Lessons in Parenting

My mama just finished her top-to-bottom spring housecleaning, and is rightly proud of herself for having that checked off. I’m just getting started on mine, now that my spring consignment sale events are behind me. And just as when I was growing up, there are certain aspects of seasonal deep-cleaning that are definitely a family

Fun Things To Do This Weekend With Kids Spring is here – which means that summer is just around the corner. And between now and then, your kiddos may well have spring break. Or an Easter holiday break. Or at least another long weekend or two built into their school calendar. Which means your regular

Things You Can Do Daily To Improve Long-Term Health At first glance, long-term health may seem like a topic for “old people,” not parents with young kids. But take it from this busy mama: building healthy routines for good health over the long haul should be a top priority for ALL adults. As in, starting

Must-Haves When Expecting A Baby Congrats, expecting parents-to-be! All set for your baby (or babies) to arrive? Not sure? No worries – this essential preparing-for-baby checklist has you covered, with everything you’ll need to stock up on before your little one arrives. Preparing for your baby emotionally is tough enough, let alone wrapping your brain

a.k.a. How To Be A Supportive Birth Partner Congratulations! Your wife, partner, or best friend is about to give birth! That means you’re about to become a parent, or an Auntie, or whatever title you get for helping Mama through. Unless you’ve actually given birth yourself, though, you may not be sure HOW to be

Getting a kid to do their homework can be darn near impossible. Some of you may dread the hours between end of school and your child’s bedtime, because World War III breaks out every afternoon over homework. I know exactly how you feel; once upon a time, that was me for sure. But over time,

Once upon a time, children spent their days outside with their friends, wandering exploring and playing games of their own invention. They exercised their creativity by keeping themselves entertained, made up elaborate rules and imaginary worlds as they went, and learned how to negotiate, share, and resolve their differences in the great out-of-doors. Nowadays, technological

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

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