How to Support Your Transgender Child

Your child insists that they are not the gender they were assigned at birth. Parents need to learn how to support their transgender child. This is especially important if you live in a state that has created laws that are intended to cause harm to transgender kids and teens. Time to Learn Mayo Clinic explains that gender identity is a person’s sex that was assigned at birth. It is the internal sense of being male, female, neither, or both. Gender expression and sexual orientation are separate things. According to Mayo Clinic, if your child is persistent about gender identity feelings, … Continue reading →

Do You Employ High-Tech Sitters?

What do you use to keep your children occupied while waiting for your food at a restaurant, driving to grandma’s house or zipping through the aisles at the grocery store? I doubt the answer is dancing, unless you’re doing it on a video that you posted to YouTube and can be viewed on your kid’s favorite electronic device. Don’t worry; you aren’t alone. According to a recent survey, nearly 60% of parents admit to using a tech toy to entertain their children, and experts predict that number will likely rise in the next decade. In other words, iPads, handheld video … Continue reading →

Praising Correctly

Who knew paying your child a compliment could be so damaging? According to researchers in the Netherlands, all praise is not created equal. In fact, you may even harm your kid if you don’t applaud him properly. Oh, the horror! Scientists at Utrecht University claim certain types of praise have the ability to sabotage self-esteem in children with fragile egos. The researchers categorize effort-based praise as the good type of praise and personal praise as its evil twin. For example, if your child scores a touchdown during his school football game and you shout out: “You are the most awesome … Continue reading →

What I Wouldn’t Do If I Were Rich

Guess who didn’t win last week’s $590.5 million Powerball jackpot? That’s right. I also didn’t win the subsequent jackpot worth a mere $20 million despite there being a zillion fewer people buying tickets. Because why play when the prize is only 20 million? Clearly, I don’t subscribe to that line of thinking, but I highly encourage the rest of the world to do so, as I need all the help I can get to bolster my odds of winning. I’m a working parent, after all. A very not rich mom who will likely die without ever being able to afford … Continue reading →

Hoop Dreams Dashed

What happens when March Madness turns into March sadness? Today, the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament tips off, with four play-in games taking place to whittle the field of 68 teams down to the traditional 64. Millions of people the world over have spent hours upon hours putting the finishing touches on their game brackets. Meanwhile, the players, coaches and families affiliated with the teams vying for the national title are getting ready to experience the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat. The latter can be a heavy burden given the monumental stakes at hand. However, it’s not … Continue reading →

Your Presence is the Best Present

Forget about the fancy triple chocolate cookie pops, the pricey heart covered Build-a-Bear, and the massive red and white mylar balloon bouquet you were planning to gift your child with this Valentine’s Day. Save your money and present your son or daughter with your presence on February 14th and in the days, weeks and months that follow. While candy, stuffed animals and shiny inflatables typically rank high on a child’s Valentine’s Day gift wish list, most kids would likely trade in the treats for one-on-one time with mom and dad. Life is hard enough for youngsters, so knowing that they … Continue reading →

What’s the Most Important Parenting Skill?

Patience, forgiveness, empathy? What is the most important parenting skill? Good parenting isn’t presented to us at baby showers or as a parting gift from hospital staff following 21 hours of labor. So, how do you acquire the skills needed to raise decent human beings? Moreover, what are the most important qualities needed to ensure your child is able to grow into a valuable member of society? Patience: Wash, dry, fold, break up fights, chauffeur, shop, cook, clean, repeat… over and over again. After years of this monotony it’s no wonder many parents find it challenging to be patient … Continue reading →

Online Popularity Contest

A warning to parents: Excessive use of Facebook = depressed kids. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) believes that equation to be 100% true. So, all you moms and dads with Facebook obsessed kids: Be afraid. Be very afraid. I am not on Facebook. Consequently, my second grader has no clue that the social networking site exists. Thus, zero exposure to Facebook = darn happy kid. Despite this fact, I will try to remain humble and not turn this post into an exercise in self-validation. Rather, I will just stick to the facts. According to the AAP, a link exists … Continue reading →

Phone Manners Matter

One of my biggest pet peeves is watching a young child beg for his mom or dad’s attention when said parent is talking on a cellphone, and then getting swatted away as though he were a pesky mosquito. Granted, most of the time I view these incidents, my daughter and I are at a park, restaurant or other public place, and I don’t know who is on the other end of the phone call. However, I still don’t think it is appropriate for the parent to walk away from his or her child, as though they weren’t related, just so … Continue reading →