On the first, second and third days of kindergarten, my just-turned-six-year-old was a champ. He marched right on in and emerged six hours later, triumphantly on day one, and then a little more wearily as the days passed. Then, on Thursday morning, as we waited for the bell to ring, his sister whacked him straight in the face with the tetherball. And the floodgates opened. “I don’t want to go to school,” he sobbed, wrapping his arms around my thighs. “I miss you too much, and it’s too … [Read more...]
Cleaning House: A Mom’s 12 Month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement
Don't worry - this is not another book about ridding your life of all excess items. Rather, Cleaning House: A Mom's 12 Month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement is a parenting book I first read about three years ago and continue to think about with regularity. As I was reflecting on what I wanted to do with my kids this summer, the book again came to mind as I was thinking about what kitchen skills we really need to start practicing more. Kay … [Read more...]
Parenting Styles: Outgrowing the Tooth Fairy
Our oldest son lost his first tooth the day he turned six. Four years later, I still remember so clearly how that little tooth, so white and tiny, caused such a whirlwind of excitement and emotion. Our son was a mixed bag of thrilled and surprised, flashing his gap-toothed smile around and then asking a little worriedly, “Do other things fall out like this?” His little sister was in absolute awe, tugging his arm and peering into his mouth and sighing about how she couldn’t wait until her … [Read more...]
3 Ways My Family Uses Books to Discuss Race with Our Kids
Discussing race with children can feel overwhelming and even awkward. Yet, we need to have these discussions as we know no person or movement will end racism. We have to do that ourselves. The only real way is to hit it head on with frank and challenging conversations with ourselves and our children, as early even as two years of age. As a White mom of multiracial kids, I’ve learned that the “colorblind” approach, where we act as if we don’t notice race, is actually detrimental to ending … [Read more...]
5 Steps to Taking Your Kids to Do Fun Stuff (Without Losing Your Mind)
You always knew you’d be the parents to take the kids on adventures, explore the world with them, and discover new and wonderful things together. But then life happened, and sometimes just getting out the door with kids can seem like an insurmountable task. Fear not, parents. Your kids can enjoy concerts, sporting events, and festivals with you—and it can even be fun. The only thing standing between you and a day of learning and memory-making is some creativity and a little planning. Let … [Read more...]
Parenting Styles: Adventures with the Big Girl Bed
We’ve always taken the easy way out when it comes to sleeping. And by easy, I mean whatever involved the most sleep and the least hassle. That’s how we became co-sleepers – it was pretty much born of default, an exhausted mix of laziness and a death grip on the idea that a good night’s sleep was possible with tiny babies. But with our youngest knocking on three, it was time for a change. E had started referring to the spare room, used as a playroom, as “my woom.” When they got in … [Read more...]
Parenting Styles: The One With The Puking Kid
You know it’s going to be an eventful day when your five year old wakes up puking. And maybe it’s just me, but by kid number three, we're long past stripping the sheets when one of them tosses his cookies all over the bed. Now, we clean up the crying kiddo, lay down a few towels and wait. Because there’s always more to come, right? Also, I take out my contacts before bed and I’m legally blind when I’m stumbling around at night. I may not be so willing to throw down a towel and call it … [Read more...]
Parenting Styles: The Kid Who Doesn’t Eat
The other night at dinner – and I don’t need to tell you about all the work that goes into planning, preparing and serving dinner for six, let alone the legwork involved in actually getting all six people to sit down in one spot at the same time – our two-year-old took one look at her bowl of some shredded-chicken-and-quinoa dish and slapped the entire thing onto the bench, where it fell to the floor. Cue… absolute silence. The three older kids were wide-eyed, forks halfway to … [Read more...]
Parenting Styles: Taking a 2-Year-Old on a 9 Hour Road Trip to Disneyland
Fun fact – our two oldest kids have the same April birthday. Our son was two weeks early, and two years later, his new little sister was a week early. So far, the dual birthday party thing has worked out, but now they’re ten and eight, and I think that window is coming to a close. So this year, we decided to surprise them with a trip to Disneyland instead of a party. My husband and I were extra secretive about our internet research, ferreting out bargains on three-day hopper passes … [Read more...]
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