Lynn Beisner responds to the scores of commenters who had plenty to say about her recent controversial piece, “I Wish My Mother Had Aborted Me.” A couple weeks ago, I wrote an article called “I Wish My Mother Had Aborted Me.” In it, I explained that anti-choice crusaders have been using the stories of people […]
Lyla Cicero says bullying moms into breastfeeding isn’t all about health and bonding. Breastfeeding fanaticism and the bullying of bottle-feeding families typically occurs under the guise of promoting “health” and “bonding” in infants. I believe this is, quite frankly, a load of crap. When it rises to the level of strong-arming and zealotry, and overrides or ignores […]
This week’s roundup of our favorites from across the interwebs to help you make sense of men and women. 1. Just Wait Until Your Mother Gets Home by Alex Williams of The New York Times says in the last decade, the number of men who have left the work force entirely to raise children has […]
Kate Green Tripp is not a helicopter parent, but when her patience or time is running low, she often insists that her children do things the right way: her way. So is she sending them mixed messages? I am humbled by Madeline Levine’s recent New York Times editorial, “Raising Successful Children.” In fact, I am […]
To raise a successful child today, must parents act more like talent agents than personal guides? Lisa Levey asks if pushing our children to succeed could do more harm than good. During the Olympics, we watched the incredible talent of young athletes from around the world strut their stuff. The cameras repeatedly panned to the […]
Originally appeared on Alternet.org. Republished here with permission. My three sons are happy to leave home—and I’m fine with that. In mid-August I will be driving home to Chicago east on Interstate 80 in a van emptied of clothes, pillows, mini-fridge and plastic bins after dropping my youngest son, Colin, at his dorm at the […]
Lynn Beisner explains the difference between the two phrases “The best choice for both my mother and me would have been abortion” and “I wish I had never been born.” If there is one thing that anti-choice activists do that makes me see red, it is when they parade out their poster children: men, women, […]
This week’s roundup of our favorites from across the interwebs to help you make sense of men and women. 1. A Woman’s Right To Choose (Not To Breastfeed) by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon of The Atlantic says New York City’s new pro-breast milk policy stigmatizes infant formula and limits access to it, effectively revoking women’s freedom […]
Hugo Schwyzer says that while the three men who took bullets for their girlfriends in the Aurora, Colo., shootings are definitely deserving of recognition, more women have died for men throughout history. Twenty-eight years ago this week, I sat mesmerized in a Monterey movie theater, watching Prince’s Purple Rain. Though almost every song in the […]
Juliet Kelso breaks down the results of a new CDC study that looks at American women and pregnancy trends. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics just published its findings based on contextualized data from the 2011 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). The study, titled “Intended and Unintended Births […]
Introverts require periodic alone-time in order to function properly, so constant connection to their children is simply not reasonable. Does this make them bad parents? No, says Lynn Beinser, it just makes them human. My friend April planned to be an attachment mother. She planned to co-sleep, wear her baby in a sling, breastfeed on […]
Regardless of privilege, education, health, age, or income, tragedy can strike us all. But to Emily Rapp, knowing that death is the only thing that’s certain makes living a little more miraculous. I recently spoke to a group of Christian kids with disabilities and their parents in New Orleans. I am a trained theologian, and […]
