Issue link: http://hvparent.uberflip.com/i/959325
6 Hudson Valley Parent n April 2018 Publisher TERRIE GOLDSTEIN tgoldstein@excitingread.com Editor CASSIDY BRIGHTON cbrighton@excitingread.com Dir. of Business Development KATHLEEN MERZ kmerz@excitingread.com Executive Assistant LESLIE CORTES lcortes@excitingread.com Media Advisors CHRISTY OLIVIER colivier@excitingread.com MATTHEW SILVERMAN msilverman@excitingread.com Layout & Design ENGLE PRINTING also publishers of MY TripPlanner.com family MY TripPlanner.com family Hudson Valley Parent is published monthly by: The Professional Image Marketing & Public Relations Inc. 174 South Street • Newburgh, NY 12550 Phone: 845-562-3606 • Fax: 845-562-3681 hvparent.com This publication is copyrighted by the publisher. Reproduction without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Hudson Valley Parent welcomes submissions, although we cannot accept responsibility for work submitted nor guarantee publication. T hey say April showers bring May flowers, but nobody ever mentioned those showers would be snowflakes! This spring started out with a chill that made me long for warmer days that would bring the blooms back from their winter hibernation. Even though spring got off to a cold start, there is still so much to smile about in the Hudson Valley. Just take a look at all the kids in this month's magazine. Little ones donned huge grins and their smiles are contagious. I bet you can't look at this bunch of cuties without a smile growing across your face. What makes you smile from ear to ear? For me, reminiscing about my childhood always makes a grin appear. I grew up with two brothers. My older brother was six years older than me and my twin brother was two minutes younger. That technically made me the middle child and we all fell nicely into our roles. My older brother, Bobby, had six years of undivided attention to help solidify his role. Firstborns are leaders and have the instinct to protect. Bobby now works as a New York State Trooper in the Hudson Valley. I would say his protective nature has held strong. Even though I am a twin, the other half to my brother-sister dynamic duo became the baby of the family. He took every second of our two minute age gap and used it to his advantage. He soaks up the attention and is the apple of my mother's eye. Even though he is a 23-year-old graduate student in Buffalo, my parents still call to check up on him and make sure he eats his vegetables. He will always be their baby no matter how old he gets. That would leave me as the middle child, social and independent and always searching for the spotlight. When I was young, you couldn't get me away from the camera. I was always posing and making silly faces. As I got older, I found creative ways to get myself to center stage. I played music and sang and joined every drama group I could find. This month, we talked to moms who share stories of their own firstborns taking the lead and describe their youngest child's free-spirit as part of their birth order personality. Do the stereotypes around birth order personalities apply to your family? Lately, something different makes me smile my biggest smile. Every month when a new Hudson Valley Parent comes flying hot off the presses, you will find me beaming. This month, we provided you with even more great parenting support. Talking about the tough stuff with your teens can be really difficult. In our new section just for parents of tweens and teens, we asked mom-trusted Dr. Paul Schwartz and a mom of three teenagers what they would do if they suspected their children were using drugs or drinking alcohol. A safe and healthy teen is the happiest sight for a parent. There's a lot to smile about in the Hudson Valley CASSIDY BRIGHTON Editor's Journal