Like most parents, it would make me happy if my children liked what I like. I had dreams of going to the park and having a catch with my son, or getting my kids interested in literature or classic films. But those plans fall by the wayside when your children find interests of their own.

Keep reading to learn about Pat’s son’s real interests, and how Pat has incorporated them into his life. Photos from their SEPTA tour are below, as well. continue reading »

As I’ve said to my son on far too many occasions, I am not that far removed from my high school years to have forgotten what it was like to be 16 years old. I remember the awkwardness and the boredom in school. I can still recall getting angry with my parents over chores or behavior.

But I always made it a point to draw the line at outward disdain. I also never made the mistake of comparing my father to, say, one of the most hated men on the planet. Sadly, a play on that monster’s name has become my son’s favorite moniker for me in his most stressful of times.

Yes, in my home, I am sometimes referred to as “Dadolf Hitler.” Or, on his nicer days, it is toned down to “Dad Jong-il.” These names don’t pop up all the time. If I ask him to feed the cat or make his bed, I might simply be greeted by the anonymous grunting that is part of the teenager’s code. But when something heinous like homework or cleaning is brought into the mix, grunting often turns to comparing me to men who’ve brought death and misery to millions. continue reading »

Maybe it’s the warmer weather, or perhaps the end of a long school year is within their sights. Whatever the reason, as the spring nights begin to get shorter, the evenings in our home have become longer. Bed checks written in stone in September now seem to mean little to anyone at home but us parents. continue reading »

As the saying goes – the more things change, the more they stay the same. We go from children clinging to our parents, to teens who think that they know everything, to adults out to change the world, to older adults who know that change doesn’t happen that quickly. Then we look down and see our children clinging to us, knowing that in a blink of an eye, they pull away. continue reading »

Courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquirer

By Shannon McDonald

Brien Gardiner, CEO of Philadelphia Academy Charter School, was found dead Wednesday after an apparent suicide.

Gardiner, who founded the school in 1999 and Northwood Academy Charter in 2005, was under investigation for his management of the first school. The 64-year-old was found dead around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the parking lot of Bethayres Train Station, following a single gunshot wound that police said was self-inflicted.

The investigation into Gardiners alleged mismanagment of the school will continue. Today, the Inquirer ran commentary by Pat McNally, NEastPhilly.com’s regular columnist who writes The Parent Trap.

We started calling it our “Lost Weekend.” But in reality, we found out more than we had bargained for about ourselves and our children. But mostly, we discovered that a bad foot can often be a good break.

The foot began to hurt the week before, and she didn’t know why.

It started out with a sore foot, and ended up as a “Lost Weekend” of revelations about luck, love and a new found trust for my children. My wife is a diabetic, and so any problem with her feet must be taken seriously. She is dedicated to her treatments, rarely missing a pill or injection. Her fingers are sometimes sore from constantly sticking herself in order to draw a drop of blood. But the foot was something new. continue reading »

This is a special edition of the Parent Trap, which usually runs every Tuesday on NEastPhilly.com. Check back next Tuesday for the regular installment.

Friends are hard to come by at any age and often harder to keep. But it is particularly true when your child is young.

I still remember the day when my son returned from preschool, and slumped sullenly into an easy chair. “Tommy said that he’s not my friend anymore,” he told me, looking up with eyes that expected me to make it all better.

My daughter’s episode was much more dramatic, with yelling and crying and demanding to know why Maggie didn’t like her. “She’s not my friend!” my daughter exclaimed, teary-eyed, trying desperately not to believe it herself.

I could only give them the advice my mother gave me when I cried the same saga as a child– “Everybody doesn’t have to like you.” continue reading »

Looking for The Parent Trap? Pat McNally’s column will not run today, but be sure to check back for updates and read the latest installment next Tuesday on NEastPhilly.com.

The Parent Trap is a weekly column by Patrick P. McNally that will appear on NEastPhilly.com every Tuesday. See others here. Read other NEast Philly columns here.

The comment was the result of a quarrel, which is not uncommon between me and my 15-year-old son. The quarrel’s subject was something meaningless, perhaps the lack of computer time or my 10th attempt that day to stop him from eating.

But meaningless things become extremely meaningful to my son. He fixates on the minutiae the rest of us simply allow to run off our backs. And so, we often quarrel. I try to get him to understand that we don’t have to go to the dollar store every afternoon. But the trip is as important to him as a ride on the Space Shuttle.

Finally, in his exasperation, he yelled at me, “You don’t know what it’s like to live with autism!”

It broke the tension, and even gave me a brief chuckle. The truth is I’ve been living with autism for almost as long as my son.

Continue reading to read more about Pat, his son and how they handle autism. Also, be sure to read about Pat’s son’s latest developments. continue reading »

My daughter’s dentist has three vehicles parked in his examining room. True, there is a wall of clear Plexiglas that separates the brightly colored ambulances from the rows of examining chairs, which all seem to be inhabited with young, cheerful technicians. I understand that the proprietor of this pediatric dental factory in Bustleton regularly takes one of the ambulances to local schools, promoting dental care.

Oh, and did I mention that they have neon? Bright neon signs adorn the entire room, sometimes advertising food products that, if eaten too much, could have an adverse effect on your teeth.

Before going any further, I want to reassure the dental community that this is not an anti-dentist story. Far from it – if my childhood dentist had anything like this place, I probably wouldn’t have avoided making an appointment for, oh, 15 years. Back then, the children went to the same dentist as their parents. Ours was an elderly gentleman with an office down the street from Our Lady of Calvary Church. He was a competent dentist – he fixed all four of my cavities – but he did not believe in any anesthesia or Novocain. continue reading »