“Ryan,” I say. “If you ever want to play with the girl dolls, we have them. In this house, you can play with whatever you want.” By Ann Wainwright
Category Archive: Culture
“No skinny pants” was a rule we could not and did not obey. Instead, we pulled our children out of the school. By Jennie Burke
Cell phones do not work here, and on a good day it takes only ten minutes to open email. By Mindy Roll
On carrying grief forward, not getting over it. A Motherwell interview with Nora McInerny.
My parents grew up in the shadow of the Holocaust. Neither one of them knew how to tell me what had happened, so instead they said nothing. By Elissa Jacobs
So much of who we are has to do with how we think about our own parents and our own childhood.
I didn’t have my therapist hat on when my son went through his grief—I was just his mom, muddling through it alongside him. By Lori Gottlieb
I keep waiting for the perfect moment to tell him about his true relationship to Dave. I hope he’ll understand. By Philip Langdon Ross
A mom created the sign-up sheet. Two moms were listed as the contact people. Moms filled in every slot. By Marya Markovich
I hesitated because I am a product of my society, just like everyone else. By Fiona Leary Boucher
Because the new story is a bit of a sequel, I leaned towards using the same boy character again. But I remember thinking, “Why do I have to choose?” By Denise Barry
It’s not that my boys don’t need motivation. It’s that for their gender, empowerment is always readily available. By Annie D. Stutley
Be bold. The book you suggest could save a kid’s life. By Melissa Hart
I’m a third grade teacher. No amount of cursive writing instruction is going to bridge literacy gaps or resolve comprehension deficits. By Michelle Riddell
Every day she’d come home and say, “today my friends called me peanut, and it makes me sad.” By Lori Orlinksy
Actions speak louder than words. Take your kids to the library once a week or make regular outings to your local bookstore. By Regan McMahon
I now hear regularly about girls who are so fearful of disappointing their teachers that they skip sleep to do extra-credit work for points they don’t need. By Lisa Damour
Stephanie Land’s daughter learned to walk in a homeless shelter. In her debut memoir, she tells the story of how they survived.
KJ Dell’Antonia, Jill Smokler, Jordan Shapiro, Janelle Hanchett, and Jessica Lahey weigh in on how much is too much when it comes to writing about our children.
YouTube, Apple Music, Netflix. Kids seldom watch, listen to, or read anything these days they didn’t select themselves—or that wasn’t suggested by an anxious-to-please algorithm. By Mary Janevic
Motherwell publishes on all aspects of the parenting experience—from the poignant to the humorous to the thought-provoking. Here are our most-read original pieces from 2018.
College counselor and admissions expert, Sara Harberson, offers valuable insight into the nitty gritty of the application process.
“Oh, relax,” he says, ruffling my daughter’s wispy blonde hair. “We’re just playing.” By Lisa Norgren
As much as I loved football as a kid, I don’t want my own sons watching—or playing—a sport based on such overt violence. By Kate Allen Fox
If a tween is asking for it, is willing to adhere to the rules you set, what’s the harm? By Lauren Apfel