Parenting
Do Violent Video Games Make Kids More Aggressive?
Last week, the Supreme Court voted 7-2 to overturn California’s law banning the sale of violent video games to minors, citing the First Amendment protection […]
The Go the F**k to Sleep Approach to Parenting
By now, at least 10 people have emailed me the link to Lori Gottlieb’s controversial Atlantic article, “How to Land Your Kid in Therapy.” The […]
In Appreciation of Roughhousing
Last night, while our baby slept, the big kids took up weapons against the parents. First, they were Vikings, William wielding a plastic golf club […]
Do Five Year Olds Really Need Graduation Ceremonies?
Each year, our kids’ elementary school pulls out all the stops for the end-of-the-year celebration. The kids sing songs, the teachers stand up for well-deserved […]
Why I Lied to Get My Daughter into Summer Camp
“Just lie,” he said, nonchalantly. “Just lie?” I yelled, moral outrage flaring. “I can’t just…” I stopped mid-sentence, the dark alternative—hours on end with a young child, who’s latest game was “acting like a baby,” while I tried to work—spun in my head. I was lost. I was alone. I was desperate. So, I took my husband’s advice and I lied.
Old School: Should Grandparents Take Parenting 101 Before the Grandkids Arrive?
My favorite line from a friend’s mother after spending a weekend with her and her kids was: “Do you always talk to them so much?” Why, yes. Yes, we do.
On Parenting: Searching for Meaning in a Bowl of Rice
Somehow, our dull dinner hour had morphed into a bona fide family event, and I realized that Annie had supplied us with a dose of pure joy that is the highest function of babies everywhere.
Tales of a Fourth-Grade Party
The drop-off party was nothing short of a revelation. I felt the way you do when your plane lands in Florida in mid-February.
You're Feeling Very Sleepy
If you thought you had a tough time staying awake in college seminars, just try not to doze off as Harvard professors read the bedtime […]
A Mother's Day Thank You to My Mothers in Arms
For suggesting that I keep a Stain Stick near the changing table and a Swiffer in the dining room. For hand-me-down clothes. More to the […]
On Parenting: Three's a Charm?
I was in the second trimester of my third pregnancy, and my overarching feeling was, well, anticlimax. I know, I know. I was growing a […]
On Parenting: Learning to Love Bedtime
Last night our ten-month-old baby cried for an hour after I put her down. She never does that. Usually it’s ten minutes and she conks […]
Siblings and the Boston Public School Lottery
If you’ve got young kids in the city, the Boston Public Schools lottery is on your mind. Boston‘s Amy Traverso recently prescribed strategies for dealing […]