Gillette's New Subscription Service - One Less Thing for your College Student to Worry About

First off, let me preface this by saying that I do love my college-aged son. I think he has a lot of great qualities. He's creative and artistic, he's sensitive, and he can be very dedicated and persistent when the task at hand is something about which he's passionate. However, he's also, ummm, how to put this nicely . . . well, he can be irresponsible, lazy, aloof, and did I mention irresponsible? I keep telling myself that he's a boy and boys sometimes take a while to mature. (Thinking of a few grown men I know, I believe some of them never quite get there!) Eventually he'll learn to pay his bills on time, and pick his laundry up off the floor and wash it before he's down to a single clean sock, a bathing suit, and a pair of jeans that are 2 sizes too small, yet remain in his closet for some reason. At some point, it'll sink in that work comes before play, right? Right?

I know he'll learn this stuff and he'll grow to be a mature, responsible member of society. (If not, I'll work out an apology to his future wife for my egregious parenting failure.) And I know he's not the only boy going to college and causing his parents a little worry. It's hard to let go and let them learn these lessons on their own. I think as parents we naturally want to help them out however we can. We make sure they have everything they need as they head off to school. But as the econo-box of Ramen runs out, will they eat? When they run out of shampoo, will they buy more or just go with the dreadlock look? How about razor blades? Will they keep shaving with the same, dull blade they left home with, or will they return to you for Christmas vacation looking like one of the Duck Dynasty guys?

Well, Gillette has made that one task much easier. Gillette now offers a blade refill subscription service! It's a practical, hassle-free option that delivers Gillette’s blades directly to your door (or your son's dorm.) And, Gillette’s best blades are more affordable than you might think—only about $1 a week. How cool is that? Now, if everything our sons use offered a subscription service it would be amazing. Or if we parents could send Howlers (those talking messages from Harry Potter) to remind our kids to take care of themselves, that would be even better! Alas, we're left to let our sons out into the world on their own, hoping they remember the lessons we've taught them, giving them the freedom to make mistakes, and trusting they'll be okay. Still, for a $1 a week, we can assure they have one less thing to worry about! And The Gillette Fusion ProGlide with FlexBall Technology is the first razor of its kind, with a new handle that adjusts and pivots to respond to the contours of a man’s face for fewer missed hairs. If your son uses the ProGlide already, those same blades fit the new ProGlide FlexBall which is pretty cool! How often does it work that way, right? Never. Usually when a product is updated and improved, it renders all components of the product useless, forcing you to buy new ones.

Do you have any other tips to make life a little easier for your college student? Share them here!

Compensation was provided by Gillette via MomTrends. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of Gillette or MomTrends. 

Our Children Are Capable of Changing the World — If We Let Them

Over the years, my kids have asked, on hot summer days, if they could have a lemonade stand. I acquiesced, less than enthusiastically because I know that “lemonade stand” is actually code for making a sticky mess in the kitchen, taking odds and ends from the garage in order to construct a lemonade stand, drinking all of their inventory, then (assuming they actually sell a cup or two) taking the dollar or so that they’ve earned and spending it on candy at the corner gas station — all while leaving everything a giant mess at home. Of course, not all kids run a lemonade stand quite like that. Meet Vivienne, an 8-year-old who sells lemonade to raise money for charity:

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image: courtesy flickr

The Case for Letting Your Kids Fail

You can bet that behind each successful individual is another person who believed in them, cheered them on, and helped them dry their tears when they failed. As parents, we have that opportunity to bolster confidence and assuage fears for our own children each day. We get to teach our kids that failures are a part of life, and that we don’t have to let them be “bad things.” Failures can be wonderful tools that enable us to grow and motivate us to succeed.

Here’s how to help your kids cope with failure:

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11 Ways Having a Teen Is Surprisingly Awesome

Last week I wrote the following line on Facebook: You might be the parent of a teen if …

As you can imagine, I got many hilarious responses! Of course, any parent of a teen (especially a boy) knows their room can sometimes smell like the large mammal exhibit at Brookfield Zoo, or can contain enough dirty dishes to host a formal dinner party for 20. Any parent of a teen (especially a girl) knows there is sometimes enough drama and eye rolling to fill an entire season ofKeeping up with the Kardashians.

But there are good things about having teens too. Yes, there really are! And here are just a few …

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Katherine Heigl Says She’s Not Difficult — but That’s Not the Problem

So Katherine Heigl is in the news again. This time she was flat-out asked if she thinks she and her mom/manager are difficult to work with. To which Heigl answered, “I certainly don’t see myself as being difficult. I would never intend to be difficult. I don’t think my mother sees herself as being difficult. I think it’s important to everybody to conduct themselves professionally and respectfully and kindly, so if I’ve ever disappointed somebody, it was never intentional.”

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And THIS is Why the Folks at the ER Know us by Name

As you may know, Jackson and his buddy have been making videos this summer. Last night he showed me this one. It's so nice to know that he's spending his time wisely this summer. It's great seeing how he has matured and how he is becoming a level-headed, responsible, young man. I love how he thinks first instead of just jumping in. It's wonderful how he can differentiate between smart ideas and dumba$$, stupid, asinine ones! See for yourselves what a grown-up, smart, young man I have here . . .

A Parent’s Guide to Navigating Common Core — and Helping Your Kids Succeed with It

Supporters of the Common Core State Standards are happy to see the increased rigor and uniform standards across states. Critics argue, among other things, that CCSS is a step towards a national curriculum. Some people objectively see both pros and cons to the new standards. Or, if you’re like most of the parents I’ve talked to, you don’t know how to feel because you are confused and frankly don’t understand what Common Core is all about. I’m not writing to debate the merits or weaknesses of Common Core here. I’m writing simply to give parents a few tips on how to help their children with the transition to CCSS because, personal feelings aside, 45 states have adopted these new standards and your children will soon be assessed on these new principles.

I work at a middle school in Florida. We rolled out the changes last year and will begin, like most states, assessing on the new standards this 2014/2015 school year. I think younger elementary kids will fare just fine with the CCSS, however, because these changes were implemented across every grade level at the same time, I feel that middle and high school students are at a disadvantage. They’ve learned one way for several years and now are being required to make sudden, dramatic changes. This guide is to help you, the parent, so you are best prepared to help your student be successful:

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