All Family
Love the laundry: embracing the daily dilemmas of raising a teenFor parents of teenagers, the idea that you'd ever love the laundry piles your offspring create can seem crazy. But embrace the moments when you can – some day soon you just may miss those daily dilemmas of raising a teen.
Parents’ path to true happiness? Embrace your inner childParents sometimes can spend so much time thinking about being adults that they forget the wonders of holding a soft fleece blanket, or creating a castle out of Play-Doh. Perhaps the key to true happiness can be found when you embrace your inner child.
Arbor Day: 5 reasons to plant the family treeArbor Day: The family tree is good for the planet – 5 reasons to plant one, or more
Five tips to unplug your kids, get them out into natureUnplug your kids and get them out into nature this spring with these five tips. From chasing a lightning bug, to splashing through puddles, they'll have fun, and maybe even learn something about our planet.
New pink LEGOs for girls enforce Disney Princess sterotypesA new line of pink LEGOs, marketed towards girls, is just another example of the extreme gendering prevalent in children's popular culture, and enforces the Disney Princess stereotypes that have made Disney billions.
World of Warcraft unites mother, son miles apartWorld of Warcraft online role-playing game kept a mother connected to her son – and strengthened their relationship – when he moved 1,00 miles from home. When her son moved 1,200 miles away from home.
Mother's Day: Consider the life lived in 15-minute incrementsMother's Day: The prosaic detail of a mother's day – lived in 15-minute increments of cereal, pet-minding, chauffeuring, professional duties, homework, and ... bedtime – is part what we thank her for.
Crime or parenting? Cops called for kids playing alone in parkParenting styles vary widely, from the helicopter variety to the free range. But a neighbor took the issue into her own hands recently, calling the cops on a dad who left his kids playing alone in a nearby park.
Parents use spy tech to expose abuse of special needs kidsSuspicious parents of special needs kids have recently taken advantage of advances in spy tech to plant wires on their children at school. The recordings have been used to expose abuse perpetrated by school officials; but also may raise privacy issues.
From breastfeeding to veganism, don't judge a book by its coverSeveral high-profile parenting books have drawn the ire of planet momdom recently, as parents debate the merits of different parenting styles, from breastfeeding to co-sleeping to veganism. But Modern Parenthood reminds: don't judge a book by its cover.
Teens drinking hand sanitizer – though underage drinking is downTeens drinking hand sanitizer to get drunk is a new trend noticed by California authorities. While overall underage drinking has been going down in the past decade, 72 percent of teens who do report having had an alcoholic drink apparently were able to get it without resorting to the gooey gel.
Letting kids play: celebrating low-tech toysLow-tech toys can be overshadowed by the razzle-dazzle of the electronic toy industry, but that doesn't mean all parents have forgotten the joys – and educational benefits – of a cardboard box and some string.
Kids’ shoe stores: Boys are superheroes and girls are princessesKids' shoe stores can be an interesting look into the minds of today's marketers, who continue to promote the 'Frailty Myth' through advertising that urges girls to be pretty princesses, and boys to be tough superheroes.
New trend? Some teens drinking hand sanitizer to get drunkA spate of emergency room visits by eens drinking hand sanitizer to get drunk have some health officials worried the potentially harmful behavior could become a larger trend.
- Stranger danger and donuts: one school's (over) reaction
Stranger danger is something every parent thinks about--who is my child talking to when I'm not around. But sometimes, an offer of a free donut is simply that, as one school found out, albeit not before scaring its parents.
Ban homework before third grade; support children’s playA homework ban before third grade would stop the increasing imposition on kids as young as kindergarten-age. After school free time for children's play actually Increasingly helps younger kids develop important skills, and learn to control emotions.
Etan Patz and other missing children have mom’s radar pingingEtan Patz, who is still being searched for 33 years after he was kidnapped, and other cases of missing children have one mom struggling with her stranger danger radar.
Bullying: Teens take the lead as anti-bullying mentors, advocatesBullying prevention starts with teens, and in communities around the country they are taking the lead as anti-bullying leaders, advocates, and mentors for their peers. It is an inspiring trend at a time when several high-profile teen suicides have been linked to bullying.
Parenting: Enjoying the finish line – happiness in the here and nowParenting can be a search for your kid's next milestone, rather than reveling in the happiness of the here and now, or that finish line of the moment.
