If I could start over again I would totally be a Free Range Parent
I was the parent who kept my kids as safe as possible. Barring the few seconds I couldn’t watch my daughter as she scurried up to new heights, my kids kept their feet firmly on the ground. They never had a chance to explore and learn on their own. It could be argued that the kids might get hurt, but don’t we all take that chance? If I could do it all over again, I would try free range parenting.
My three-year-old associates “dark” with “bad”: How to talk to kids about race
I’ve noticed that if she’s playing a game that involves confrontation her black doll is always the aggressor. I’ve been thinking about the movies we watch (most noticeably Tangled, which features a dark-haired evil witch and an innocent light-haired princess) and am realizing that there’s a direct correlation between bad and dark in many of them.
Hey parent friends, I want to hang out with you AND your kids!
I am not a parent but many of my friends are. When friends started having babies, I did all the usual stuff — bringing muffins, offering to help out around the house or at least hold the baby while the parents clean up, and of course cooing over the little ones. I genuinely enjoy kids and I am happy that my friends are bringing them into my life. I know I can’t be included in everything, but I feel so sad when I hear a bunch of people I like talking about an activity that I would’ve enjoyed but wasn’t invited to because they all brought kids. No one seems to think I care, even though I’ve mentioned that I like, say, the zoo or the park, too. I have tried inviting people with their kids to my place and it’s lots of fun, but it’s clearly a grownup apartment and things wrap up pretty quickly.
My experience with Insufficient Glandular Tissue and breastfeeding
I am mourning what I thought would happen, how I thought things would work. I am finally accepting our new relationship, and trying to not feel guilty about it. It’s ok that my baby has formula, and I know breastmilk is best, but I’m doing my very best too. She is a happy, beautiful, healthy baby. I get to cuddle and snuggle her all day since I’m on maternity leave, and we have a wonderful relationship. I miss the closeness that nursing brought, but I’m glad she’s comfortable, and fed.
Too young to be a grandma: advice for moms of pregnant teens
If there’s one group of parents we rarely hear from on this site, it’s grandparents! Mamiverse recently published a piece with 5 tips for moms of pregnant teens.
The planned hospital birth I didn’t think I wanted
I knew my baby would be born in a hospital before I ever got pregnant. I desperately wanted to have a home birth, but my PPO insurance would only cover a birth in a hospital of their choosing. I couldn’t justify $6000 out of pocket when I would only need to pay $200 for a hospital birth… so to the hospital we went.
My new mom friends are suddenly “parenting experts” — how do I deal?
In the last few months a small group of my mom friends have become self-declared parenting experts — and they have infants! They’re constantly railing on and on about what they’ll do when their child hits this stage or that stage, preaching to me about their enlightened childcare plans, and telling me how I should handle things my own child is dealing with… even though they have zero experience parenting a child older than six months.
“Nesting” is different when you’re waiting for an adoption
I’m not expecting. Not in the traditional sense. My husband and I have decided to adopt one or two kids from foster care between the ages of four and seven. We applied to adopt through our local government agency one year and three months ago. In that time we have done the mandatory training program, I have taken a special course on adopting children of aboriginal heritage (a large percentage of children in foster care in Canada are First Nations) and we have waited and waited for our names to move up the wait list for a home study. But just because there is no baby in my belly doesn’t mean that I don’t feel the need to make a home for my kids.