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Jorge Fitz-Gibbon

Jorge Fitz-GibbonJorge Fitz-Gibbon’s career as a journalist has spanned 23 years, including stints at The New York Daily News and The Journal News. He is the father of an 11-year-old boy, and has been a single dad for seven of those years, recently working on building a blended family. He blogs for LoHud.com on parenting and music, drawing on his passion for both. Both come together in his life as well: His son currently plays guitar and saxophone, while Jorge is a guitar player with Bud Metro and the Corrections, The Journal News’ on-again, off-again newsroom band. Not surprisingly, Jorge’s love for classic rock and metal has rubbed off on his son, whose debut performance at a school talent show was Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man.” Now they’re working on Led Zeppelin and keeping his grades up in school.

E-mail Jorge Fitz-Gibbon at jfitzgib@lohud.com

Entries written by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon

Do we have to tell the kids?

January
16

It’s hard to miss the sad state of our economy right now: Layoffs everywhere, furloughs here and throughout the working world, etc. But do the kids really need to be in on it all? Granted, I hope I don’t get to the point where I have to tell my son that times are going to [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on January 16th, 2009 | 7 Comments »

Being the ‘parent’

January
14

At 11, my son is pretty well accustomed to the house-swap that occurs as a result of the custody agreement between his mom and I. That’s not to say he wouldn’t like it differently — I don’t think the desire to have your parents together in one home ever disappears. But after more than six [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on January 14th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Men in the Mix

January
9

The adoption mix, that is.

While the statistics continue to weigh heavily in favor of women, men are on the rise as single dads and adoptive fathers. In a recent report, CNN noted that a growing number of men “are becoming parents using surrogate mothers.”:http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/12/23/single.men.parenting/index.html

Also note that the national Centers for Disease Control reported in an [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on January 9th, 2009 | 4 Comments »

Snow day

January
7

Or rather, a freezing rain day. Either way, my son was psyched. He slept with his pajamas inside-out, which is supposed to provide the magic needed to close the school the following day. Obviously it worked. But here’s a new one: He said you’re also supposed to sleep with a wooden spoon under your pillow! [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on January 7th, 2009 | Post a Comment »

A death in the family

January
5

I felt fortunate this year that my son’s holiday season was a happy one. In fact, he made out like a bandit. In my book, that’s as it should be. As we do every year, we also bought gifts for needy children, something he has come to appreciate and we enjoy doing as a family.

His [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on January 5th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Halloween and my long absence

October
31

Actually, there’s no link between the two, but the Internet overlords here pointed out today that I’ve been incredibly bad about posting regularly here — and it does happen to be Halloween.

First, on my shoddy blogging habits: Guilty as charged. Work has been busy, life has been busier, but there are certainly no shortage of [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on October 31st, 2008 | Post a Comment »

The working-parent dilemma….and a single-mom victim of it

October
15

Don’t people work? You would assume with all the working parents out there and the growing number of single parents around that you’d find more after-school activities for your kids that accommodate a busy work schedule. But try to find a broad range of after-school activities that fit that criteria and see what happens.

My girlfriend [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on October 15th, 2008 | 12 Comments »

The little bully

September
8

I wanted to beat up a 3-year-old this weekend. And boy, would he have had it coming.

Frankly, I would’ve been okay with my girlfriend’s 4-year-old taking the kid out. But that’s where she and I differed, and where it makes for an interesting discussion on bullying. It’s been on my mind lately anyway, since my [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on September 8th, 2008 | 6 Comments »

The discipline game

August
12

How many shared-custody situations are out there where the child prefers one parent’s home to the other because “it’s more fun?” Particularly for younger children, this usually means that one parent’s home is all about play and the other involves actual parenting — rules and restrictions and doctor visits and doing homework.

I can think of [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on August 12th, 2008 | 7 Comments »

Lost memories

July
22

There are only so many memorable moments in a child’s life, and only so many “firsts:” The first time mastering a two-wheeler, the first fireworks display, the first time on a plane, and so on. The hardest part of being a dual-custody parent is losing some of these moments. The child’s time — and thereby, [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on July 22nd, 2008 | 2 Comments »

The sensitive dad

June
27
The stereotype suggests that dads are great for playing ball with the kids, but are reluctant to change diapers. It suggests that the more “manly” parenting duties are left to dads, while the more “nurturing” tasks fall on moms. Well, a single dad has to assume both roles, just as single moms find themselves [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on June 27th, 2008 | 12 Comments »

3 lbs. of bacon

June
24

One of the advantages of having shared custody of your child is that there’s a limit to the number torturous school assignments you have to do for the kid. Obviously, my ex ends up with half of them because of our 50-50 custody deal.

And I don’t mean arts & crafts for art projects, or books [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on June 24th, 2008 | Post a Comment »

The blended family phenomenon

June
20

 I don’t know if this is good news or bad news, but it’s certainly reality.

The point is that the rise in blended-family homes and situations is increasingly obvious. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this means more children are growing up having to make the adjustment, and dealing with a  whole host [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on June 20th, 2008 | Post a Comment »

A breakthrough on Father’s Day?

June
16

I really don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I’m hoping I turned a corner with my girlfriend’s son. I think it’s the kind of thing any single dad in a new blended family looks for. At least my fingers are crossed.
Let me back up. Father’s Day brought all the expected rewards [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on June 16th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

The prom date … revisited

June
12

Remember the prom date? “In this earlier blog,”:http://parentsplace.lohudblogs.com/2008/04/23/the-prom-date-debate I spoke about a mom who put her foot down when her 15-year-old son was asked to go to the prom by a senior girl in his high school. Her thinking was that he was too young, etc., etc. That sparked some lively debate.

Well, the prom [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on June 12th, 2008 | 3 Comments »

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About this blog
Parents’ Place is a hangout for openly discussing the A’s to Z’s of raising a child in the Lower Hudson Valley. From deciding when to stop using a binky to when to let your teenager take driving lessons, Parents’ Place is here to let us all vent, share, and most of all, learn from each other.
Leading the conversation are Julie Moran Alterio, a business reporter and mom of a toddler, Jorge Fitz-Gibbon, a reporter and single father with joint custody of a 9-year-old son, and Len Maniace, a reporter and father of two sons.


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About the authors
Julie Moran AlterioJulie Moran AlterioJulie Moran Alterio, her husband and baby girl — “Pumpkin” — share their Northern Westchester home with three iPods and more colorful plastic toys than seems necessary to entertain one tiny human. READ MORE
Jorge Fitz-GibbonJorge Fitz-GibbonJorge Fitz-Gibbon has been a journalist for more than 20 years and a father for nine. READ MORE
Jane LernerJane LernerJane Lerner covers health and hospitals for The Journal News in Rockland, where she lives with her husband and two children. READ MORE
Len Maniace.jpgLen ManiaceLen Maniace is a reporter and father of two sons. READ MORE



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