Lessons in Parenting

Anyone who’s ever brought home a newborn will tell you: this event marks a watershed in your life. There is Life Before Parenthood (BP) and Life After Parenthood (AP). Only, for many new parents, those first few weeks and months of parenthood are a complete blur of exhausted sleep deprivation. Whether you’re living in the […]

It’s never too early to help your child plan for the future. But lest you get the wrong idea, I’m NOT talking about high-pressure, high-stakes approaches akin to Tiger-Momming. There are plenty of other ways that parents can help prepare their children to be capable adults. Adults who are able to make important decisions about their

Recently, a controversial paper by researchers in the UK claimed that screen time did not adversely affect childhood development. It was an ambitious paper, and it’s hard to tease out all the different factors in how screen time affects growing brains. But the study did highlight one key point: kids and technology time aren’t always a

Many of us start the new year by making some promises to ourselves. (Many people call them resolutions, but as longtime readers know, I prefer to set goals.) One of the more common goals people make, after the excesses of holiday food and drink, is to live a healthier and more active lifestyle. But many

Ask most kids to list their favorite days of the year, and many will put their birthday somewhere high on the list. For many kids, their birthday is a special time of year filled with awesome traditions and routines, from cake and presents to a party with all their friends. However, if you’re a parent trying

Before you became a parent, you probably could make a grocery run in no time flat, or cram a morning’s worth of errands into an hour. Whenever you needed more milk or eggs, you could grab some – no biggie. But the days of doing errands with ease are long gone. You run through your

Now that the end-of-year holiday season is in full swing, many of us are traveling to see family and friends. This can often mean leaving our home unattended while we’re away. We like to think nothing can ever go wrong while we’re away, but this is a perfect time for thieves to take advantage of

Do you struggle with keeping your school-age kids occupied? Do you worry that they spend too much time with video games, smart devices, or TV? Are you already nervous about them going stir-crazy over the upcoming winter break? Maybe they just need a little creative inspiration. These ideas for creative ways to have fun are

When I think of holidays with my family growing up, I remember all of us together. In fact, many of my memories of my family growing up involve lots of “together” time, even though my dad worked ridiculously long hours during my earliest years. When I compare that to my own family nowadays, it sometimes

Parents want their kids to be healthy, and stay healthy. Sick kids mean missed school days for them, missed work days for parents, and general disruption in your family’s routines. But when all your kid’s classmates are bringing germs to school, the effort to keep your child healthy during winter seems darn near impossible. So

If you’ve moved recently, or are planning for an upcoming move, you know how disruptive it can be to your own, grownup existence. (My last move was a decade ago now, and even THINKING about it sets me on edge!) If you think it’s tough for adults, though, imagine how traumatic moving can be for

I grew up with only one living grandparent, who was always quite elderly and frail; the other three had all passed before I was born. Today, my children are blessed to have three doting grandparents in their lives. But just during their lifetimes, they’ve watched their grandparents battle cancer, heart conditions requiring surgery, joint replacements,

If you’re a parent, then chances are good you want the best for your family. If someone on the street asked you what that was worth for you, you’d probably say it’s worth any price. Some parents think of paying any price in terms of dollars and cents. But there are other hidden costs to

Firstborns get the best – and the worst – of their parents. For a lot of parents, the firstborn is the child who experiences their first mistakes and their first success as moms and dads. And let ’s be honest, you WILL make mistakes. But it’s okay, it’s part of your learning process. But the

Let’s face it, parenting is hard. Teaching your kids right from wrong. Getting a balanced diet into them every day. Making sure they learn how to keep a tidy room, pitch in around the house, get their homework done, and grow up into solid citizens ready to contribute to society. Parents have so much on