Start with “shitty first drafts.” We don’t curse in our house, so it was a big deal when I taught my son this one. By Wendy Kennar
Category Archive: Culture
Nothing epitomized the drudgery and boredom of those early parenting years quite like an afternoon at the park. By Ilyse Dobrow DiMarco
On their first day of homeschooling a punch was thrown over whose turn it was to use the laptop. By Sylvia Carr Clebsch
I’ve been sitting with the reality that this world will never see my son’s heart before they see his color. By Kai McGee
We envisioned our daughter’s freedom: she could tell us dance class was ending early. But we had not considered her new awareness of danger. By Sarah Werthan Buttenwieser
Where once I was gatherer, now I am hunter. Acquiring food to feed my family has taken on new significance. By Susannah Q. Pratt
Catherine Newman’s wonderful new book offers a guide to 65 hugely useful, super-important skills for teens and tweens.
According to specialists, a 12-week delay won’t make the difference between someone having a baby or not. By Mimi Sager Yoskowitz
I’ve raised my daughter to believe that a preoccupation with one’s appearance is trivial, but I’m a traitor to the cause. By Rebecca Knight
Obviously, a pandemic is an awful reason to decide to have another child. But that doesn’t stop me from thinking about it. By Amanda Gibson
Both you and your partner have only 24 hours in a day and each of those hours holds equal value. By Eve Rodksy
Each project was meant to show a child’s mom that she is appreciated. Respected. Loved. By Wendy Kennar
We have plenty of coffee in our cupboard. What’s not in bloom has buds, promises, waiting. By Kara Gebhart Uhl
What would I have done if her shorts got shorter, tops dipped lower? If she learned to sharpen her body like a tool? By Rica Keenum
I’m having a good quarantine. Can I say that? By Lauren Apfel
Lately I tell myself that I’ll start to eat healthier. I won’t finish my children’s meals. I won’t pick off their plates, like a mother vulture. By Kelly Niebergall
Every night this family of five sits down together to watch a movie. Rotating who picks, no opting out. By Daisy Alpert Florin
Shelter in place has become a cocoon where our family has slowly let this diagnosis of Down syndrome sink in. By Maggie Shafer
This job is hard—physically, mentally, emotionally—it’s so damn hard. By Maureen Boesen
Let your children see you trying. Let them see you cry. By Kaci Curtis
He said, “I never knew you started dinner at 4pm every weekday.” By Teresa B. Duffy
How you went from the rigid enforcer to letting your kids to eat cake in their bedrooms. How you learned to wait. How you learned what mattered. By Michelle Riddell
My kids are used to my loud, Jewish-mom complaining—but not this unkindness. Not this anxiety-fueled rage. By Hannah Grieco
I’m solidly in midlife now, and I have been handing out smiles to men upon request for decades. By Mary Janevic
Ada Calhoun gives a voice to middle-age struggles—and empowers a generation of women who were raised to “have it all.”