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The RealCare® infant simulator was developed by Realityworks Inc., an Eau Claire, Wis.-based simulation technology company. Equipped with wireless technology and programmed for 15 different care schedules, the “baby” records each time the student does — o

baby, think about it

By Joy Riggs

It gave me an odd feeling last spring to pull up outside the middle school and see my 13-year-old daughter waiting for me with a “baby” in a car seat.

I knew the baby wasn’t real; it was an infant simulator she was bringing home for health class. But I also recognized that under different circumstances, Louisa could be a teenage mom. Earlier that year, a classmate of hers had become pregnant.

As Louisa secured her “newborn” in the car, I felt grateful for two things: the close relationship that my husband and I have with her, which allows us to talk openly about topics like sex education; and our school district’s decision to provide a better-than-average sex ed program starting in fourth grade.

At least, I think it&rs

Caring connections are key to school success

By Joy Riggs

When I was in kindergarten, I was eager to give my parents a tour of my school. At the Garfield Elementary School open house, I proudly pointed out all the important places: the library, the cafeteria, and Mr. Kittleson’s office.

Teens and driving: it doesn’t have to be a dangerous mix

By Joy Riggs

My dad was an ideal driving teacher. He remained patient and unruffled, even when my older brother misunderstood his instructions and pressed down on the accelerator as we rounded a sharp curve, causing the car to careen ominously toward a cemetery.

The draw of graphic novels

By Joy Riggs

I’ve never paid much attention to graphic novels, even though my kids occasionally check them out from the library. But after talking to Camden Tadhg, I feel like I’ve overlooked an exciting, growing literary form.

Don’t hide your light under a basket 

By Joy Riggs

Helping teens find their sparks

Keeping one step ahead of the bullies

By Joy Riggs

When my daughter came home from school two years ago, upset that a sixth-grade classmate had made fun of her shoes, the word “bully” didn’t spring to mind. My initial reaction was sadness that someone had stomped on her feelings (even though, truthfully, the shoes were well-loved and had the holes to prove it). What should she do?

Get a leg up on a career

By Joy Riggs

When I was a teenager, few summer jobs were available in my hometown of Alexandria, Minn., that could prepare me for a journalism career. Most part-time work involved flipping burgers, operating a soft-serve machine or waiting tables. The summer after graduation, I got a good-paying job at a bank, where I learned the finer points of filing, honed my typing skills (on an actual typewriter — it was the ’80s), and perhaps most importantly, affirmed my desire to work with words, not numbers.

Talking the talk on sex and intimacy

By Joy Riggs

When I saw the movie Julie and Julia a few months ago, I especially enjoyed the scenes that showed the relationship between Julia Child and her husband, Paul. At a time when it’s nearly impossible to avoid hearing about the implosion of Jon and Kate Plus 8, or about Tiger Woods’ infidelities, it’s refreshing to see a depiction of a marriage in which the spouses act like adults, respect each other, and seem to actually like spending time together.

Heeding the wake-up call on teens and sleep

By Joy Riggs

When I was a kid, my favorite pillowcase had a picture of Charlie Brown’s sister Sally saying, “I hate to go to bed at night, and I hate to get up in the morning.” That sentiment has long been true for me and and my daughter Louisa.

Coming clean with your teens

By Joy Riggs

When my 13-year-old daughter, Louisa, stayed home from school recently with a cold, she and I spent the afternoon watching Sixteen Candles, the 1984 coming-of-age movie directed by John Hughes.

But everyone else is …

By Joy Riggs

My husband and I recently earned the Meanest Parents in Town award from our 13-year-old daughter. We told her she couldn’t attend a midnight showing of a movie at a theater 25 minutes from home — something that everyone else was allowed to do.

Modern adventures in babysitting

By Joy Riggs

When my husband and I reminisce about our teen-aged babysitting days, we sound like grandparents recalling the long walk to school that was uphill, both ways, in the snow: “Back in my day, I got $1 an hour for watching a passel of rambunctious kids. I had to make dinner, change diapers, supervise baths, put the kids to bed, and then wash the dishes. There were no DVDs or computer games. We actually had to play with the kids. That was babysitting.”

The countdown begins now

By Joy Riggs

Why wait until Labor Day to get ready for the new school year?

Facebook: not just for grown-ups anymore

By Joy Riggs

Now that she’s reached a milestone birthday, my daughter has two technology-related goals: to buy an iTouch with her babysitting money and to join Facebook.

Facebook: not just for grown-ups anymore

By Joy Riggs

Now that she’s reached a milestone birthday, my daughter has two technology-related goals: to buy an iTouch with her babysitting money and to join Facebook.

Searching the shelves for a great story

By Joy Riggs

Last summer I posed an unfair question to my 10-year-old son, Sebastian. “What’s your favorite book series?” I asked, expecting a detailed explanation of one of the half dozen series I knew he was into that month.

Teen-proofing the medicine cabinet

By Joy Riggs

When I was a new parent, I often received unsolicited catalogs selling "essential" baby-proofing items — everything from plastic outlet covers to stair gates to those tricky cabinet locks that only toddler fingers can open. Now that my kids are 8, 10, and almost 13, I figured I was past the proofing stage. Until I talked to Mary Nelson.

Nelson, a coordinator of nonprofit drug and alcohol abuse prevention efforts in Rice County, says abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs by preteens and teens is increasing at a time when the abuse of other drugs is declining.

Why? Easy access is a huge reason. Cold and flu medicines, OxyContin and other pain medicines, and drugs like Ritalin that are used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are among the most abused and often can be found in the family medicine cabinet, along with sleep medicines, antidepressants, cholesterol-lowering drugs, and even veterinary drugs. "We're like mini–pharmacies in our homes, and all of that is left pretty much in the open," says Nelson.

Young people often think that because these drugs are prescribed or recommended by doctors they are safer than street drugs. But when taken by a person they're not prescribed for, or when they're mixed with alcohol or other drugs, they can be dangerous and even lethal.

Editor's note: Talk about why

By Tricia Cornell

This month we welcome a new teens and tweens columnist. After three years of filing regular dispatches, Kris Berggren has moved on to other exciting projects. Writer Joy Riggs is stepping in, kicking off her column with a look at what it means to our daughters when we choose to have them vaccinated against HPV. Sure, she writes, thinking about our young daughters as sexual beings is, um, awkward, to say the very least. But she sees this "as opportunity to reinforce the importance of prevention, and the idea that she should feel empowered in making decisions about her health care."

No matter what your take on the new-ish vaccine, empowerment to make decisions about your own health care is one of those vital — but easy to miss — life lessons (like how to call the cable company and negotiate for free HBO — okay, a smidge more important than that). I can imagine myself in a dozen or so years, looking up after dragging my kids to their umpteenth doctor's appointment, and realizing — cue V8 forehead smack — "Hey, we've never talked about that." Doing your research, listening to your body, asking questions of your doctor, knowing your options for preventative care, even picking up the phone and making the darn appointment when it's time to make the appointment — these are things that all happen largely behind the scenes for our children. If we don't make the effort to talk to them about health care, they're liable not to give it much thought — much like the cable company.

The birds and the bees and a needle’s sting

By Joy Riggs

Perched on the edge of the exam table, my 12-year-old daughter shot me a perturbed look. Anticipating the seconds of pain it would involve, Louisa tried to convince me to change my mind. 

"But I don't need it," she argued, knowing that the HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine isn't required for seventh-graders. "Can't we wait and do it later?"

We didn't wait. The needle's sting passed quickly, but her anger cooled only after 30 minutes of the silent treatment and a DQ Blizzard.

Photo by Robb Long

Ana Markowski wants parents to feel comfortable in the PTO, and sometimes puppets help.

Get parents in the door

By Joy Riggs

Hard work and a welcoming attitude revived a struggling PTO

Ana Markowski and Liz Melby didn’t listen to the naysayers. 

When they became co-chairs of the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) at Fair Oaks Elementary School in Brooklyn Park, they were told not to expect much participation from parents, many of whom work multiple jobs and are not native English speakers.

Instead of becoming discouraged, the two school employees figured out why parents weren’t attending, and redesigned activities and meetings to make them more family-friendly.

The strategy was twofold: Entice people to a meeting by offering food and prizes, and convince them to return by providing useful information in an atmosphere welcoming to all cultures.

“It wasn’t easy to get this going. Our school is different — we’re so diverse,” says Markowski, the school’s Spanish interpreter. “The parents all really want to help. They just need guidance.”

Students at Minnesota’s performing arts schools find opportunities for self-expression.

All the school's a stage

By Joy Riggs

Performing arts schools combine creativity and academics

D is for duck, C is for cover

By JOY RIGGS

This year, the kindergarteners in Kathy Flicek's class are learning more than their ABCs - they're also practicing the Ds and Cs (for "duck and cover") of school safety.

When the alert is announced over the intercom, the 5- and 6-year-old students at Greenvale Park Elementary School in Northfield know they must calmly walk to the windowless corner of their locked classroom, crouch on the floor, and remain quiet.

The students' first duck-and-cover drill occurred in October, after they already had experienced a fire drill and a tornado drill.

"They took it amazingly well," says Flicek. "It came at a point in the year when they trusted me."

Greenvale Park isn't alone in its practice of these lockdown procedures. The "duck and cover" drill, designed to separate