SubscribeTopic: Childrearing
How Not To Pick Up Women At The Park
On a normal day, my daughter and I’s trip to the park is pretty uneventful. She begs me to push her on the swings, even though she could pump herself if she really wanted to. She finds some new friend on the playground and they get in trouble for trying to climb up the slides. And then we take a nice walk through the woods before we head home.
Yesterday was not a normal day. More »
People Are Completely Overreacting About The Avengers‘ Adoption Joke
If this isn’t a manufactured bit of controversy designed to ride the wave of a recordbreaking movie, then I don’t know what is. An editorial in The Washington Times has called out The Avengers for a “mean and unfunny” joke about adoption, but writer Andrea Poe has completely missed the point.
Poe and other commenters are taking exception with this exchange concerning Thor’s brother Loki: More »
Brave 9-Year-Old To Westboro Baptist Church: ‘God Hates No One’
When it comes Westboro Baptist Church and their hateful members, most regular people want to kick the shit out of them while others choose to simply ignore them. But 9-year-old Josef Miles had an even better idea. More »
Sofia Vergara Reportedly ‘Depriving’ Her Son Of A Father By Ending Relationship
It’s ridiculous and unfair to claim that Sofia Vergara’s teenage son was “deprived” of a father-figure, as the New York Daily News did recently, when the actress broke up with her boyfriend. More »
Jason Biggs And His Wife Recreate The Time Breastfeeding Cover
By now, I’m sure you’ve seen some of the humorous Photoshops dedicated to mocking Time’s troll-tastic Are You Mom Enough? breastfeeding cover. Well, now Jason Biggs and his funny writer/actress wife Jenny Mollen have taken it a step further and re-enacted it IRL. More »
‘I Need Some Place To Put My Angry’: Helping Children Deal With Negative Emotions
When you think about it, a 4-year-old realizing that she needs “some place to put her mad” is a pretty astute observation. So how can a parent help their child learn to cope with negative emotions? Here’s how our family handled it. What worked for you? More »
18 States Receive A Big Fat ‘F’ Grade For Accomodating Working Parenthood
If America was a kindergarten class, let me just say that many of us would not be promoted to the first grade. More »
My Daughter Looks Nothing Like Me, And I’m Just Fine With That
New pictures are out of Reese Witherspoon’s darling little girl Ava. The 12-year-old bears a remarkable resemblance to her superstar mother. For just a second when I saw pictures of the tween and her mama side-by-side, I felt a twinge of jealousy. These two are quite obviously a pair and my daughter looks almost nothing like me. Then I think about my amazing little girl and remember that she doesn’t need to look like me, she’s her own person. And her appearance is a perfect expression of what a unique and strong little girl she is. More »
Splitsville: The Best Tips To Keep Informed And Organized With Your Co-Parent
I have a confession to make. Last night was visitation night at my daughter’s dance studio and I completely forgot to inform her father. It may not sound like a huge issue, but it made me feel horrible. And I immediately decided to re-evaluate how my ex and I keep organized when it comes to our daughter’s busy schedule. More »
Does My Daughter Really Have A Deathly Nut Allergy? I’m Skeptical
In the time since my daughter was diagnosed as being deathly allergic to walnuts, pecans and filberts, and highly allergic to many other tree nuts, she has eaten hazelnut pudding, drunk a bowl of almond milk, slurped down some pesto-coated spaghetti, downed an almond-laden piece of baklava and eaten walnut bread. And she hasn’t died. More »
Jessica Alba Says Babies Make Body Image Irrelevant, Putting More Pressure On Moms
Jessica Alba wrote a sweet ode to motherhood on iVillage today, explaining how sexy she feels since becoming a mom. It’s awesome to hear a mom say she feels good about her body, against a backdrop of headlines ridiculing moms who don’t. But on the other hand…I think she sets up an unfair double-standard for women: That moms should feel good about themselves by virtue of not caring about how they look, while women who don’t have kids are…left to feel obsessed with their bodies because they’re not distracted by the tireless needs of babes. Cheers to Alba for kissing her insecurities goodbye; but don’t all of us deserve the chance to do the same, whatever life choices we make? More »
Are Parenting Advice And Professional Opinions Drowning Out Moms’ Natural Instincts?
I don’t think there’s a person at this website who wouldn’t agree that motherhood is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. The responsibilities, the worries, the infamous mom guilt… It can all be a little overwhelming for even the most confident woman. But are modern women withering under the harsh demands of “perfect parenting” and the modern drive to balance work and family? Are we losing that all-important “mother’s instinct” that serves as a guiding force for our parenting techniques and approaches? Recent studies suggest that we might be. More »
‘You Are What You Read’ Gives Parents More Reason To Keep Strong Female Characters On Bookshelves
Sexist LEGOs and complacent princesses may give kids one narrative of how to be a girl, but stories like that of Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games certainly provide another. So for every materialistic book that tells impressionable girls that the key to happiness is meeting guys who buy you lots of crap, the damage manifests, which is further evidenced in a study that keeps to the line of logic “you are what you read.” More »
NYC Mayor Uses Grad Speech To Convey The Utter Lameness Of Amendment One
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was invited to give a commencement speech at the University of North Carolina on Mother’s Day. And aside from imparting typical graduation wisdom of “teamwork,” “assist others,” and take “risks,” Bloomberg also spoke frankly about the repercussions of North Carolina’s anti-children Amendment One — banning civil unions and domestic partnerships for gay and straight families. A bold move in many ways to speak to young people so candidly about devastating and recently voted legislation in their very own state. More »
A League Of Her Own: Boys’ Baseball Team Refuses to Play Against Girl
An Arizona parochial school forfeits their championship baseball game because a girl plays on the opposing team. And one high school young lady learns that sexism is still alive and well in our country’s culture. More »
Mother’s Day Fail: The Year I Spent Mother’s Day Nursing My Husband Back To Health
Last year right around this time of year, I was preparing for a brand new job. I was getting ready to celebrate my first anniversary. I was enrolling my daughter in pre-school. And I was mentally trying to prepare myself and my family for the possibility that my husband wouldn’t walk again. Happy Mother’s Day! More »
