Teens to Hold 'Balloon Dance' to Help Food Pantry

Dance will take place inside hot air balloon and all proceeds will go to the Interfaith Food Pantry of the Oranges.

The teen board of the Interfaith Food Pantry of the Oranges will host a “Balloon Dance,” on Friday, to raise money to help stock the food pantry in Orange. Never heard of a balloon dance? Well, true to its name, it's a dance party, complete with a DJ, takes place inside a hot air balloon that's inflated on its side. A Mexican food truck from Taquería Auténtica will its wares and donate a portion of each sale to the food pantry. Adults are invited to watch, mingle and eat while the teens dance. “Primarily, we want to ensure adequate funding for the Food Pantry, especially during the busy summer months, but also to show the teen board that their ideas, hard work and commitment to the Food Pantry can make a difference in improving the world…

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Keeping Teens Safe in the Celebration Season

It's time to talk to teens about staying safe in this season of celebrations - prom, graduation parties and summertime.

It's that time of year again - where rites of passage and celebrations abound. Prom, graduation, senior parties. Lots of fun for teens and sometimes nerve wracking for parents. In its last program of the school year, MMAC is hoping to help parents keep teens safe by having Michael Litterer of Prevention Links offer parents suggestions for having “courageous conversations” with their children at prom, graduation and summer celebrations. Litterer was the moderator of  MMAC’s Town Hall meeting on underage drinking and will help parents with guidance on having those sometimes difficult conversations. The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday at the Millburn Free Public Library and will include a presentation of the Distinguished Service …

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Op-Ed: Later School Start Time Petition Update

Activist for letting teens start school later says she'll take petition to Congress and White House during National Sleep Awareness Week.

Terra Snider updates readers on the petition for a later high school start time, a national grassroots effort that began in October in Maryland and was signed by several hundred students and parents of Millburn and Short Hills. Because of the large number of signers from the Millburn School District, Snider says she s going to hand deliver the petition to Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez and Congressmen Rodney Frelinghuysen and Donald Payne in addition to other members of Congress and the Obama Administration. A later school start time for high school and even middle school students is on the minds of Millburn parents and the Board of Edcation, which had added it lists of things to address in its strategic plan. From Terra …

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Maribel Ibrahim

4:44 pm on Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Only 185 more signatures to help #startschoollater Please sign our petition if you haven't done so already! http://t.co/3f9MSCnP More sleep = better health & more safety!   more ›

Moms Talk Q&A

Conversation Starters with Teens

Getting past "Are you doing your homework?"

Question: Is your only conversation with your child; “It’s dinner time,” or “Are you doing your homework?” Many conversations I have with my clients include the above questions and the below issues. Scenario:  Your child comes home from school. They go to their room and shut the door. Only to be seen to ask the question, “What’s for dinner?” And the parent asks, “Are you doing your homework.” How do you correct this situation? How can you regain a relationship with your child that seems to have disappeared? Clearly, the above is unacceptable to a parent. Certainly, you want to have a communicative relationship with your child. If you work backwards and remember how you communicated with your child and how they communicated with you, can …

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When a Young Man Stopped Believing, Ritual Brought Him Back to Worship

How one family coped with a son's change of religious heart.

Jason, a boy I taught in seventh grade, spearheads a major fundraising drive at his house of worship, bringing a youthful, college-age energy and idealism to the project. I will donate to the effort, but I wouldn’t have put money on this result. When I taught him several years ago, Jason’s religious rite of passage was big news in the seventh grade. His parents had a big celebration planned. An older brother was about to move across country, and some of the older relatives were aging quickly. This party was intended to celebrate Jason and the entire family. And so it did. I was invited. I attended the ceremony and peeked into the party. It looked like a good time was had by all. But adolescents are unpredictable. The next day, Jason took a…

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It's Back to School Shopping Time

What are the trends for fall shopping in Millburn-Short Hills?

As the school year draws closer, many people are pulling out their wallets and shelling out for the newest back-to-school items. But, what exactly are these people buying? In fashion, trends may not emerge until after browsing in the umpteenth store, but that is something that many parents are sure to be doing. Plaid is everywhere, particularly in tunic-style tops and in over-sized shirts for girls. Leggings, especially denim and animal print leggings, also appear to be hot sellers. Colors this season revolve around purples, grays and bright hues, and much of the 1980s fashion seems to be coming back in style, including blazers. Also very popular are ballet flats, slouchy boots and hair accessories reminiscent of the 1920s. Skinny jeans, a…

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