To the mamas, on Mother’s Day: I hope you have a lovely day today. One that ends with gratitude for family and receiving something you needed. It’s a good time to think beyond today. What else do YOU need in your life? Is there a piece of yourself that’s been forgotten? Some piece that was central to you being […]
“Should WE try that?” A friend had just come back unscathed from a road trip to Yellowstone with her 5-year-old, and we thought, “Huh.” We decided to do it. Of course the big unknown was how G would do on the 12-hour car ride from Seattle to Yellowstone. She’d be solo in the back seat, […]
Dog poop on the sidewalk: my 4-year-old spotted it. “Someone left that mess there. That’s not cool!” I said. “That’s not cool!” she agreed. “It’s our responsibility to clean up our own messes,” I said. “Yeah!” she said. “I always try to clean up my own messes,” she said. “That’s wonderful,” I said. And I […]
Do you struggle to set healthy boundaries around screen time? Do you want your kids to enjoy the digital world–without forgetting how to hit the OFF switch? Concerned about how you’ll handle your kids’ social media or cell phone use down the road? Even though I’m pretty committed to avoiding screen time for my daughter (apart from […]
Knock on my door any random afternoon and you might think five children live at my house instead of one. (Did I tell you we moved from our condo to a house? It’s awesome because G can jump, run, and dance to her heart’s content. On the flip side: more room for messes to accumulate.) […]
“Mama, what is my life?” It’s not often we parents pause to reflect on the memorable events of our children’s lives. Today, on my daughter’s 4th birthday, I got that chance. It wasn’t something I thought to do on my own. I was caught up in planning a fairy princess party and the happy chaos […]
The brain is wired to resist coercion. That’s why being told what to do triggers defiance. Unless we feel very connected, in that moment, to the person telling us what to do. This is an intriguing piece of the parenting puzzle that I wrote about in “The secret to stopping power struggles.” Here are some ideas for creating a little connection in the moment: 1. […]
Q. I grew up in a home where I was never allowed to be messy. My grandmother or mother always quickly cleaned up everything in anger. I don’t want to be that kind of parent! I don’t want my child constantly caught up in my anxiety. My daughter is 14 months. She loves to rearrange things […]
Does grandma get to see your baby regularly? Grandmothers who take care of their grandchildren once a week, a small study showed, may be at lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Why? Consider a story in Atul Gawande’s excellent book Being Mortal. He tells of seniors shuffling the halls in a nursing home, looking lifeless–until an idealistic director breaks the rules and brings […]
My preschooler came out of her room and stomped once. I carried her back to bed. As I turned to leave, she called out: “When we were camping, C wanted to be alone and I kept at him, and he hurt me. He hit me first. I hit him second. Next time we go camping, I’m […]