What life lessons have you taught your children recently? From Melisa Thorne: One important life lesson that I am teaching my children is: Honesty. I always tell them, “I will never get mad at you for telling the truth,” and,  “There are no secrets between you and me.” I recognize that as my children get older, their problems and struggles will become more complex, and I want them to feel comfortable coming to me and telling me the truth about things. The more I can do now to strengthen our trust, the easier it will be for them to come to me with the tough stuff. Sure, if my daughter tells me…

How Does Your Family Celebrate Thanksgiving? From Christa Ciccia: I always remember Thanksgiving being a really big deal around my house. My mother would spend all week preparing. She would clean the good China, take up the extra chairs and folding tables. She would spend hours baking and cleaning. Now I do it. And I love it. I enjoy staying home and having the family over to enjoy a day of thanks together. Unlike my mom when she hosted Thanksgiving, I get lots of help. My kids help bake and make veggies with me, and my husband helps with set up and cleans up. My in-laws bring desserts and …

What did your family do during the first snowstorm of the season? From Danica LC: Unlike everyone I could see cramming the grocery store parking lots, I decided not to get any additional food in case we lost power. I tend to stock up on non-parishables when they are on sale, and my husband jokes that we could survive a month if we had to without going to the store. The only problem with that plan is needing fresh milk for my daughter, which we had plenty of on Saturday.   We actually took a rare trip to the mall Saturday afternoon, and picked up some new snow boots for my daughter and myself…

What Holiday Recipes Can You Make With Your Kids? From Christa Ciccia: My kids love to help me cook. I usually give them the potato scrubbing or mixing duties. But, during Halloween we enjoy making Jell-O Jigglers together. The recipe is quick and easy. You can find it on the side of the Jell-O box. We actually have special Halloween Jell-O molds that we purchased years ago. The Halloween recipe calls for grape and orange flavored Jell-O, but my kids only eat red Jell-O, so that's what I use. It's neat to watch the Jell-O form in just a few hours. It's also fun to watch it jiggle when it's …

What Time Savers Do You Use? From Danica LC: Love my Crockpot: How can you not appreciate a way to have a hot, delicious meal waiting for you when you walk in the door? Use a lot of frozen, already cut vegetables: I once got into a conversation with a man working in the produce department of a store, and he told me that he uses frozen vegetables whenever possible because “they are touched by fewer hands before they are frozen." What is easier than using a bag of frozen cut veggies for a yummy stir-fry? I will also add a few fresh veggies into the pan, but it saves a lot of time when most are …

Do You Support Kids Getting Flu Vaccinations? From Melisa Thorne: The decision to get flu vaccinations or any vaccination for that matter for you and your family is a very personal one. Thus, I’m simply sharing my experience and not preaching one way or another. The flu vaccination doesn’t do anything to prevent catching colds or other diseases. I believe that good hygiene; proper rest and exercise go a long way in preventing sickness. But kids aren’t as diligent as adults are with this. So I can see why the flu vaccination is strongly suggested for children and that is why I get the flu shot…

What Fall Activities Does Your Family Enjoy? From Melisa Thorne: Fall is my favorite season. I love being out and doing things with my family in the crisp fall air. In my opinion, it is one of the best things about living in New England. Some of the activities that I have planned for my family this fall include: Bike rides: We ride on the Minuteman path often and also we enjoy riding along the Charles River. The Charles River has a great family-friendly path that has a number of playgrounds along the way. There are always people riding, running or inline-skating. The Esplande often hosts free…

From Melisa Thorne: Growing up, the only pet I had was a goldfish named Sam. He lived with us for five years. Being a fastidious homemaker, my Mom prided herself in keeping a clean house and thus wasn’t a pet person. My sisters and I never considered asking for a pet because we knew she’d laugh as if we were telling her the funniest joke. My husband on the other hand, grew up always having a dog and other pets. Guinea pigs were his sister’s favorite. My kids are both animal lovers. When they see neighbors walking their dog, they always ask if they can pet it, but neither of them has asked for…

What do you think of the book "Maggie Goes On A Diet"? From Danica LC: I believe that healthy eating and exercise are extremely important for everyone. I think it's best to teach a healthy way of life, versus dieting. I believe that the activity and eating habits you will have for life are established as a young child. I also believe that it's a parents job to educate their child on healthy lifestyle choices, as much as it's a parents responsibility to protect their child from things they might find inappropriate.  If you, as your child's parent disapprove of this book, then don't let them …

What does being a parent mean to you? From Danica LC: Responsibility.  Being a parent means you are no longer just responsible for yourself (and perhaps your partner), but you are now fully responsible for another human being. Not only are you responsible for the obvious needs of food, shelter and other things, but you are also responsible for their happiness and quality of life.   One thing I learned quickly as a new parent was that I need to be my daughter's voice until she is old enough to speak for herself. "Mama Bear" comes out in me frequently, and even though I am faced with situations…

Want a public forum to talk over hot topics with other parents? Join the Stoneham Patch Moms Council (dads and guardians are welcome too), as we are accepting new members to contribute to our weekly "Moms Talk Q & A" column. Stoneham Patch will provide the moms council prime space on our homepage and the council will decide which parenting question to take up once a week and get the conversation going with their own answers—and reader responses.  The council can talk about issues facing Stoneham parents, like where to find a good pediatrician or what is new at the schools. Or delve into …

What is your biggest challenge as a parent? From Melisa Thorne: When the editor of Stoneham Patch asked the moms council what our biggest challenge as a parent is, I immediately said "Time."  It is like when someone sneezes and you instinctively say "Bless you."  Here give it a try: What is your biggest challenge as a parent? "Time." See what I mean? Time in its many forms is my greatest challenge as a parent. I can't seem to find it, manage it and I have no idea where it goes. Finding time will always be a tough one for me; there are just so many hours in a day to play with. Subtract the …

My five year old is a slob. I am not talking about normal uncoordinated sloppiness that comes with the territory of being a child; I’m talking a full-fledged catastrophic walking disaster. You can almost follow her footsteps throughout the house by just following the messes. Her room is her sanctuary and in it she squirrels away her goodies. She has elaborately decorated shoe boxes full of past art projects, pretty bags, shiny rocks and pretty bags filled with shiny rocks. And all of these treasures are in piles. Piles in her closet, on top of her bureau and under her bed. Piles everywhere. …

What are your children's favorite books to read? From Melisa Thorne:  Our bookshelves at home are teeming with books. I find that books that were given to us long ago are still read frequently. My favorite thing to do is sit with my girls and read to them.  Listing all of our favorites will be impossible, but here are the front-runners that my kids enjoyed over the years: Birth to 2: "Good Night Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown This story describe a bunny's bedtime ritual of saying "goodnight" to various objects in the bunny's bedroom: the red balloon, the bunny's dollhouse, the kittens and more…

How Do You Help Your Children Prepare And Cope For Your Travel? From Melisa Thorne: When my oldest daughter was 19 months old, I had to travel to India for work. That was the first time that I had ever left her overnight and this wasn’t just for one night, it was for a week and I was eight time zones away. She was so small at the time and really didn’t understand, so helping her cope wasn’t much of a factor. I, on the other hand, was an utter and complete mess. For the entire nine-hour flight from Boston to Germany I wept. Then for nine more hours to Bangalore, I cried on and off. I didn’t …

Where in Stoneham do your kids like to spend the most time and why? From Danica LC: My daughter is 18 months old on Thursday, and since she has been running and climbing all sorts of new activities are in our future.  We really love visiting the Stone Zoo, and since she has been able to walk up to the animal exhibits on her own (rather than being pushed around in a stroller) she is even more excited than before. It is also a great learning experience for her as her vocabulary is exploding, and until recently all animals were "doggies." We became members of the zoo for the first time this …

The Fourth of July kicks off a busy summer travel season. Whether it be a car ride or a flight, what tips can you share that make traveling with your children fun and less stressful? From Christa Ciccia: Our family traveled by car over the holiday weekend. However, whether it is by car, plane or row boat, my “go bag” is always packed. Before an extended trip I always pack a go bag. It contains snacks, drinks, handheld games, crayons and paper. This way I can be sure that no matter what the dilemma, I will have something to keep my sons busy. Also, we are lucky to have a DVD player in the car…

With many children starting in new grades or new schools in the fall, how do you expect your child to handle the transition? And how can parents help? The Stoneham Patch Moms Council are weighing in on this topic and would love to hear your thoughts as well and that can be accomplished by posting a comment in the comments section below. From Melisa Thorne: For many kids, the transition to a new school or a new grade is an inevitable event. This will happen at least once in a child’s school career.  My kids are transitioning to a new elementary school in the fall. I don’t expect their …

Last week the New York Times posted a controversial though interesting article related to school homework practices.  The topic relates to how a school district in New Jersey is re-evaluating homework practices. In the fall, the Galloway, NJ school board will vote on a proposal to limit weekend night homework to 10 minutes for each school year, which equates to 20 minutes for second grade, 30 minutes for third grade and so on. Also, the board is considering a ban on homework on weekends, holidays and school vacations. How do feel as a parent about the amount of homework your children get? Too…

Should the New Stoneham Middle School Be Built At the Central School Site? From Cristine Warren-Linn: The decision to build the Stoneham Middle School at the Central Elementary School site is a good one. It will cost less than building the Middle School at the Stoneham High School site.  With change comes anxiety. Many parents are concerned their children will become stressed by changing schools. Parents with more than one child are concerned their children will have to attend separate schools. I don’t blame parents for worrying that their children may become stressed by switching schools or …