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mental health

Perspective | What am I sending them there for?

view of a classroom with rows of old brown desks
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We are a generation of parents who micromanage our children’s safety. And yet, despite the very real fear of death, we keep sending them to school. By Francie Arenson Dickman

January 9, 2020 Culture, Family

When early menopause and life events strike at the same time

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I said goodbye to two decades’ worth of resources and relationships. It seemed perfectly appropriate for my emotions to go haywire. By Nicole Melanson

October 22, 2019 Parenting Challenges

The night my daughter was born

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I always thought depression came like a fog. Postpartum depression came on differently, like an 18-wheel truck slamming into a cement wall. By Laura Cline

June 25, 2019 Parenting Challenges

What is your biggest parenting challenge right now?

Close up of hands covered with blue, yellow and gray paint
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We asked, you answered. In three words.

May 9, 2019 Family, Parenting Challenges

Finding the breath in the day-to-day routine of parenthood

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As parents sometimes it’s a struggle to carve out even a few minutes to breathe. By Steph Auteri

April 30, 2019 Family, Parenting Challenges

How to help teens tackle mental health issues with reading

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Be bold. The book you suggest could save a kid’s life. By Melissa Hart

April 2, 2019 Culture

The gift of togetherness with a baby in the NICU

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We already lived paycheck to paycheck, how in the world would we scrounge up the money to stay in even a cheap hotel near our daughter? By Anna Whitlock

March 26, 2019 Family, Parenting Challenges

Why are girls more stressed out than boys?

drawing of girl looking anxious with black scribbles above her head
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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

February 11, 2019 Books, Culture, Family

21 hard things about motherhood my son might never know

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When he was two, I spent mornings stuffing tubes of penne with scrambled eggs to trick him into eating something other than pasta. By Marianna Marlowe

November 29, 2018 Family

Helping my mother clean out her closet, the year before she died

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After we gave it all to Goodwill, I lived in fear every day that I would see somebody else wearing my mom’s clothes. By Kandace Chapple

October 9, 2018 Parenting Challenges

When you can only handle one child—and that’s okay

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How could I do it all again? The uncomfortable pregnancy, the brutal birth, the dark newborn days. By Joy Netanya

July 30, 2018 Parenting Challenges

What parents need to know about social media and anxiety

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Ask your kid to give you a tour of their social media world. Add it to the “wellness checks” you may already do. By Caroline Knorr

May 28, 2018 Parenting Advice

Do I deserve to be celebrated on Mother’s Day?

mother holds baby in champagne glass
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I am the mother who was drunk the morning of the first birthday party you were invited to. By Janelle Hanchett

May 8, 2018 Parenting Challenges

The split mind of postpartum depression

mother holds baby close to chest
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In a quiet, distant voice I tell my husband that I want to die. Not exactly dead, I clarify, but not this. By Laura G. Owens

April 10, 2018 Parenting Challenges

Why happiness as a parent is always going to be qualified

two women's faces morphed back-to-back
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Here I am at the sink again. Here I am signing the kids up for soccer again. Here I am preparing for the holidays again. Wash, rinse, repeat. By Ilyse Dobrow DiMarco

April 4, 2018 Culture, Parenting Challenges

Home again, this time caring for my mother

purple leaves flying like birds off a black tree
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You’re there because some nights she gets lost in the hallway on the way to the bathroom. You’re there because she has lost herself. By Amie McGraham

March 5, 2018 Family

What to expect when you are unexpecting

thin tree branches in front orange and pink sunset
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Nobody will send flowers. You don’t even have a face to conjure when you think of this child. By Maggie Downs

February 28, 2018 Parenting Challenges

31 things your kids should be doing instead of homework

children's toys sprawled out across a leather couch
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Not only does homework lack academic benefits for young children, but it’s also replacing other fun, developmentally appropriate, and valuable activities. By Jessica Smock

February 12, 2018 Culture

Why are we so fixated on the weight of our babies?

infant being weighed in a basket
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Do people really believe a baby’s size is a reliable precursor of his future happiness, intelligence, or even physical prowess? By Kelsey Osgood

February 8, 2018 Family, Parenting Challenges

Can’t we just say no to overscheduling our kids?

Children's legs in ballerina stance wearing ballerina slipper and traditional sneaker
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I’m not sure when doing nothing after school fell out of favor. As a kid, I was a pro at nothing. We all were. By Francie Arenson Dickman

February 1, 2018 Culture, Parenting Challenges

Writing my college essay, thirty years later

cheerful women celebrating outside of a bujilding
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Your friends from college may be the best you ever have, guard those relationships like gold. By Francie Arenson Dickman

November 22, 2017 Obstacles, Parenting Challenges

How my fear of flying changed with motherhood

filtered photograph of young girl throwing paper airplane into sky
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It was so much easier to ignore my own pounding heart amidst the turbulence when I was worrying about my son’s instead. By Lauren Apfel

November 20, 2017 Parenting Challenges

Do I send my troubled teen to a wilderness program?

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I had spent the last sixteen years keeping my son safe and warm. Was I going to do just the opposite in an effort to help him? By Jeannette Sanderson

October 19, 2017 Parenting Challenges

Chased by a tiger: my son’s ADHD diagnosis

painting of a tiger walking
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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. By Jill Dyer

October 12, 2017 Parenting Challenges

When everything goes wrong, being a good enough mother

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My confidence in myself as a parent, a wife, and a woman were badly shaken. I was a mess. By Diane Pomerantz

October 10, 2017 Parenting Challenges

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