Is it cultural appropriation if I give my white, American baby a Japanese name?
When I was pregnant with my first child, I had my heart set on a specific Japanese name (Sakura) for my child. Her father dismissed the idea because the baby wasn’t Japanese, and we ended up naming our daughter Evelynn.
Are you a PANK (Professional Aunt, No Kids)?
The New York Times recently caught on to the concept of PANKs, which stands for Professional Aunt, No Kids. The article is written from the perspective of advertisers taking note that mothers aren’t the only ones shopping for children, but I appreciated the “It takes a village” perspective about the role that aunties play within many contempary families…
Two mamas, a baby on the way, and abundant sunshine
Y’all, I am swooning over Jill and Erica’s maternity session by Amy Ann Photography! The session took place in Columbus, Ohio, and the group visited the wonderful So-Hud tree mural, the Buggy Works complex in the Arena District, North Bank Park, and ended the photos at the Book Loft in the German Village (locals shout out!).
How To Train Your Robot: how I teach kids to program without computers
Last April, I taught six kids of ages 5 to 7 how to program. “In what programming language?” you may ask. Well… I didn’t use a programming language, at least none that you know of. In fact, I didn’t even use a computer. Instead, I devised a game called “How To Train Your Robot.” Before I explain how the game works, let me tell my motivation.
Why we had two hospital births and opted to deliver our third child at home
Hazel is our third child and very likely (according to our plan, anyway) our last. We’d decided long before her conception that we were going to plan a home birth if we were ever blessed with another child. We didn’t have absolutely horrible hospital birth experiences, to be clear — but there was a lot to process, especially on my end, after the births of our sons.
Queer families traveling or living in countries that aren’t LGBT-friendly: what is it like?
My beautiful partner and I love adventuring. We go away several times a year, often to places that are quite gay unfriendly and we deal with it. We’re now planning a family and have been talking a lot about adventuring with kids. We’ve really valued the posts on Offbeat Families about travelling with kids and have felt inspired to keep an open but optimistic mind about going abroad with our future family.
Family photo session round-up and more tips for rocking your own photos
Family portrait sessions are one of my favorite things that people do — there’s no better way to capture where your family is at the moment. The sessions are also super diverse — you can shoot in the intimacy of your home, at a park or playground you frequent, or anywhere.
How do we bring up gun safety with our kid — and the parents of our child’s friends?
We don’t own guns, but we live in an area where many people do. I thought I had more time to consider this issue, but one of my child’s preschool friends recently “shot” at me with a finger gun — “I am shooting you” — and I realized that the gun issue is coming sooner than I realized. My son so far seems pretty oblivious, but not for long.