By Kelly My Mom is a genius. All my life, she’s had one phrase that covers every childhood problem. She would simply say, “You’re tired.” Fighting with a sibling? “You must be tired.” Cranky the day after a sleepover? “You sound tired.” Whining about having nothing to wear? “Someone’s tired.” Broken arm? “You must be…
Category Archives: 5 Minutes For Parenting
Only the Souvenirs are Different
By Michael This morning, Susan dropped off her souvenirs from yesterday’s family adventure:: three $5 chips from the Indian casino down the road from our place in Arizona. Jill and the girls were in town to visit a high-school friend of Susan’s who just had a baby. i was here on a business trip. For…
The Bully
By DeeDee I have the honor of acting as monitor on a parenting message board. One discussion that comes up more frequently than any other, is the subject of bullying. Most of the time, parents are concerned with a situation their child is experiencing in a school setting. And more often than not, it is…
In which these are the words I want for our life
guest post by Sarah Bessey (Emerging Mummy) I’m looking out of the window above my kitchen sink but all I see is my own tired reflection and a warm room behind me. The house is a disaster after a day of three meals, a sick preschooler, a busy toddler and baking. When I take a…
A Loom Of Her Own
By Beck The Girl has wanted a loom for several years now, despite never having actually seen a loom in person. It was one of those strange, fleeting childhood passions, we thought, and not something that was necessary for us to fulfill. Looms are too expensive and too big to be mere whims. So she…
Life in the Past Lane
By Michael I held up the photo and asked, “Who’s this?” Susan looked at me like I had just grown a second nose. “Who’s that?” “Yes, who is it?” “You really don’t know?” At which point, I’m taking one of those mental backpedals that sometimes save me from embarrassment but usually come much too late….
In Which I Look Forward, But Not Too Far
By Megan Al took Bean to see Toy Story 3 yesterday, so I got to spend the afternoon alone with my little Peabody. First we did the weekly grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s, which he adored because he got a cookie and a solo shower of attention and affection from the Trader Joe’s gang. After…
Crybaby
By Beck If you really want to see Fate have a good chuckle at your expense, just try laughing at another parent’s predicament. WITHOUT FAIL, you will face the same predicament yourself in record time. It’s true! (sort of!) For example: a friend was fretting about her children heading off for a week with her…
Neighborhood Etiquette 101
By Kelly When we moved into our little town home complex in the fall of 2007, we didn’t have many neighbors. Such is the nature of a new development. In fact, when we took the kids trick-or-treating that Halloween, we discovered Natalie and Connor were the only children in residence at that point. (Pro: We…
Feeling Good About Myself
By Michael There was a story in the paper last week about self esteem. It’s not pretty, even though all the children interviewed are very pretty. And bright. And incredibly talented. For those of you who missed the story, it turns out that the self esteem movement might not be as beneficial as promised and—I…