I’m an atheist but my step-kid is religious: how do I respect his beliefs while expressing mine?
I have a nine-year-old stepson. I’ve been in his life since he was two-years-old. We’ve always split time 50-50 between the houses. My partner and I are definitely offbeat. We’re tattooed, politically radical and activist-y, feminist, intentionally unmarried, and atheists. Around the time my stepson was four, his biological mom “found Jesus” and joined an evangelical, fundamentalist church. Needless to say, this was a difficult transition. Now, our little dude is coming to our house and evangelizing to us, trying to convert us.
Stay-at-home-dads, breadwinner moms, and making it all work
Stay-at-home-dads are slowly making a cultural creep into relevance: we’re seeing more dads who either by choice or circumstance are finding themselves happily keeping up the homestead while their partners work outside the home. Here’s a recent piece from NPR with more.
How to hit on moms: getting over your social awkwardness to make plans with other parents
So here’s the thing about making friends with other parents: it’s kind of hard. Every time my kid makes a new friend I am so excited (!!!) for him, but it’s also a little trepedatious for me: does this mean I have to try to make a friend, too?
I’m completely deaf in one ear: how do I teach my children to help me hear them?
I’m completely deaf in my right ear, and I’m a parent to a toddler and a preschooler. I need to be able to read lips to most effectively hear people when they speak, and preschoolers are notoriously unintelligible in the best of circumstances. I try to teach my kids to look at my face when they speak so I can hear them, but it doesn’t often work.
What non-crazy steps did you take to baby proof your home?
I have a four-month-old little ball of love who is about to become a ROLLING ball of love. My partner and I are looking into baby-proofing — or rather, baby safe-ing as I like to say — our two bedroom apartment.
Convos with my 2-year-old: parent-child conversations re-enacted with another adult
If you guys are looking for a laugh, get pumped because I found it for you: yesterday Warmland Films released the first installment of Convos With My 2 Year Old. The video series is brilliant: they’re taking actual conversations between a two-year-old and her dad and replacing the two-year-old with an adult male.
How to start a book club… for babies
Once a month, a handful of my friends meet up at our friend’s house for our babies book club. We still refer to it as “baby book club” even though there’s no denying that our children aren’t babies anymore. They’re energetic, willful, spirited two-year-olds who run, laugh, fight over toys, and keep us constantly on our toes. They’re also two-year-olds who love to be read to. Like most toddlers their age, they love to be held on our laps while listening to stories and looking at colorful and beautiful picture books.
Family meetings help my relationship, save me money, and rock my socks
I am a terrible housekeeper. I’m also terrible at saving money. And talking about my feelings. And cooking (because I don’t plan ahead). And making time for my husband. At least, I WAS terrible at all of these things until… family meetings! I found a print-out somewhere in the depths of the internet called “Peek at the Week.” I showed it to my husband and he was mostly indifferent about it until I told him all of my amazing plans.