This was originally posted at Mockingbird Don’t Write. Republished here with permission. I’m having one of those difficult conversations you dread as a parent, but can’t avoid. And I can’t be as honest with her as I want to be because she’s at that age where she repeats everything she hears, with horrific, lightening fast […]
Holly Kearl’s parents have always been her greatest fans. And whether it was teaching her to fight for what was right, or leading by example, she says she owes much of her success to those lessons from her mother and father. As my parents Beckie Weinheimer and Alan Kearl often say, in our family, we […]
This week’s roundup of our favorites from across the interwebs to help you make sense of men and women. 1. In Praise of Single Mothers by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon of The Atlantic says that politicians accuse them of destroying “the fabric of this country” but, as one daughter attests, they’re holding society together. 2. Share […]
This originally appeared on The Achilles Effect. Republished here with permission. About a year ago, Lisa Bloom wrote an article called “How to Talk to Little Girls” in which she encouraged her readers to talk to young girls about who they are and what they do rather than how they look. I would like to […]
This originally appeared on Huffington Post. Republished here with permission. Nothing drives me as crazy as those women who act like some horrible tragedy has befallen my children and me when they hear I am divorced…yes, twice. I can never believe people like that still exist in this day and age, and I’m always shocked […]
Despite the pain she feels from her father’s absence, Katerina Zacharia’s 5-year-old daughter still understands the immensity of that loss for her mother and brother, too. Sitting in an airport waiting for a delayed flight to Las Vegas to attend a conference, all I can see and feel is my daughter, Jaya. She’s at home […]
As Mother’s Day nears, Sarah Jackson remembers all the women who deeply influenced her, who mothered her in their own ways, and made her the woman she is today. I’ve been thinking about Mother’s Day. It’s hard not to think about motherhood these days as both a woman who might make the choice to be […]
Kate McGuinness’ mother smothered her growing up, so when Kate became a mother, she refused to parent her son similarly. But without those scarring experiences, she wouldn’t be as good a parent as she is today, so for that, she’s thankful. Like many new parents, I swore I would not raise my child the way […]
Laurie Cunningham is tired of losing her friends to their kids, and as a soon-to-be mother herself, she vows to always make time for the adults in her life. When I got married two years ago I was adamant about one thing: no children at the wedding. OK, I was adamant about many things. I […]
In response to a recent article by the often controversial Katie Roiphe, Adaya Adler discusses the difference between the “childfree” and “childless,” and questions the common idea that having children is a hallmark of achievement. When I first read Katie Roiphe’s Do We Secretly Envy the Childfree? my initial response was to explain to her […]
Robyn Mendez is Caucasian, and her husband is Hispanic. When it came time to choose a name for their unborn daughter, the decision process wasn’t as enjoyable as they expected. Both wanted a name that was a part of their personal histories, which meant compromise was hard to come by. I’m undeniably white. My husband […]
Young children always want to hear about the day they were born, but when will adopted children want to know more? Sarah Buttenwieser shares the conversations she has with her 4-year-old adopted daughter. When photographer Shelly Rotner asked, I was more than happy to participate in her nonfiction picture book about adoption with my toddler […]
