We’ve had a rough time lately in ways that go beyond the ordinary awkward de-nesting of middle school. By Annie O’Brien
teens
Did my son really need a backpack every time he left the house? By Sherri Sacconaghi
I want my son to see the value in committing to something because it’s beautiful and worthwhile, not because he’s certain to succeed. By Daisy Alpert Florin
Be bold. The book you suggest could save a kid’s life. By Melissa Hart
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
I wanted to believe that bringing teenagers into our life would make it easier to let them go. I was wrong. By Meredith Gordon Resnick
This has become our routine: reliving each event point by point, trying to trigger a memory. By Amy Roost
College counselor and admissions expert, Sara Harberson, offers valuable insight into the nitty gritty of the application process.
I tell my mom I’m eating everything I’m supposed to. But she sees through this immediately. By Allison Richards
My daughter is trapped inside, trying to make admissions counselors she doesn’t know fall in love with her. By Sandra A. Miller
I’ve always told my sons that “boys will be boys” is neither a license nor an excuse. To hear that rhetoric used to erase Christine Ford’s allegations makes me want to scream. By Deborah Lindsay Williams
When it was time to walk away—leaving my son there and a part of my life behind—I didn’t have any regrets. By Randi Olin
I caught you with drugs today. I picked up your little glass pipe. It felt like a bomb in my hand. Boom. By Rica Lewis
When my son was 11 he told me, “I wish I wasn’t autistic. It would be easier to make friends.” By Joanne De Simone
The toddler parents were looking at me in wonder, as if they couldn’t believe their children would ever be old enough to go into the exam room alone. By Deborah Lindsay Williams
Why is living in mom’s basement such a terrible thing? By Fara Nizamani
Nothing would be exactly the same again. I was inconsolable, even though the university’s family day was only a month away. By Dina Elenbogen
Parenting isn’t like baking. The ingredients you mix together aren’t the same with each kid. By Randi Olin
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
Some lessons about social justice, no matter how terrible, are better learned by living than by lecture. By Francie Arenson Dickman
I decided to stop asking Austin about his plan. I decided to stop suggesting pathways and careers to him, as if I were a marketing director of adulthood. By Ann marie Houghtailing
I can’t imagine a time without children in my house, just as one month ago I could not imagine an evening without bath time. By Kelli Kirk
I don’t want to mess this up. I live in fear of being seen as a privileged person with an accessory on my arm. By Jenn O’Connor
Yes, I am enjoying a front row seat to my daughter’s semester in Cape Town. But I still wonder whether all this technology is giving us too much access to our kids. By Randi Olin
Coming to peace with the reality that you can’t make your kid do things is actually liberating. By William Stixrud and Ned Johnson