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Max’s Take: For Mother’s Day, Tell Stories
Let me introduce myself – you know me as Max. You know I’m the second daughter of my mom’s 5 kids, a reformed picky eater, who has – with questionable success – been taught to brag, and who once considered moving in with the Bartniki’s from school. I’m a little more grown up now: in Read more
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Raising an Optrovert: Parenting Across Personality
When my fourth child, Dax, was born, I had a recently minted four-year-old, Scout, a soon to be three-year-old, Max, and a twenty-month-old, Tiggs, with as yet undiagnosed yet patently obvious ADHD. Our house – especially our kitchen – was a very busy place. One day, when Dax was maybe three months old, he was sitting in Read more
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Taking Kids to the Supermarket May Be Better for Them Than You Know
A few weeks ago, I was at my local supermarket along with everyone else in the tri-state area stocking up for what was destined to be, like, one inch of snow. The store was humming with the frenetic energy that usually accompanies a weather event or an Eagles game (or, these days, a delivery of Read more
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How to Teach Kids About Santa without Losing your Credibility
I know someone, an acquaintance of mine, who announced shortly after the birth of her first son that, although the family would be celebrating Christmas, they would not allow their children to participate in any stories or traditions surrounding Santa Clause. She remembered vividly her first reaction to learning the “truth” about Santa: “My parents lied to Read more
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A Note to my New Mom Self
Several of my friends have just recently or very soon will become grandparents. They’re all over the moon about it, fussing over baby gifts and pack and plays, rearraigning their days and lives to give their daughters and daughters-in-law the same love, support, and guidance their mothers and mothers-in-law gave them. It got me thinking Read more
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How to Slay the Parent-Teacher Conference
I overheard a charming conversation in line at the grocery store last week. It was between a mom and her – I would guess – six-year-old who were talking about an upcoming parent-teacher conference. In between piling bags of apples and goldfish and cheese sticks onto the checkout counter, Mom was casually chitchatting with her Read more