I don’t think I sat on the couch for more than five minutes when my kids were toddlers—we were always on the floor playing trains, or at the table squeezing Play-Doh, or off on an adventure somewhere. Honestly, I thought I’d enjoy it more than I did. Oh, I could play Thomas the Tank Engine for 30 minutes just fine, but the whole day? Not so much. I’ll admit it—I couldn’t wait for them to play independently. Parents often joke about kids’ short attention spans, but I will say that my … [Read more...]
Parenting Styles: Why You Should Learn Something New with Your Kid
I awkwardly pulled the mesh helmet over my head in my first fencing class. It was hot. My glasses fell down my nose and my hair was in my face. My heart beat as rapidly as if I were standing in line for a roller coaster. True confession: I never wanted to be a fencer. When I was pregnant, I dreamed of Mom-n-Me ballet classes. I couldn’t wait for my kids to be old enough for the adult and child mixed beginner Taekwando class in the rec department’s catalog. The idea … [Read more...]
Parenting Styles: My Biggest Mistake with Family Game Night
I was pretty excited when my eldest was old enough to play Candyland and Chutes and Ladders. I’d been waiting for years and years to reach board game age.Unfortunately, the two-and-a-half-year age gap between my kids meant that my youngest wasn’t ready—not by a long shot. Neither was he interested in leaving us alone to play a board game without his “help.” If you have a toddler, you know just how helpful they can be. I came up with “baby rules,” which meant that the baby got to do … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Get Your Kids Off Their Screens and Playing Outside
Despite living in rain city USA, I believe strongly in getting the kids outside as much as possible (also, the summers in Seattle are gorgeous).So today I've asked Lea to stop by with her top 5 tips for getting your kids away from a screen and outside to play. (And added a few photos of my family because I just couldn't resist.) Playtime is serious business.Just ask the American Council on Pediatrics. In their concerns about the effect of media on young minds, they encourage pediatricians … [Read more...]
Parenting Styles: 7 Tips to on How to Really Talk to Your Kids About Gender Equality
Wow, it's been a rough few months and, if you're like me, current events have brought up a lot of questions on how to talk to my kids about all kinds of stuff. Today, our contributor, Lara, is here sharing her thoughts on how to address the topic of gender equality. I feel teaching gender equality is essential, even though (and maybe especially because) I have boys, not girls. Yet, I’m historically awkward when it comes to large and important discussions on character development.However, … [Read more...]
Parenting Styles: Remember the Best in Your Child and See It In Your Teen
This post is sponsored by the Center for Parent and Teen Communication. All opinions (and memories!) are my own.Then The thing I remember most about Jake's birth was how scared I felt bringing him home from the hospital. There's no guide book for being a parent. I wonder if first born babies sense the way new parents approach every task with uncertainty.The good news is that babies are resilient.They forgive us for putting the diaper on wrong or being a little too over protective … [Read more...]
7 Books to Get Your Kids to Stop Fighting All the Time
One of the things I want most for our family is a loving family culture, where unkindness and fighting isn't part of the daily makeup of our lives.But with three children all fairly close in age (they are each about two years apart), this can be a tall order.Probably just about every parent can relate to those moment where you can't take the bickering and teasing any longer and you just want to scream, "Can't you all just get along?!"I know I'm not alone in that because there are … [Read more...]
Parenting Styles: Should I Stop My Kid’s Weird Habit?
Little kids have weird - sometimes super gross - habits, and any parent will tell you so. A lot of them are pretty standard. At one point or another over the last eleven years, I’ve asked my kids to please stop biting that toenail, or to get their finger out of their nose and use a tissue, or to stop sucking on the collar of that shirt or that chunk of hair.But over the last six months or so, I’ve repeatedly asked our almost four-year-old to stop twirling. Sounds like no big deal, right? But … [Read more...]
Parenting Styles: Should You Send Your Ex A Father’s Day Card?
This will be our tenth Father’s Day since the divorce. Like every other year, I’ll take my two sons to the store and help them pick out gifts for their father.Some years I’m surprised I didn’t get lock jaw from forcing myself to smile as I helped them wrap their presents, and I can’t say I’ve never stooped to passive aggressive gifting. (Please don’t ask me about the garden gnome.)It wasn’t always a joy to spend money on my ex-husband, particularly since I was mothering on a … [Read more...]