Respectful parenting begets respectful teens
There seems to be the almost universal belief among North American parents. I’m sure this is a phenomena found elsewhere as well, but I’m just talking about what I’ve personally seen. Kids, whether these are theoretical future children or actual kids, will hate, or, at the very least, dislike their parents. Teenagers hate their parents: everyone knows that.
I’m finally dating after my divorce — and my six-year-old loves it
A few productive, insightful, sadly celibate years rolled by after my divorce, and then it happened: I meet a fella. I couldn’t even believe it was happening… until my now six-year-old asked me if I have a boyfriend. When I said yes, she asked to meet him.
A doula’s advice: the dos and don’ts of visiting friends after they have a baby
I know how exciting new babies are. I know how much people want to see and smell them when they are brand new. I also know that being a good friend to new parents means taking the utmost care with a new and very delicate situation. As a postpartum doula, I’m here to tell you how you can be a good friend while you visit new babies and their parents.
Stop letting your kid’s freedom of speech be taken away
As parents, I think we should teach our kids all due caution, but there should be outrage here, too. Outrage that their childhoods — their ability to make bad choices and act stupid and be young — is actively being taken from them. Our kids have to live in constant fear and under a constant scrutiny that no other generation has suffered beneath (and no generation should) to the point that, even in their youth they must act with either the constant maturity of adults, or at least under a constant curtain of paranoia.
My education at a cooperative pre-school
Then I discovered my dream come true: a cooperative pre-school. A co-op cuts costs by hiring only the teachers; parents perform all other work and take turns as teacher aide. This innovative solution would give the boys the benefits of school and allow me to be involved in my children’s education while also having personal time.
How do you feel about being Facebook friends with kids?
My first encounter with kids on Facebook happened a year ago when one of the boys in my daughter’s class sent me a “friend” request on Facebook. He was nine years old. I’m Facebook “friends” with one of his dads, so I accepted the request. This has me wondering: do you think it’s ok to be friends with a minor on Facebook?
How can I safely use the internet to update my family members about our kid?
What’s the best way to digitally share news about your kid with family members? We have a few privacy concerns (primarily about keeping our work lives and private lives separate). Should we start an “old-fashioned” blog? Email updates? Flickr with privacy settings? Facebook friend lists? Tumblr for photo updates? There are so many choices!
What scrapbooking is teaching me about my two-year-old son
When I started my blog, I considered calling it “Seven Cars and a Kitten” because the first time Tom ever made a collage, that’s what it contained. I loved the odd juxtaposition of things he liked. Several months later, the pictures that he chooses to cut out and stick in his scrapbook remain a lovely insight into what makes him tick.