Santa Cares: A Holiday Life Saver for Parents of Kids With Special Needs
We got in line early for Santa. We decided to try him out again, this time in a comfortable and familiar environment: the nursery school Christmas party. Our daughter knew everyone in line, and alt...
5 Kid Behaviors Adults Could Learn to Do Better
Adults are always telling kids how to behave. But there are times when kids do things way better than we can.
Kids Waiting to be Adopted Don’t Need Super Heroes
Adoption is special but it is not unreachable. It takes real, everyday people.
These 5 Words Help Me Be a Better Parent
This is a submission in our monthly contest. November’s theme is Gratitude. For years now I've been asking my eight-year-old daughter, Lexi, the same question before we say goodnight: What are you ...
Generations of Tea Remembrances
As I watch my daughter drink tea with her daughter, I’m grateful that this tea ritual I learned from my mother is passed on to my daughter to make her own.
What is the Bechdel Test and How Many of Your Kids' Favorite Movies Pass it?
Whether you're raising daughters or sons, you should know what the Bechdel Test is and how it applies to your life and your children's lives.
What to Say When Everything Is Not Going to Be Okay
Am I doing my kids a disservice by always promising that everything will be okay, when very likely it sometimes won't be?
Yes, Your 5-Year-Old Understands Charity, Believe it or Not
At what age do children begin to understand and act on the concept of charity? A recent study tackled just this question.
Why Lullabies Work, According to the Experts
As much as I’d like to think I have magical singing abilities, I know that there’s much more to the science of lullabies.
Parenting Teenagers: The Wall and the Mason
The "Be a Wall" movement stems from the fact that being a teenaged girl sucks almost as much as trying to figure out how to raise one.
5 Things You Need to Know Before You Can Change Your Kid's Behavior
Before we can hope to change our kid’s behavior, we need to be aware of five things that explain why children act the way they do.
How to Help Your Kids Find Their Place in the World
It’s not enough to pick a college major simply because that was your best subject in high school.
5 Ways to Get Your Kids Focusing on Giving Rather Than Getting This Season
This is a submission in our monthly contest. November’s theme is Gratitude. Halloween wasn’t even over when our mailbox was getting stuffed with holiday catalogs. Before I could blink the kids were...
An Overprotective Parent Asks, "When Do You Know It's Time to Step in?"
Yep, I am one of those: I am an overprotective parent.
Why I Love TV Time With My Kids
Sometimes there aren’t two hours in the day for a family bike ride. But there are 30 minutes to watch a show and lazily connect with one another.
5 Rules for Foster Parents From One Who's Been There
Whether you have children of your own, you’re married, single, or you are just wanting to help out, fostering kids is a special kind of parenting.
How to Answer Big Questions About the Big Guy in Red
I have found a few easy answers that should quell your fears and keep the magic of Santa alive and well in your house for a long time.
Why We Love (and Need) Superheroes
There's no denying superheroes hare firmly rooting their place in American pop culture, and the love of them has never faded – it's only intensified.
Sending My Firstborn to Pre-K: a Mortality Exercise
If motherhood is total ecstasy and absolute despair felt in every cell of your body, then having a pre-kindergartener has been peak both for me.
Why I Won’t Tell My Kids “You’re Okay”
We have to do some guessing with these tiny humans who can’t yet tell us what’s wrong, but let’s not confuse this with telling them nothing is wrong.
Enjoy this time! Wait … THIS time? You mean like, right now?
Don’t waste money on overpriced, obnoxious baby toys. What babies really want are random, inanimate objects from around the house.
The Rainbow on Our Gratitude Tree
Last November, my little family began what I had hoped would be a new family tradition: a gratitude tree.
Why My Daughters Can Show Their Underwear If They Want To
My experience is the restrictions on girls’ lives don't arrive in the form of dramatic events, but in the accumulation of thousands of everyday interactions.