Parenting

Simple ways to bring more laughter, imagination, and joy into everyday moments with your child. There’s something funny about motherhood. Before I had children, I thought of myself as a fairly playful person. I could laugh at ridiculous things, sing along while cooking, and occasionally have entire conversations with myself in the grocery store. Then…

There are things parents forget the moment the bedroom door closes. But the child may go on remembering, years afterward. A broken glass, and a scolding. A family dinner, and the grown-ups laughing because the child cried. A trip that was promised and never came. A story from school the child wanted to tell, and…

There have been evenings when one small thing was enough to push me over the edge. Toys were scattered across the living room. Dinner was waiting in the kitchen. I had already asked my child to put the toys away, but the playing continued. I asked again. Then a third time. By the fourth, my…

You don’t need a picture-perfect holiday to make beautiful family memories. Sometimes, a little less expectation is exactly what the day needs. There is a version of Thanksgiving that lives in my head. The table is beautifully set. The turkey comes out golden and perfectly cooked. Everyone gathers around, smiling for a family photo. The…

The bear book has now been read three times. Your child pulls the blanket up to their chin and burrows into the pillow. You tuck the blanket back in, lean down to kiss their forehead, and step out. The door is barely pulled to when little feet come padding across the wood floor. “Mommy, I’m…

The yogurt cup tips onto the floor again. A white streak spreads beneath the chair. The spoon is still in your hand, and your child sits there with sticky fingers, maybe studying the puddle with the interest of someone who has just discovered a new game. You’ve already wiped up once. You’ve already said something….

What actually helps when your child falls apart, and what helps you not fall apart with her. First things first: I’m not going to tell you to “stay calm.” You already know that. You know you shouldn’t yell, or threaten, or turn a small thing into a big power struggle. But knowing that over a…

Your child nods when you remind them of a rule. A few minutes later, they do exactly what you just told them not to do. Maybe they haven’t forgotten your words. Maybe they’re still learning how to turn what they know into what they can actually do. There’s something about little kids I still haven’t…

One Saturday afternoon, I took my daughter shopping for a new dress for the first day of school. The mall was busier than I expected. Children chattered as they hurried past, shoes tapped against the shiny floors, and rows of colorful dresses hung neatly behind glass displays. At first, my daughter seemed excited. She picked…

Sometimes, the problem isn’t that our kids have nothing to say. It’s that we’re not making it easy for them to say it. There is one particular answer that leaves me feeling both relieved and a little sad. “Nothing, Mom.” I might hear it when I ask how school went, what happened with a friend,…