Forging a relationship with my new step-daughter
Sophia’s technically not my step-daughter yet, and if I stick with just the off-hand comment of how my fiance has a child, it sounds like I’m not involved in her life. “Soon-to-be step-mom” is awkward and clunky, and referring to her as a room mate is clearly not an option.
Trusting my child to choose his own adventure: democratic unschooling in action
I’ve been answering the question, “What grade is your son in?” for nine years, and even now I’m never quite sure what will come out of my mouth. My son has been attending The Clearwater School since age four. Clearwater is a Sudbury school, a democratic school based on freedom, trust, and responsibility. Kids have as much of a say in running the school as adults.
From water to bed: our water-turned-hospital birth story
A sob escaped before the tears had a chance to start flowing in reaction to what my midwife was telling me. My wife, Kate, held my right hand and the nurse held my left while my midwife gave my leg a sympathetic squeeze. I cried bitter tears, agonizing over the hard work I’d done the past 26 hours — intense, induced, pain-med-free labor. As they streamed down my hot cheeks and onto the cool bed sheets, so fell my hopes for The Perfect Birth.
Why I let my tween listen to whatever music he wants
Language isn’t that big a deal to me, nor is the violence. It’s the drug use and the sexually suggestive material. But the music doesn’t concern me. Is that bad?
Parenting a teen in the shadow of Facebook
Kids that are in high school and college right now are the guinea pigs for coming of age in the social networks. They are learning the hard way what should and should NOT be posted to their Tumblr, Facebook or Twitter accounts.
How should I talk to my kid about puberty?
Rebecca’s son is nine, and she’s starting to wonder: is it time to talk about puberty? Did your parents ever talk about it with you, or what did you tell your kids?
How do you talk to your kids about Jesus when you’re an atheist?
One day, my five-year-old asked me if I knew Jesus made the world. So, I told her what we know: that once the earth was here, things started to happen little by little, until one little creature had become a million little creatures, all changing and growing.
Raising Miss Manners: how I taught my toddler to be polite
Maybe I am old-fashioned (despite the piercings and tattoos), but I think that by teaching my children manners, even before they fully understand them, that I’m laying groundwork for a future where they show others respect, and are respectable. Whats more, I feel that because my family is unconventional in many ways, that its even more important to observe conventional manners and etiquette.