haunted House

If you’re feeling creative, become the horror story itself! You can set up a haunted house in your shed, front yard, front porch, garage, or invite the whole neighborhood inside and set up multiple rooms. There are plenty of great ideas online, but you can also just throw up a bunch of random Halloween decorations, turn out the lights, and scream “BOO!” a lot too.

The less time-consuming alternative? Decorate your house! Inside or out, it’s an easy way to get into the Halloween spirit and a fun activity for all ages. It also encourages creativity and makes your house a lot more boo-tiful!

Bake Something Spooky

Gingerbread houses aren’t just for Christmas! A little creative decor makes them haunted for Halloween. And of course, there are the pumpkin/skull/ghost cookies that are fun to bake and eat too. Yes, this involves more sweets, but I think it’s a better alternative to I-scream!

Speaking of sweets, this is not the time to get too preachy. They must have heard a million times (from you, their school, the media) about the bad effects of too much sugar, so you don’t have to replay the lecture. Apart from reminding them gently that the candy will last longer if they have only a few pieces a day, just let them be. They’re old enough to deal with the consequences of feeling queasy if they launch into a candy-binge.

As the skeletons like to say, bone appetit!

 

Throw your own party!

Your teens have nowhere else to go? Throw an impromptu party at home! Let your kids invite a couple of friends (their parents will thank you!), and have them join you in any or all of the activities listed above. Add a little dancing (‘Thriller’ is a perennial Halloween favorite), some ‘real’ food (not just candy) and you are down for a great Halloween! (Special bonus: knowing your kids are celebrating safely at home.)

Halloween is all about having some carefree fun, so if you are tempted to get too serious about it, just throw out one of these puns!

#  Why does a cemetery have to keep a fence around it? Because people are dying to get in!

# What’s a vampire’s favorite fruit? A necktarine.

# Why wasn’t there any food left after the monster party? Cos everyone was a gobblin’.

You’re guaranteed to hear moans and groans, perfect to get into the Halloween ‘spirit’!

Share your ideas for Halloween fun with us – we’d love to hear them!

 

(This post was written by Anna Colibri. When Anna’s not working on digital marketing projects, she spends her time parenting two boys in beautiful San Francisco, California.)

Worried Your Kid Wants to be An English Major?

Of all the dreaded teen student revelations – belly piercings, failed classes, regrettable Instagram posts – hearing that your child wants to be an English major in college is pretty high up there in terms of parental dread. After all, between an anemic hiring market (outside of tech) and record-high levels of student loan debt, liberal arts degrees have come under fire. So if your kid doesn’t care about high school math since she wants to be an English major, what should you do?

First, take a deep breath

Even if you’re dead set against a liberal arts degree, and are worried your kid wants to be an English major, an immediate knee-jerk reaction won’t help anyone. Your reasons for wanting a more technical major may be based in logic, so you should be prepared to discuss your child’s field of study calmly and rationally. Be prepared to back up your assertions with numbers and sources.

A liberal arts degree is not automatic unemployment

Sure, STEM and pre-professional fields (education, healthcare, business) have better-than-average employment rates, but according to a 2014 Georgetown study, English majors have comparable employment rates with more “practical” majors like hospitality management, economics and political science. A senior thesis on James Joyce doesn’t necessarily send you straight to the unemployment line.

Moreover, studying the humanities doesn’t just hone your ability to compare Romantic literature and modern film. Your child is learning to quickly synthesize large amounts of information, think critically, recognize patterns, research and communicate effectively. And studying English is hard work – don’t assume that he’d be slacking off just because he isn’t pursuing a STEM degree.

 

Talk about a path to employability

If your child is still set on a humanities degree and you’re still worried about it, discuss how you can make him as hirable as possible. No matter what he studies, some quantitative experience can help – Code.org provides free introductory programming classes, for example, and he can brush up on his math skills with a summer course. Computer skills are in high demand, and they don’t necessarily preclude a humanities degree. And if he wants to get into a good liberal arts program, he still needs to successfully complete his high school math requirements!

Finally, tell him to start thinking about his career now. Have him talk to other people in different careers, with various degrees, liberal arts or STEM. It may also be an opportunity to pursue careers he hasn’t previously considered, from education to law. Don’t forget to use your teen’s guidance counselor (if he has one) as a resource!

Focus on happiness, present and future

In the long run, your goal is the same as your child’s – her happiness. And truth be told, financial security plays a big part in that. Translate the typical salary levels for her college and major to quality of life: if she’s making the median amount, will she be able to make a decent living in her dream city? Pay for an apartment while still saving for retirement? Get her master’s without drowning in debt? Money can be a pretty abstract concept for teenage students, so lay it out in concrete terms.

You should also encourage her to talk to English majors who graduated recently. Your kid’s college counselor may be able to connect her to some so she can learn about their career paths and get their advice on their choice of major and its rewards as well as challenges. A true story will resonate more deeply than any statistic.

Do your own research on opportunities for English majors – just for your own peace of mind. Here’s one that shows even tech companies need English majors!

Last but not least, remember that nothing is set in stone: her choice of major may change ten times before graduation, or it may not; she may find a job offer straight out of college, or struggle for a bit; she may even switch careers ten years later. Many English majors have achieved financial success as well as fulfillment in their careers. With your support and his or her hard work, your child will be okay!

Are you an English major? Would you recommend youngsters to follow your path?