Children’s issues

When The Going Gets Tough, I Disconnect

by Bill Brenner April 17, 2012 Addiction

I’m leaving my weekly therapy sessions with a headache these days, because I’m working through another deeply embedded flaw in my soul. Mood music: It’s not nearly as bad as the therapy I had in 2004-2006, when I had to endlessly churn the sewage of my childhood memories in search of clues on what was wrong with me and how I got that way. Back then, I didn’t know myself very well. Now I do….  [Read More]

Crude But True

by Bill Brenner April 4, 2012 Addiction

This pic, making the Facebook rounds, is crude. I’ve always hated the “T” word. But the overall message is the truth. McDonald’s is where I binged again and again when my compulsive overeating was at its zenith. But I’ve never blamed the fast-food chain. Buying their food — my heroin — was my choice and responsibility. When you have young children, you have far more control over what they put in their bodies. If you’re…  [Read More]

Don’t Let Anger Blind You To What Really Matters

by Bill Brenner April 4, 2012 Children's issues

The front office at my kids’ school is mad at me and another parent for complaining about something on the school’s Facebook page. I don’t think they saw yesterday’s post in this blog. That would make them angrier still. Mood music: I’ll admit I was angry when my wife told me the principal and office administrator got after her about my behavior. It’s not like I jumped up and down on Facebook yelling obscenities and calling…  [Read More]

MomDay Monday – School Daze

by Bill Brenner April 3, 2012 Children's issues

Please indulge me while I contribute to this pile-on. Personally, I love the school my kids go to. The teachers and support staff are wonderful. I’ve made some of the best friends ever among the parents. I adore the fact that my children are in the same school their mom and aunts attended. And, most importantly, the kids are being infused with a faith that will carry them through all the difficulties that await them…  [Read More]

‘Shattered Hopes’ Director On My ‘Learned Helplessness’ Post

by Bill Brenner March 28, 2012 Addiction

Ryan Katzenbach, director of “Shattered Hopes: The True Story of the Amityville Murders,” sent me a note on Facebook yesterday regarding the post I wrote on one of the themes of the film: Louise DeFeo’s “learned helplessness.” Ryan always responds to his fans when they have questions or comments on the documentary. Given his high profile and workload, it amazes me how accessible he is. Anyway, I wanted to share what he wrote to me, because…  [Read More]

Was ‘Hunger Games’ Star Too Fat For The Role?

by Bill Brenner March 28, 2012 Children's issues

There’s a controversy swirling around online regarding “Hunger Games” star Jennifer Lawrence. With one critic suggesting she was too curvy to play the role of emaciated heroine Katness Everdeen, the anger is on. What is making some people bristle is that this smacks of the bullshit talk that sends girls into the hell of eating disorders. Mood music: I’m not a girl. But I’ve dealt with an eating disorder for much of my life. So, naturally, I…  [Read More]

Don’t Fall For ‘Learned Helplessness’

by Bill Brenner March 27, 2012 Addiction

I’ve been watching Ryan Katzenbach’s documentary “Shattered Hopes: The True Story of the Amityville Murders.” Forget the haunted house bullshit. The scariest thing about this case is how mental illness can destroy a family. Mood music: I’m not talking about divorced parents and kids going off into the world without a moral rudder. This story ends with six members of a family dead and the seventh in prison for life. Well, OK — the story goes…  [Read More]

When ‘Helicopter Parents’ Get Easter Egg On Their Faces

by Bill Brenner March 26, 2012 Children's issues

When I see something like this news story about a cancelled Easter egg hunt in Colorado, I have to wonder what we parents are doing to our kids. Mood music: According to the article from The Associated Press, “Organizers of an annual Easter egg hunt attended by hundreds of children have canceled this year’s event, citing the behavior of aggressive parents who swarmed into the tiny park last year, determined that their kids get an…  [Read More]

Hey, Kids! Here’s Something For ‘When Your Brain Gets Stuck’

by Bill Brenner March 23, 2012 Children's issues

I just got a book in the mail called “What To Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck: A Kid’s Guide To Overcoming OCD” by psychologist-author Dawn Huebner. I asked for a copy so I could review it, but it might warrant more than one simple review. Mood music: http://youtu.be/HiYK8TDbPRQ Someone I’m connected to on Facebook got a copy to help her OCD-suffering child. Since the upcoming relaunch of THE OCD DIARIES will have an expanded…  [Read More]

Rock School Would Have Helped Me

by Bill Brenner March 21, 2012 Addiction

Watching my kids in the Scouts makes me wonder what I’d be like today had I not been so against trying everything my parents suggested. Mood music: My parents were always trying to get me to join different organizations: The Jewish Community Center off of Shirley Ave. in Revere, Camp Menorah, etc. I rebelled against all of it. My parents were right to push these things on me. I was in the fourth grade and they…  [Read More]

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →