Topic: Childrearing

My Mother’s Biggest Parenting Mistake Taught Me Not To Rely On Kids For Emotional Support

There was one winter we lived for months with no gas, meaning we didn’t have central heat, because we didn’t have the money to get it reconnected. Meanwhile, my mom was working through the emotions of a failed marriage and had no one to talk to.

She and I have always been close, and so she turned to me to vent her worries and frustrations about money or my dad. I didn’t have the words at the time to tell her that she was giving me a burden my small shoulders weren’t strong enough to bear. More »

I’ve Been Talking To My Kids About Sex Since Toddlerhood

People were shocked when Chicago passed a bill approving a sex ed program that starts in kindergarten. Apparently a lot of us think kids would be better off if we waited to have “the talk” when they’re ready — presumably just before they hit puberty, and long after they’ve already learned everything they should (or shouldn’t) know on the school bus. But to me, the only shocking thing about the Chicago program is the fact that it waits until kindergarten. Kindergarten is not too early to start talking about sex. If anything, it’s too late. More »

My Mother’s Biggest Parenting Mistake Taught Me Not To Ignore Disordered Eating

My mother knew about my disorder after a while and had moments of trying to help. But it must have brought up too many emotions for her. Most of the time we silently pretended that we were all perfectly fine. I thought that we were supposed to buck up and pretend things were wonderful 24/7. More »

Study Finds That Kids Don’t Know Jack About Money And I Could Have Told You That

According to a new study done by the McGraw-Hill Federal Credit Union in New Jersey, most mothers don’t believe that their children are ready for financial independence. In other news the sky is blue and ice is cold.
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Parenting Has Made Me Realize My Mom Is A Big Fat Liar

We all know what it’s like to anxiously compare our children to the milestone charts on Baby Center and other children at the park. It’s not out of any sense of competition or anything – I couldn’t give a shit about that. I just kinda want a litmus to know whether I am totally failing or not. Am I succeeding at this whole motherhood thing? Am I giving my child the tools to measure up to his peers? Well, comparing your child to other children is one thing – comparing him to yourself as a child is a whole other scenario. More »

Charles Ramsey Was Just A ‘Bro Trying To Eat His McDonald’s Except This ‘Bro Is Way Better Than Other ‘Bros

We don’t love Ramsey because he is a “hilarious black neighbor.” It helps that he tells a great story, that he seems like the type of guy you would love grabbing a beer and eating some barbecue with, that he is charismatic and honest and funny, but we love him because when so many people in the world mind their own business, Ramsey did the exact opposite. He is the sort of neighbor we all want. He is the sort of man we want to see more of, those who find out about a rape and then think about homicide. More »

Shanna Moakler Totes Supports Breastfeeding But Her Own Attempt Was ‘Incestual’ And ‘Gross’

Shanna Moakler isn’t the first mother to encounter a sexualizing hurdle when contemplating whether to breastfeed. The mother of three and ex-wife to Travis Barker says that she opted out because she found it to be “gross.” Free to be you and me and all that but calling herself “selfish” for her decision certainly isn’t necessary. More »

I Breastfed My Friend’s Baby And Loved It

I wanted to go sit at a coffee shop for an afternoon and not worry that my baby was screaming for me the entire time I was gone.

But with a baby who refused a bottle or a pacifier and wailed whenever her mouth wasn’t latched onto my boob, there was only one solution I could imagine that would have given me the break I needed.

What I really wanted, I decided, was a wet nurse. More »

If You Want To Be A Good Parent With Happy Children, Hold Off On That Third Kid — Unless You Are Willing To Make It To Four Or Five

In writing, the rule of three is a principle to live by. Experts claim that when grouped in threes, your jokes are funnier, your examples more effective, and your structure more satisfying. So why does this rule just go to complete crap when it comes to parenting? Turns out three is the family size with the most problems. More »

What We're Reading:

I Went From A Childless Yoga Hater To A Full On Yoga Mom

I was a few months postpartum when my husband bought me a month of unlimited yoga. It sounded great, but my initial thought was “how can I possibly leave my baby to go do this?” But I knew I had to.

I had been to yoga a few times before and nothing about it really stuck. I was more accustomed to running off my problems. Sitting with them was never something that seemed desirable. More »

Mother Dies After Extensive Plastic Surgery The Press Has Dubbed A ‘Mommy Makeover’

And I hate the fact the press is calling this a “Mommy Makeover” because it makes it sound like Adriana DeSilva was just some vapid housewife who hated her “mommy” body and that she felt she needed a “makeover.” It feels like it’s just another poke at women who are expected to remain somehow flawless no matter what their bodies go through (childbirth) and how they age. More »

5-Year-Old Accidently Kills His 2-Year-Old Sister With His Own Patented Kiddie Rifle

A moment of mourning for a 2-year-old little girl who was fatally wounded by her 5-year-old brother. While children accidently shooting one another is a unfortunately a recurring story, this little boy wasn’t tinkering with his parents’ unattended firearm collection. Not in the least. This kid had a rifle of his very own, designed specifically for kids. Record scratch. More »

120 Rich NYC Parents Of The World School Held A Quinoa Crisis Assembly

When Avenues: The World School in Chelsea was still being constructed, I remember rolling my eyes over parents vying for spots at the prestigious institution that didn’t even have desks yet. Later, Suri Cruise seemed to have no trouble cutting the line after her parents’ seemingly sudden divorce. But now that The World School has been up and running for a year, we see that aside from multilingual and international education, the institution also prioritizes 25-page PowerPoint presentations on school nutrition. More »

I Hate That When My Kid Said She Had An Ant In Her Ear, I Thought She Was Lying

When you have a child, or children, one of the most difficult things to do is to separate fact from fiction.

When my daughter told me that she felt like there was an ant in her ear, it sounded a lot like, “My dog ate my homework.” I hate myself, as a person and more importantly as a mother, for immediately thinking that when my 9-year told me that it “feels like there’s an ant in my ear,” I thought she just wanted to get out of school the next day. Basically, I thought my daughter was a liar. More »

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