Parenting Questions Answered
When I visited my mother over the holidays for five days, I caught a lot of grief about putting my 4- and 6-year-olds in bed pretty early (as usual) and limiting sugary treats (like always). How do you feel about…
Love Your Mom Style – with Jammie!
We all know what it’s like to look at a closet full of nothing to wear. We know how it feels to show up at an event or meeting or date night and lack confidence because of the way we’re…
Return to Sleep-Away Camp
When my older daughter was eight, my wife Kat and I prepared to take her to her first sleep-away camp. It was the summer after third grade and she was ready for an adventure. She’d been active in the local…
Is My Child Gay?
I think my 11-year-old son is gay. I’m straight, my husband is straight, and we have no gay friends. I’m about to begin what might be the most important parenting I’ve ever done, and I need some guidance. Do you…
Is Foster Parenting for You?
When I was single and a 20-something-year-old pediatric nurse, a child in my care needed a foster home. I loved him, and for about fifteen minutes, I considered it, before realizing I was nowhere near ready for that commitment and…
What’s A Little Snow?
Are you kidding me? I mean, come on. Really. You have got to be kidding me. There’s not even three inches of snow out there, and schools are closing? Again? Snow day, you have done it once more – barreling…
Hanukkah Blessings Abound!
The day before winter break started last year, I left work early and headed to our elementary school. As I approached my son’s kindergarten classroom, I could hear and feel the children’s joyous energy before I reached the door. When…
12 Ways to Give Fun, Not Stuff
Ten years ago this month, our Christmas budget officially blew up. Perhaps your family was hit by the same destructive force: The Great Recession. If I close my eyes, I can still feel the throbbing that overtook my frontal lobe…
Hunting for Santa
On a special December Saturday in 1983, Dad woke up early to warm up the Toyota. By seven o’clock, my sister Susan and I were inside the car. Then, we waited for Mom, who perpetually ran late. We needed to…
How to Dad!
About three years ago, I started helping with a class for expectant dads. Taught by veteran dads, the format allows men to ask all the questions they have on their minds in a comfortable setting. In preparing for the parenting…
