Bromance is apparently a thing, but what about momance?
Even if you had a so-so relationship with your mother, chances are that once there was a new baby in town, you became history. It's not that you're forgotten per se, but with someone unspeakably precious and cuddly on the scene, the competition probably became so fierce that you found yourself elbowed out of the limelight. After my son was born, he became the shining star and I became, well, a stand-in at best. And to some extent that was cool with me, expected.
They say to understand how a person really feels, you have to walk around in his shoes awhile. But what if those shoes are ill-fitting and deeply uncomfortable?
How do you feel about nanny cams? You know, the secret cameras stowed into unlikely places, zipped into teddy bears, for the sole purpose of spying on your caregiver.
Well, even though many parents claim to be dead set against spy ware, as soon as a nanny is found doing something naughty—as was the case with this nanny recently found abusing the 5-month-old baby in her care—suddenly all methods of surveillance are vindicated. Or are they?
How do you feel about lingerie? Does it make you feel more attractive and womanly? Or is it simply what one writer on Jezebel describes as “compulsory femininity”?
Like everything else post-kids, sex changes. Often it's not what it was once cracked up to be, in the days before you were an extra in The Walking Dead traipsing around with dried spit-up on your yoga pants. Libido can take a beating.
Remember that mom who gained notoriety by not only putting her seven-year-old on a diet but wrote about it in the pages Vogue? Well, Dara-Lynn Weiss is back, defending her decision to publicly shame her daughter, this time in a full-length manuscript.
New year, new resolutions, right? Le sigh. If you're anything like me, the best laid plans fall flat before January's out. But this time I'm determined to make changes and to stick by them dammit. The first rule of resolve is to think itty bitty. Lofty goals are bound to fail.
Another unspeakable tragedy. This time, 20 young children will never come home to their parents. But instead of looking at itself, at its own policies, America is yet again pointing the finger at the individual. Of course it’s much easier to blame one deranged young man then for the nation to take ownership of its role in the carnage.
How do you feel about the C-word? Christmas, I mean. I know, I know, we're not supposed to utter the word anymore. It's not like we're a church-going family. My son wasn't even baptized. Still, I've always loved the rituals associated with the season. The hall decking. The carols. The sticky-sweet smell of baked goods.
Premature birth is a serious and very common health issue. In the US alone, almost half a million babies are born prematurely each year—that's around 1 in every 8 babies. Figures in Canada are also staggeringly high.
What you may not know is that with prematurity comes a greater risk of a myriad health and developmental problems. Since these teeny babies can't speak for themselves, it's up to us to advocate for them. November is designated as Prematurity Awareness Month.
When we think of Remembrance Day, we tend to think of the past. Past wars, past heroes...But this November 11th, I urge you to cast your mind beyond your own backyard and beyond your own preconceptions.
I urge you to remember those we frequently forget about, those whose lives are arguably the most ravaged by war: children.
As parents, it's the conundrum of our generation. Technology: the double-edged sword. It's the future, and our kids need to be fluent in its dialect as early as possible. Yet, on the flip side, how much exposure to 'gadgetry' is acceptable?
Like most moms, I'm fairly conflicted. The new iPad mini is the perfect size for my junior kindergartener. However, does a JK really warrant owning a computer? I tend to think not.
Many of us are still reeling from a scenario that is every parent's worst nightmare come true. On paper, 50-year-old Ortega seemed like the perfect nanny—mature, with no prior record of any kind.
The dark knights of the silver screen are upon us, folks.
Even if by some crazy feat you've managed to eschew the hype surrounding Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey, you'll find it even harder to resist in the coming months. When bestselling book translates into slick screenplay, it's guaranteed to reach an even greater audience—many of whom won't be mature enough to process its dark themes.
With all the hype surrounding childhood obesity, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that physical activity helps more than just the body; it helps the mind stay limber and healthy, too.
My own gremlins set up shop when I was a teenager. Nobody has an easy time of it in adolescence, but for some of us routine moodiness goes one step uglier and becomes full-blown depression and anxiety.
It's one of those hotbeds of debate, up there in terms of parental controversy with formula feeding and circumcision. I'm talking about vaccines, of course.
It used to be that modern medicine was a thing to be venerated, a doctor's words regarded like golden nectar of wisdom. Now, not so much. As with the unschooling movement, many parents have grown skeptical and jaded with conventional medicine as others have with the education system. Once upon a time vaccinations were seen as miracles in a needle, warding off potentially life-threatening illnesses.
Whatever happened to that unwritten golden pop star rule—best seen and not heard—circa 1990?
Justin Bieber has been at it again. In another ill-advised media stunt, our pretty boy and national treasure was snapped posing with a fake hand gun... Was he trying to toughen up his squeaky clean image and go more street on us? Were the low-riding jeans and earring studs not achieving the desired effect?
I'm indecisive. It's something of a fatal flaw with me, and unfortunately that spreads to my parenting. Every now and then and, at the strangest times, I lose my resolve. Like the other day, when a barista and I started chitchatting about our respective kids. After revealing that I 'only' have a son, she asked when I was having more children. Sigh.
I don't know about you, but I'm a touch conflicted when it comes to screen time. On one hand we have so-called experts bleating on about how bad television and computer games are for kids. On the other, the more interactive nature of today's kids shows—not to mention all the genius games and apps out there—provide valuable learning tools.
