The first day of school has come and gone, but I bet you'll still relate to the wonderful poem "Back to School Blues," sent to us by poet Diana Whitney.
Poll: What is your #1 biggest concern about your kids and social media?
In today’s poll, parents are sharing their biggest concerns about their kids and social media. As always, view everyone's results after you vote.
5 Ways to Connect With Our Kids
Kids don’t come with instruction manuals, but with a little love and a lot of patience, we all have the ability to raise wonderful children.
In today’s poll, we’re asking parents to share when they learned about the birds and the bees, vs when they think their own kids should learn about this topic. We also ask if sex education should ...
Poll: What Are Your Top 3 Fears About Your Kids' Future?
In today's poll, we're asking parents about their biggest fears about their kids' future. It's a grim poll, but it's illuminating to know the fears we share as parents. View results after you...
NYC. My beloved home for 13 years. Then on April 30th 2014, we - my husband, two kids, one dog and I - said good-bye. It wasn’t a particularly sweet parting. NYC pretty much chewed us up and spit u...
There was instantly a huge response to our recent post "30 Questions to Ask Your Kid Instead of 'How Was Your Day?'" Clearly many parents share the pain of the typical one syllable reply - "Good." ...
Take the 10-Question "Kids and Social Media" Survey
We'd like to know your thoughts about how your kids use (or aren't allowed to use) social media. We're curious how real parents weigh the pros and cons of this surprisingly complicated issue. The ...
Admit It, Baby Carrots Are Gross
Bagged baby carrots are convenient and cute. And orange. But in my house, we've gone back to the original convenient-cute-and-orange snack: cheese doodles. Just kidding. Carrot sticks. That's becau...
Why Teen-Agers Are the Worst - The New Yorker
Why are teens, in some ways, more difficult to parent than toddlers? Science may have some answers. The frontal lobes are the seat of what’s sometimes called the brain’s executive function. T...
3 Steps to Better Family Routines for the New School Year
You want to enjoy your time with your kids, not spend it fighting about breakfast, getting ready, or homework. Thankfully, routines help solve that problem.
"Be consistent" - Susan Sontag's Parenting List
Lists have a bad name on the internet, where websites use them to suck in viral views: "Top 10 Celebrity Bikini Fails," "5 Foods You Should Never Eat if You Want to Lose Flab!" But in real life I ...
Lucky Charms and Donuts for Breakfast
I've accepted that my in-laws consider "spoiling kids" with sugary treats part of their grandparent job description.
The Milestones That Don't Make Baby Books, Like Smart-Assery
First steps, successful potty training, emerging teeth- all milestones worthy of the baby book. But maybe we should make room for some new ones.
I Was Rejected by Sub Pop in 1993 – But My Kids Think I’m a Rockstar
I bet you didn’t know I used to be a rock star. In my suburban bedroom. Beyond singing into a hairbrush, I spent my teenage years with an acoustic guitar, a black and white composition book, and ...
Audio Stories for Family Road Trips and Back-to-School
We've previously mentioned how much we love Sparkle Stories. They produce wonderful original audio stories full of non-preachy life lessons, happiness, and humor for kids up to about third grade. B...
When You Think Your Kids Aren't Listening, Read This
This week I had a daily gift. For the first time in nine months, I had a few hours to myself each day. You might think this is a small gift, but I don't. I’m a parent of young kids, a full-time tea...
Try This Next Time Your Kids Ignore You - And Before You Start Yelling
As parents, most of us will ask our kids to get dressed, or brush their teeth, or go get their homework so we can get in the car. As kids, they typically ignore that first request. We then follow...
Food Shopping With Kids – Fantasy Versus Reality
It starts with thinking "?I just need a few things. I’ll take the kids to the local market. It’ll be fun." This is magical thinking, really. You see…
Tips for Helping Kids (And Parents) Enjoy Family Roadtrips
A quick video of tips for less annoying family roadtrips - including how to answer "are we there yet?" for the 1000th time.
8 So-Called Life Lessons Learned On "Fun" Family Roadtrips
There's still time to load up the Wagon Queen Family Truckster and hit the holiday road before summer ends. You'll definitely learn something on this trip.
As the parent of a little girl, I can say for certain that raising her to be a strong leader is an everyday consideration. Yet in reviewing the research of Harvard Graduate School of Education's ...
Our obsession with safety is harming our kids - Salon.com
In this age of parenting, it seems one of our main objectives is "keeping our kids safe." But safe from what? Is the fear that guides our need to hover even logical? And what sort of people will r...
A Day in the Life of a New Mom: Live-Tweeted
5:02 a.m. Holy cow, its five a.m. 5:05 a.m. hey, where my early risers at? The baby is hungry and I need entertainment!