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
teens
For what seems like a single frame of the video, I see my child silhouetted in the lights of the oncoming car. By Ian Smith
I’m terrified that my teenager, who has Down syndrome, won’t ever find real love—and also that she will, but that it won’t be the right kind. By Amy Silverman
Catherine Newman answers this question (and more!) in her next installment of Motherwell’s advice column for the parents of teens. Her kids weigh in too!
Decades ago, boys who lacked motivation were called late bloomers. Today, we call them underachievers. By Adam Price
Catherine Newman’s next installment of Motherwell’s not-so-ordinary advice column for the parents of teens.
Your friends from college may be the best you ever have, guard those relationships like gold. By Francie Arenson Dickman
Catherine Newman’s not-so-ordinary advice column for the parents of teens.
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
I’m raising two boys. And I am conscious of raising them to be people who hear and respond to the word “no.” By Brianne DeRosa
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
Not everything modern parents are doing is backfiring: our kids are tolerant, empowered and closer to us than ever. By Mary Janevic
Already in love with the boy’s father, I wanted to build something special with his son too.
By Hillary Vaillancourt
At the onset of adulthood we are, in so many ways, revisiting the days of infancy.
By Francie Arenson Dickman
I want him out in the world. But this process—the leaving process—is excruciating.
By Emily Franklin
We trot her out into the world, trying to help her gain confidence through exposure. But it only lasts for so long.
By Linda Pressman
Our family square is about to become a triangle and I’m not sure my son will be ready for it.
By Randi Olin
She slid into anorexia at 16. She stopped smiling. She ignored her friends. She counted almonds.
By Amy Rumizen
I could not teach my stepdaughter, this girl so quickly becoming a woman, that to stay was always right.
By Katie Gutierrez
I wish the kids could stay this age forever—on the cusp of leaving, but never leaving—only I know it would not end well. By Catherine Newman
He’s passing as a boy now—as long as he binds his breasts.
By Katrin Grace
When you’re a parent, you have to believe that no matter what your child does or says they still deserve to be loved.
By Erika Sauter
All the years of doing and hoping, praying and sculpting—you wait to see if it worked.
By Lisa Romeo
Leggings, spaghetti straps, midriff shirts—what’s the harm? Motherwell’s cultural conversation with parenting experts Lisa Damour, Jessica Lahey, and Peggy Orenstein.
The swings she used to ride are still moving, but she’s long gone, and I realize it’s only the wind.
By Robin L. Flanigan