Latest Posts
-
Why Does My Child “Conveniently” Get Hurt When I’m Asking Them to Do Something?
My child is playing downstairs. I need them to put pants on so that we can go to a doctor’s appointment. I ask them. I ask again. They ignore me. Finally I get their attention. And they immediately stub a… Continue reading
-
Parenting for the Short Term and Long Term Goals
Sometimes I parent for the short-term goal. I have a doctors appointment. We are running late. We have to go. Now. Other times I parent for the long term goal. I am taking the kids to the playground. There’s no… Continue reading
-
Natural Consequences Made Punitive vs Natural Consequences and Repair
“Isaac, can you come down for breakfast?” He ignores me. I let him. I go make breakfast. I put it on his plate. I trudge back up the stairs. “Isaac, your food is on the table. It is time to… Continue reading
-
Time’s a River
Dear Wren, It is 10PM on a random Wednesday in May. You will be five weeks old tomorrow. I am holding you wrapped up in a grey blanket that a good friend made for you. Your head is tucked up… Continue reading
-
Jealousy, Favorite Color, Favorite Food, Favorite Child
Sometimes I start a conversation expecting it to go one way, and it goes in a totally different direction. There is a game I play, where I tell each of my kids “You are my favorite Keenie, my favorite Isaac,… Continue reading
-
7 Weeks, The Size of a Blueberry
Seven weeks. My little poppy seed is now more the size of a bean or a blueberry. I’m amused by all of the pregnancy sites that use food to try to convey the size of a baby as it grows.… Continue reading
-
It Isn’t Hypocrisy if Breastfeeding Makes You More Uncomfortable Than a Bikini
If seeing a woman in a low cut top or a bikini barely registers anymore, but seeing a mother breastfeeding her child makes you uncomfortable… You haven’t seen it often enough. I no longer believe that it is hypocrisy. It… Continue reading
-
There For You
I notice that your face is cloudy when you come off the bus. You snap at your little brother when he runs up to you to play. You go to your room. The door slams. I knock. You don’t answer.… Continue reading
-
Never “I Told You So”
I’m thirty five years old. I have a history of thirty five years of experiences, thirty five years of mistakes, thirty five years of learning. You are five. You have a history of five years, much of which you might… Continue reading
-
It’s Time To Just Slow Down.
Keenie is putting sand on her legs. It’s time to go. I ask her to come with me. She piles more sand on her legs. I ask her again. She doesn’t acknowledge what I am saying. I stay squatting next… Continue reading