In 2017, Motherwell published approximately one hundred essays on topics related to all aspects of the parenting experience. Our pieces touch upon a variety of themes—culture, family life, obstacles and the process of overcoming them.

Here are our most-read pieces of 2017:

The Myth of Co-Parenting, by Hope Edelman
It made me spitting mad, the way the daily duties of parenting and home ownership began to rest entirely on me.

 

Practicing who I will be when my kids are out of the house, by Lauren Apfel
When the children are gone will I be something flimsier, something less than I was before?

 

Night walks with my teens who are about to leave me, by Catherine Newman
I wish the kids could stay this age forever—on the cusp of leaving, but never leaving—only I know it would not end well.

 

What we neglect when the children are young, by Lauren Apfel
Nobody told me while my house was falling apart that eventually I would start to see clearly again.

 

On leaning in, but not leaning out, by Brianne DeRosa
I don’t want advancement. I just want to do a good job each day and go home without guilt.

 

Motherhood and Waiting: from boys to men, by Lisa Romeo
All the years of doing and hoping, praying and sculpting—you wait to see if it worked.

 

Chased by a tiger: my son’s ADHD diagnosis, by Jill Dyer
My son’s fight or flight mechanism often shut out his ability to function. I was devastated I had not been able to help him.

 

When reading at grade level is not good enough, by Christie Tate
None of the parents I know are copping to having a kid who is average.

 

No, I don’t want your unsolicited parenting advice, by Carla Naumburg
Momsplaining perpetuates the myth that someone out there is getting this parenting thing right.

 

With new life comes a fear of death, By Katie Rose Guest Pryal
Kids—they break you wide open and expose parts you didn’t even know could feel pain.

 

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