"I'm the only girl in my Parkour class." Vivian reported. She wasn't upset, she was just stating a fact. I think Parkour is French for "parents pay money for children to run around and climb on things." I signed the boy child up, because he enjoys running around and also climbing on things. Vivian went to the class a couple of times and constantly begged me to sign her up too. So I did. She's a shy girl, and has expressed an overall disinterest in organized sports, much

I know we've all felt, as parents and as people, both sides of the War vs. Peace styles of human interaction. And I'm eternally grat

The second baby never quite gets the same attention the first one got. My second born is 4 years old now but I've noticed lately exactly how half assed we baby-proofed the house for him. There are outlets all over the house that have only one plug covered. It seems as though we bought like one package of 12 outlet covers and then randomly covered 12 out of the 157 outlets in the house. Because it's important for kids to know that life is not always safe, and mommy can only pr

I saw a kid carrying a pillow into the movie theater the other day and it reminded me of when my parents took me along when they saw Out of Africa in the theater. I brought a pillow so I could nap. I looked it up and that movie came out when I was 7. Maybe that's what we are doing wrong with our kids. We never allow them to be "7 year old sitting through Out of Africa" bored. I think that level of bored is good preparation for real life. Also, maybe that's how I developed my

With the passing of another school year my social media feed has once again been cluttered with the most annoying, and, I argue, harmful, pictures of children. What is so annoying about these pictures? They are filled with an abundance of caps and gowns. Am I anti-education? Anti-celebration? No. I’m anti-ridiculous. See, I don’t mind a cap and gown on someone graduating from high school or college. In fact, I applaud those images and the milestones they signify. You know wha

On her first day of kindergarten she held my hand tight, scared of what waited for her in that new classroom, at this new school, after her parents left. Her progress has been slow, but sure. She's made friends, gained confidence, and discovered how to use her tiny voice in big ways. It's so hard to let them out into the world, where you can no longer protect them all the time. You can only hope that the world is gentle, and takes its time to reveal its flaws. I couldn’t have

My kids are not perfect, they spend their days trying to come up with various ways to break my brain, and they are successful in those effor