Category Archive

parenting dilemmas

The first time my daughter told me she hated me, I bought her a cake

Most parents discuss a lot of firsts their kids may experience with anticipation — first steps, first words, and so on. I’m pretty sure most of us aren’t counting down the days until our child screams “I HATE YOU!” at us, but I love the solution this mom came up with: if your kid says she hates you, just go out and get her a cake.

Finding the difference between being amused by your kids vs. laughing at them

I think a lot of parents have those “I swear I will NEVER do that to my child” rules and this has always been one of those concerns for me. My experience of exclusion and embarrassment has made me want to treat every child I come in contact with as an equal.

How can we transition step-children and half-siblings into a unified family?

I married a wonderful fella and his two daughters last June. We both feel like the four of us are doing fairly well with the transitions, and now it looks like we’re adding to our family in October. The girls knew we hoped to, which meant that they were not surprised when we told them. They weren’t enthusiastic, either. I’m not expecting them to be, at least not yet, but I am curious about how best to proceed.

My 5-year-old cut off my hair and learned about what beauty really is

My daughter, Olivia, came home from her preschool and announced she needed to have long hair to be “pretty” and it wouldn’t hurt if I could put her in a dress for school. Initially I didn’t think much of that comment, but it bothered me. So I shaved my head to show her that prettiness wasn’t about long hair.

Sex Ed and the four-year-old

One summer evening, I piled the kids into the car for a pre-bed ice cream run. As we’re waiting in an impossibly long drive thru line, my 4 year old pipes up from the backseat, “Mommy, turn this music down. I need to talk about things.”

I cooperate and turn the radio off, asking what she wants to talk about.

“Let’s talk about babies.”

How can we celebrate our kid’s birthday without a cake?

My son’s first birthday is fast approaching, and I am debating whether or not to make him a cake. He hasn’t eaten anything with sugar (other than the sugars naturally found in fruit and breastmilk) and I would like to keep it that way as long as possible.

How can we deal with middle school meltdowns?

My oldest child, 12 years old, is in his first year of middle school. Without warning, we have hit an academic brick wall. My once mostly straight A student is now failing half his classes. He’s bombing tests and not turning in work. While I have done my absolute best to keep in contact with his teachers and have talked with him repeatedly about the importance of good grades and writing things down, I feel like I have led my little horse to water but he’s refusing to drink.

I don’t like one of my kid’s friends… what can I do about it?

My four-year-old has a new friend that I’m not the biggest fan of. The friend’s behavior (being destructive, kicking, hitting) isn’t my favorite. My daughter has also started acting out to get a laugh from her friend. The trouble is my daughter ADORES her friend — she talks about her at home, wants her to come over all the time, have sleepovers, etc.