How do we celebrate ALL holidays this season?
My family of three is still very young, but we’re trying to beat our own path as best we can. We’ve recently (gently) let go of our religious upbringings, and we’re trying to see things through a broader scope. With the holidays coming up, I’d like celebrate with a more open mind. How do other “offbeat” families out there incorporate other cultures into their holiday festivities to form their own traditions?
How can I create a peaceful, Buddhist-inspired bedroom for my child?
I’ve been searching for Buddhist-inspired baby and/or kid’s rooms online — and I haven’t found much. Many of the rooms I’m finding are for adults, and I’m not sure how to incorporate the ideas into a kid’s room. I would love to see other people’s creative takes on creating a Buddhist (any branch of Buddhism) baby nursery. How have you created a bedroom inspired by Buddhism for your kids?
How can I explain where my deceased daughter is to our future children without bringing up religion?
Our first child passed away at five months of age due to cancer. Just because she is no longer physically with us does not mean that she is not in our everyday life. How can I make the afterlife a non-scary place for a child without the clouds and harps?
What are secular baby blessing ceremonies like?
I have heard about secular baby blessings a long time ago, and have always wanted to do one. as anyone had any experience with baby blessing ceremonies?
How do you talk to your kid about differences?
My daughter is growing up with parents who have a strong judgement-free policy, but we don’t have the ability to introduce her to every type of person in the world. How are you explaining differences (physical, mental, racial, etc.) to your children?
When we belong, we belong: on raising my future children Greek Orthodox
It does seem strange that a progressive, Queer-positive, feminist single mother would choose to raise her daughters not only in a Christian church, but in the Greek Orthodox Church. A church that is literally byzantine. A church where women are not only kept from the priesthood, but kept out of the Alter. And yet she did and I am so grateful.
I walked out of my house and left my husband and kids
Five months ago, I took one of our twelve suitcases out of storage, dusted it off, opened it up, and crammed in all my clothes, three photo albums, my mom’s journals, a bag — (ok, fine, three bags) — of assorted hair and makeup products that I had collected before leaving Los Angeles, the soft zebra dress my daughter wore as a baby, and the tiny cotton onesie with the sheep parading up and down the middle that my son wore for the first month after he was born… and I left the kibbutz.
What kind of gifts can atheist godparents give at a christening?
My husband’s sister has just had her first baby, and they’ve asked him to be godfather; they understand that he’s a staunch atheist and will not be part of his niece’s religious education. All of the complexities there aside for a moment, here’s my question: what do my husband and I give her as a christening gift?