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Jorge Fitz-Gibbon

Jorge Fitz-GibbonJorge Fitz-Gibbon is a reporter in the Special Projects Team at The Journal News. His career as a newspaper reporter has spanned more than 20 years, and has included stints at the New York Daily News and Gannett Suburban Newspapers, the predecessor to The Journal News. His career as a dad has spanned 10 unpredictable years ... and counting.

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

Entries written by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon

Making it work

February
4
With so many unmarried couples moving in together, it was only a matter of time before lawyers figured out a way to make some cash from the situation. So now there’s an increase in cohabitation agreements, which lay out the rules for out-of-wedlock couples. This doesn’t apply just to single parent blended families, but [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on February 4th, 2008 | 2 Comments »

One single dad’s journey

February
1

It’s not as if I need another book on my reading list, which is already backed up. But this one seems worth a look.

To hear him tell it, single dad blogger Trey Ellis had been plotting this out for a heck of a long time, even before he began writing in earnest three years ago. [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on February 1st, 2008 | 2 Comments »

Moving the kids

January
30

Interesting blog item on the Fathers and Families website. It deals with “moveaways,” or the process whereby children of divorced or separated parents are moved to a new home. It’s clearly a legitimate issue, but I think there are other elements at work in many of those situations, and certainly in the example cited in [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on January 30th, 2008 | Post a Comment »

Daddy time

January
29
I always have a mixed reaction when I come across advice for single dads.

On the one hand, it’s gratifying, helpful and reassuring when there’s actually something written for single/separated/divorced fathers. There’s just not as much for us out there.

On the other hand, it seems like dads are characterized as the secondary parent. Whether or [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on January 29th, 2008 | 3 Comments »

The Separated Man

January
24

 This is a process, this whole separeted/divorced thing. I’m sure there’s a study somewhere that breaks it down scientifically. Some would likely say you go through the stages of death. Others would say it’s just that—a process.

Well, if you’re in that boat, you have your own version. It’s never easy to split from your mate, [...]

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

It’s the kids, stupid

January
21

I heard another horror story today about a divorced couple and the nightmare they’re putting their young daughter through. I hate these stories, but there’s no denying they’re way too common.

In this scenario, the parents are feuding over custody time and several other details. The father listens in on phone conversations the little girl has [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on January 21st, 2008 | Post a Comment »

The online scene

January
16

There’s little doubt that Internet dating is increasingly popular among single parents. I mean, most single parents I know are looking for a companion, and a lot of them are turning to the web to restart their social lives. A lot of them.

I think it’s for obvious reasons: Single parents have less free time to [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on January 16th, 2008 | 6 Comments »

In case you missed it….

January
15

Interesting business story today about changes to MySpace to increase monitoring of the site. I’m sure we’re all familiar with MySpace, and the concerns many parents have with the unfiltered access some kids and teens have to it. So, this move would put in some changes to target sexual predators who may frequent the site.
According [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on January 15th, 2008 | Post a Comment »

Snow days

January
14

I think it’s time to blog on this: Too many snow days.

As I hear it, everyone seems to agree that school districts order snow days — or delayed openings, as was the case today in my son’s district — much more frequently than when we were kids. It’s certainly my experience. Or is it simply [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on January 14th, 2008 | 6 Comments »

Patience

January
11

No, not the kind we need as parents. We’ve all had a crash course in that if we have kids. I mean getting your children to be patient in impatient situations. Like, the long lines at Disneyworld.

In this case it was the long lines at the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on January 11th, 2008 | 3 Comments »

The dreaded teen years

January
8

Okay, this is way premature: My son is just 10.

But I’ve always accepted that my time with him is limited. We buddy around now and go on treks together, share movies and even joust in X-Box contests now and again. But what happens when he hits the teen years? That’s when dad has to [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on January 8th, 2008 | 5 Comments »

Resolutions… for the kids

January
2
I’m sure we all have our own list of New Year’s resolutions, some of which we may actually follow through on. I have friends who are vowing to diet, quit smoking and travel more in the coming year. We’ll see.

But how about the kids? As parents, we spend a great deal of time establishing [...]

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

Single mom appeal

December
28

Single-mom blogger and author Rachel Sarah recently asked me about dating single moms, and particularly what’s appealing about them. Well, seeing as how I’m a divorced dad, my girlfriend is a single mom, and I dated a few single moms prior to meeting her and starting a blended family of our own, Rachel figured I [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on December 28th, 2007 | Post a Comment »

Christmas debriefing

December
27

The holidays were a success at my place, with tons of food, lots of smiles and two spoiled kids. In fact, the boys each got more presents than I probably got my entire childhood. As I’m sure is the case with most single parent homes, my son had a stack of presents at our place, [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on December 27th, 2007 | 2 Comments »

Say it ain’t so

December
14

I’m sure we’re all familiar with the argument linking kids and steroids: Athletes take performance enhancing drugs, and kids become vulnerable because they either idolize and want to mimick their doping heroes or they’re young athletes who want to perform like the pros and follow the lead by “juicing.”

Well, tonight I heard former U.S. Sen. [...]

Posted by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon on December 14th, 2007 | 7 Comments »

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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