How to know when your kid is old enough to be left alone
Our daughter is almost 10. I believe she would be fine on her own for an hour, and I feel confident that she knows how to call 911, who to go to for help, etc., But, what do you guys think… At what age are kids ready to be left alone?
I want to adopt another child. My husband doesn’t.
We’re at an impasse. We fundamentally disagree, and we completely respect each other’s feelings on the subject. We just don’t agree.
One of us is going to “lose” the argument here, and I don’t know how to cope…
Want something better than 13 Reasons Why? Here’s the show that wins in portraying mental illness
13 Reasons Why was problematic when it came to dramatizing suicidal ideation and execution — in all it’s heavy and highly dramatized detail. I want to call out an alternative. A really good alternative and one you may have missed if you’re outside of the U.K. Here’s why My Mad Fat Diary is a much better portrayal of mental illness and suicide…
Distance is only physical: How to make the most of your out-of-state family members
No matter who is a part of your valued clan, they are likely people who mean something to you and with whom you enjoy spending time in one way or another. So what do you do when they are spread out over the coast, country, or even world? I’m here to tell you how to make the most of this common situation…
Let’s talk about the silence and uncertainty of possible infertility
I’d started off so optimistic… I was healthy and young, of course I’d get pregnant today or sometime soon. The longer it took, the less I believed that or my doctors reassurance. My mind became wrapped in a negativity I’d never known before.
It is absolutely, positively, fantastic that there is a growing movement of woman making it more socially acceptable to talk about infertility. What we’re not talking about is what comes before that. The months of uncertainty, of wondering if you’re infertile…
Go off-brand & black-ops: How to have a baby on the cheap
Three days before I found out I was pregnant with my first baby, in an example of worst-timing-ever, I quit my job. Now nine months of being pregnant, broke, and bored loomed ahead. After the first (but not last) major panic attack was over, we realized we would have to become money-saving ninjas, embracing the second hand, the cheap and the wonky, and we would cope.
So now I’m in my second pregnancy, I’d like to share how we managed to keep down the costs of preparing for a newborn…
When it’s necessary to overrule a child’s “no touching” requests
I am a pediatric nurse, and I was just worrying the other day about the message I was sending to a four-year-old girl during a treatment. She very clearly said “no,” but of course it was necessary for us to treat her (nasal suctioning — totally not fun!).
I would love to hear more suggestions from parents about what works when it is necessary to overrule a child’s wishes about their bodies.
4 ways to survive being an accidental stay at home mom
I am an accidental stay-at-home mom. It’s not all roses however, as there was a learning curve to the two of us being home all day together. My husband now jokes that he was certain he would come home one day and my son and I would have divided the house in half with tape and claimed territories!
All joking aside, there are some great ways to help make the transition easier and to break the monotony of it all…