Today’s Boys and Babysitting
I have always counted on my older kids to take care of my toddler, and because I’m working from home now, that has become even more important. My 13-year-old son is saying he shouldn’t have to take care of his…
I Have a Confession to Make
No one knows this about me. No one in my family, none of my friends, not even my husband. No one knows that I had an accident in a vehicle related to texting. Because I have always been committed to…
Town Boys, Country Bros
For our original spring break, we headed north to show our boys the Big Apple. Unlike other pre-kid trips, we sculpted a precise itinerary. We waited in the Times Square line for Beetlejuice tickets and scooted around the city in…
Do You Deserve a Dog’s Love?
Family folklore has it that I have loved dogs ever since I was born – even before I could walk or talk. Due to an incident in her childhood, my mother was afraid of dogs, especially large ones, so we…
How to Stop the Squabbling
Like everyone else, we have been spending a lot of time together recently. My two kids (nine and twelve) fight with each other constantly. In the beginning, I separated them early and often, but really, that gave them exactly what…
Mom Versus Wasp
Can wasps even see with their creepy eyes? That might seem like a weird question, but I have such a vivid memory of staring down a wasp that I’m going to say, yes, they can. Wasps can see us with…
Making Pandemic Peace
For those of you who might not know, magazine articles are written well in advance of their publication. As I type these words into my iPad Pro, it’s a clear sunny morning in early April and my family has been…
Just Say No to Plastic!
My aha moment for reducing plastic came at my kids’ elementary school playground when I noticed all the juice box straw wrappers. I picked up fistfuls of wrappers and threw them away and realized that when we give kids juice…
Kindergarten Readiness and Career Choices
My son will turn five in September, and I can’t decide if he’s ready for kindergarten. Are there any solid indicators in your opinion? The most important skill for your child is not a skill, but a healthy state of…
Playdough Parenting
“There’s a sign-up sheet on the table!” is the last thing any working parent wants to hear during back-to-school night at a preschool. If I’m completely honest, I remember being skeptical of it being called back-to-school night in the first…
