Isn’t it fun to play games with the family? Our kids are five and three, so we are entering that time when they’re capable – and interested – in playing family games! From cards to board games, we bring you the favorites in our collection. And we’d love to hear your suggestions!
Continue readingTag: parents
Family vacations can be so much fun! You get to see new places, do new things, and someone else does the dishes. But hauling your children away from the comforts and familiarities of home can be really daunting. We just came back from a vacation and I’ve compiled all of the best tricks so that you can enjoy your hotel stay with kids. Read on and add your favorites in the comments! Continue reading
America needs to step up its game when it comes to taking care of the family. We are a world power and a first-world country, yet there are so many things about being a parent in the US which are ridiculously lacking. While I won’t get into the massive issues which need attention, I have thought of five things that all businesses should do to help parents and families. These are fairly easy to implement and can be done by most stores and restaurants. Let’s all work to make the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave a sanctuary for families, too. Continue reading
Being a mom is hard. Like, really hard. Worthwhile and joyous and life changing, yes. But hard nonetheless.
Being a dad is hard too, damnit. My husband has been working extra hard lately, and he deserves to know how appreciated and loved he is, so I wanted to write this just in time for Valentines Day. Thanks for reading this letter to my husband.
A little backstory: Babe and I met in high school, I was a freshman and dating his best friend. We were on-again-off-again until we decided that resistance was useless, and married in 2008. Since Kid #1 made his debut, our lives have been a beautiful chaotic swirl. Now we sit surrounded by half-full sippy cups, Hot Wheels being batted around by the cat, and burp cloths on every table.
I still love this man. Hell, I love him more now than ever. And nothing screams “jackpot” more than watching him with our children. He is patient, fair, and already has mastered dad jokes. But we never get time to sit and gaze into each other’s eyes, talking peacefully and admiring one another. So, I want to write him a letter.
Attachment parenting: it is the foundation for this entire website, and I have become quite passionate about its advocacy. I wanted my first article to be significant, so I am giving you my definition of this parenting style as well as some other things I have learned over the last few years.
First, though, I have to tell you something – don’t obsess about finding a name to give your own parenting style. No one is going to stop you on the street and ask “what parenting philosophy do you follow?” I did not even know about attachment parenting until after my first child was born, and I had obsessively read and researched everything when I was pregnant. As cliché as it may sound, I guess you could say that attachment parenting found me. Not the other way around. It’s totally OK to not have a name for what you practice.
I also have a confession. I hate the name “attachment” parenting. I guess it is my educational background that makes me think of a parent hovering around their child, wiping their nose and keeping them from experiencing anything. In the teaching world, we call that “helicopter mom” – and it is definitely a derogatory term. So my initial impression was of a paranoid germaphobic mom and a clingy, emotionally unstable child.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.