Tag: parenting

We started off strong, with homemade checklists compiled from materials sent by my daughter's six different therapists and one teacher. Our workbooks were secured,...

A few months ago, out of the blue, my son hit a rough patch. He became impossible in the morning before school. Rather than...

Get all of your baby gear shopping done at once, and have fun while you’re at it! Drool Baby Expo is New England’s premiere...

We are better than this, my friends. Fellow moms, we are used to loving selflessly, giving when we don’t think we have anything left, and caring even when we don’t want to. Now is the time for us to lead. Not (just) by how well prepared we are or how well we protect our own families (although both are important), but by how we love our neighbors.

There are huge benefits of allowing children (and adults!) to listen to podcasts, which are essentially synonymous to the "old school radio shows" of the past. If used frequently, they can improve concentration, critical listening skills, and imagination. Attention and memory are also built over time in order to follow along with the story or episode. I went on a quarantine quest to find my favorite podcasts for kids, and I was totally unprepared with the amount of amazing material I found!

For now, we take each day as it comes. We learn together, and we overcome together. And yes, four years later, we still rock in our chair together.

These morning walks have changed my life. I promise I am not dramatizing it. Getting to see the beginning of a new day full of possibilities is nothing short of a blessing. And with the days getting longer comes earlier sunrises, which is my favorite part of my walks.

With three kids under 6, I find myself looking for parenting advice wherever I can get it. I have a lot of parenting books...

I often feel like I am misunderstood. Friends will comment on how well I am managing the difficult parenting situation I have been given. They see my strengths, and though I see them too, I also see the work. The energy — both emotional and physical — that parenting has taken. I see the missed opportunities my kids have had because of my fear of not being able to handle a situation.

6:30 a.m. Alarm goes off! Oh my gosh, why are my children so bouncy so early in the morning? And how are their toes so...

Then one night, my phone froze, turned black, and never turned on again. Naturally, I panicked and tried every trick I could to revive it. The next two days brought snowstorms, so getting a new phone wasn't on the agenda. Besides, by the second day, I didn't really feel the need to go get a new phone. I found that without the steady ping of notifications I was able to truly enjoy my free time. Responding to e-mails right away seemed less urgent, especially when I didn't see them come through instantly on my phone. I felt free.

If what you’re doing feels overwhelming, pick one part of it that you CAN do. Prioritize and decide what the most important, necessary pieces are — instead of what would be the ideal. (Cue the song from Daniel Tiger: “When something is hard to do, try it a little bit at a time.”)

I learned that my daughter’s epic airplane meltdown did not make her a bad kid, or me a bad mom. It made us both human. And resilient humans, at that.

See, things have changed a lot. Parents of young kids these days can be distracted — myself included. We have a lot going on, and technology and social media have created an additional burden on us despite all the ways they have made life easier. In part because of all the information we have available, we are constantly judging ourselves. Moms in particular struggle with comparing themselves and their parenting abilities to those of everyone they follow on Instagram or are friends with on Facebook.

Me? Oh, ya know — same old, same old. I’m working a little more than I’d like — probably around a hundred or so hours a week. I mean, they want me to work more but I’m like, “No.” I draw the line at 110 hours. Like, that’s it. I’m on this project where I have to push this giant rock up a hill, and every time I get close to the top it rolls back down. Like, by design. I don’t know who scoped this thing. It’s fine, but whenever I ask the project manager what the end date is she bellows, “This is your eternity,” in this really low, spooky voice, which is totally not helpful.