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 →

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 →

The Importance of Preserving Childhood Memories

Part of the reason (okay, one of the primary reasons) I blog is to chronicle some of the sweet or funny moments in my young daughter’s life. After all, she’s not a baby anymore. (Where did my baby go?) She will be seven soon. Seven. How did that happen? Sadly, some of the only solid memories I have of my daughter as a baby come from photos, a few scribbled journal entries, and these blog posts. I am hoping that she will remember all of the good times we shared together without the aid of printed posts, but alas that … Continue reading →

Moms: Of Gifting to Ourselves

Did you get exactly what you wanted for Mother’s Day? I didn’t get what I asked for; instead, I got something even better. My fellow blogger, Stephanie, got what she wanted, a coffee machine, but it didn’t come from any of her children, or even her spouse. Rather, the self assured mother of three took the initiative to purchase the appliance, and gifted it to herself. Some may consider Stephanie’s move audacious, while others may consider it empowering. Personally, I classify it as self preservation. A requirement for many mothers out there. If you aren’t going to look out for … Continue reading →

Judging Mothers: No One Gets a Break

Isn’t it ironic that the sisterhood of motherhood typically includes some of the harshest critics a female could ever have? Women are catty. Not all, but many. Even more disturbing is the perpetual trend of mothers judging other mothers. The verdict is never good. I know this for a fact. I am a mom and I have been severely judged by some of the most malicious and spiteful women on the face of the earth. Fortunately, I didn’t let their comments break me, much to their chagrin. But isn’t that the point? So what of the latest trend in maternal … Continue reading →

Happy Birthday Dora!

Okay, I admit it: We’re Dora fans… well, kind of. Come Sunday my 6-year-old daughter will be tuned into Nickelodeon’s TV movie, “Dora’s Big Birthday Adventure,” but not because she’s fallen victim to the pimped out backpack-wearing, adventure-loving girl with super rescue powers. Rather, my little wannabe dog has a thing for Boots, Dora’s pet monkey. So much for the girl power theory. Still, if it were not for Dora, there would be no Boots… or Diego or The Big Red Chicken or Isa or any other pastel-colored talking vermin. And whereas that would be just fine by me, childhood … Continue reading →

Mother’s Day Cards: The Truth Hurts

“You love your computer more than me!” Yup, Hallmark’s got nothing on my kindergartner. When it comes to Mother’s Day greeting cards that hit you right where it hurts, nothing cuts deeper than a piece of blue construction paper featuring the words: “Mommy, you lov yor comptr mor ten me” written in colorful Blendy Pens. As a work at home mom, who makes a living writing and editing, I am forced to spend an inordinate amount of time at my computer. However, the majority of my work is done between the hours of 2 and 7 a.m. (when my daughter … Continue reading →

Stay-at-Home Moms are Priceless

Actually, they’re worth about $123,000 if you believe Salary.com’s latest calculations. Yes, all you dads, who constantly berate your spouse’s decision to give up her career in the “real world” and make child raising her priority, I have news for you: Stay-at-home moms are worth six figures. Way more, if you ask the children they pour their hearts and souls into raising, but I digress. Salary.com has once again tried to put a price tag on the tasks stay-at-home moms accomplish in a year’s time. Have you ever wondered how much moms should really be raking in? According to the … Continue reading →

Your Children Have Other Attachments

Family First—so many of us are very dedicated to our families and when it comes to the role that our children play in our lives, we build the rest of our lives around providing for our children. It is normal to expect that our children will also put family at the center of their lives. When children are young, it can seem pretty obvious that the family is everything but even young children have other attachments too. Nurturing and cultivating those other healthy attachments is something we can do as parents to help our children experience more love, more security, … Continue reading →

Allowing Kids to Change the Way Things are Done

We all know how this goes—we are the parents and we know what is right and good and our children need us to guide and teach them. Sometimes, however, our kids have some ideas of their own. Sometimes, they even have some pretty darn good ideas about how to make things better or change the way things are done. This is when we parents have to set our pride aside and allow our kids to have influence—it is good for both of us! There is a difference between letting a very young child run roughshod over the family and permitting … Continue reading →