Should you allow your daughter’s boyfriend to sleep over?
What a concept — approaching self esteem by telling a child their darker selves are loved. Only in our culture is the primitive drive to propagate a species seen as dark and dirty. We MUST change that. Sex is not dirty or disgusting, it’s amazing and should not be relegated to something we do in the dead of night when the house is asleep and the lights are off. Turn on the lights and make love at noon. Sex and pleasure are not desires that should be hidden, but valid feelings that when expressed appropriately, bring immense joy into your life.
Oh WOW: our baby just turned 18 years old
Cue shopping for the birthday dinner — we’re at the store, looking at birthday cards. I pick one up at random and as I’m reading, I start bawling right in the middle of the card aisle. Full tears were streaming down my face. It suddenly was very real that my baby girl was crossing the line into adulthood.
My daughter wants a Doctor Who-themed Bat Mitzvah and we’re lost: help us plan her party!
Since there’s no way to know how many of our readers have actually celebrated/attended a Bat Mitzvah, I thought it would be a good idea to, you know, ask someone who HAS. I wrangled Avital Norman Nathman, and she gave me the rundown.
17 things The Princess Bride taught me about parenting children with autism
Fans of The Princess Bride will love this list of 17 ways the film has helped her parent children with autism from Bec, author of the blog Snagglebox. Bec has a fifteen-year-old and a twelve-year-old son who both have autism, and has been able to use lessons from the family fave in her favor.
My niece and nephew are getting into drugs — how do I talk to them about it?
I have a niece, 20, and nephew, 16, who do drugs regularly. It started with pot, but now they’re into Molly, popping and snorting crushed pills, mushrooms, and taking cold medicine to get high. I know this because they’re pretty active on Twitter and post references to it and photos of their dilated pupils. They’ve also told me and other family members.
I don’t care if my kids get tattoos, but I do have a few ground rules
My two-year old just learned to say “tattoo”. I have two tattoos, and he’s very interested in them. I’m not sure he understands what tattoos are — maybe he thinks Mommy’s skin just grew these intricate designs, like he grew the mole on his leg that he’s also very interested in. Maybe one day he’ll want a tattoo of his own, and if he does, there are six rules.
A high school English teacher on 5 books every teen should read
The Huffington Post ran a piece last month about the five books every high school student should read before going to college. It was a pretty good list, and I agree that most of those books are incredibly important for teenagers, but I couldn’t help but think, if I had five books to give my students that they HAD to read, what would they be?
Dealing with another parent shunning your teen
Last summer, my daughter wanted to celebrate her birthday by having her two best friends over for a slumber party. I emailed both moms with an invitation and some possible dates. One of them emailed back that it didn’t matter what the date was, because she didn’t feel comfortable having her daughter in my home. Ever. Following a different drummer is all well and good, until your kid gets shunned for it. Then the panic sets in.