With six children, you learn to spread anxiety thinly over everyone until it ceases to have much impact. By Jodi Bartle
Category Archive: Parenting Challenges
The fact that my kid is in his school uniform while his classmates are all dressed for the party makes me cringe. By Virginia Fundora
The day our third child came along, I often found myself fantasizing about cutting the cords of his computer. By Tania Lorena Rivera
I have spent years juggling my three jobs: teacher, mother, and alcoholic. By Jennifer Dines
I have a full-time job and yet I still feel like I’m waiting for my ex-husband to see me as an equal human. By Katherine Sargent
Whisking him off to surgery without even a mention to his parents seemed a premature exit from the cocoon of childhood. By Lauren Apfel
The particular bonding of a blended family didn’t come easily to me. By Tess Clarkson
My Lego games with Brian defined our relationship. Until, one fateful day, he left for college. By Matt Hollingsworth
The saying that a mother is only as happy as her unhappiest child is true. By Beth Thompson
Literature is a great way to put our pandemic struggles into perspective. By Laura Catherine Hanby Hudgens
Not all recipes need to be cooked, but they all deserve to be read. By Tahnee Freda
I wasn’t used to saying “no” to Mom—and didn’t know where to begin. By Elizabeth Newdom
I’m afraid of losing my daughter. I’m afraid of being replaced. By Jeannette Sanderson
The sun was shredding us, both me and the stupid snow cone. By Mary Adkins
The hard truth is that I can’t protect my child from everything. By Megan Hanlon
During those play sessions I frequently felt resentful and bored. By Marya Markovich
I was in no hurry to let go of my grief. It was what I had left of my daughter. By Mary Janevic
Would I embrace the care of my own pet with more gusto? Tolerate its mess, its foibles—the way I do my own kids? By Lauren Apfel
You finally have the freedom you’ve been dreaming about for years, but you don’t know what to do with it. By Laura Carraro
My mother set about blending our identities from the day I was born. By Nancy Camden
My brother and I complained constantly about our sad lunches, but our parents ignored us. By Simone Muñoz
When I forgot my homework or my pants ripped at recess I dialed on auto-pilot. By Jonathan Meyer
Sometimes my siblings complain about the stresses of parenting and I want to say, then why did you have three? By Grace Orbison
Don’t tell the youngest he should eat nicely like his elder sister, just say you can see he’s playing with his food. By Lynn Berger
I needed a kitchen coated in berry smoothie to finally understand what I couldn’t then. By Nicole Gulotta