David Valdes Greenwood

When our daughter told my husband that he was the best Lego castle-builder, he replied, not very seriously, "Is that what you tell your friends -- that I'm better at Legos and Papa's better at playing Monster High?"

She gave him a perplexed look. "No one asks about my...

I stayed up till after midnight last night to handle a crisis.

To put my behavior in context, let me point out that I'm the kind of guy who DVRs my favorite 10 PM TV show, because I know if I tried to watch it live, the credits would...

My daughter calmly informed me that she'd broken up with her boyfriend Miles. I asked how Miles had taken the news, and she shrugged, "I didn't tell him Papa; I just did it." This is all fine, of course, because he didn't know they were dating to begin with. And...

Teaching children about diversity can be a tricky proposition. In the "No Child Left Behind" era, so much time is devoted to preparing students for test-taking that old school subjects like good citizenship, social behavior, and community values may get short shrift. (There is, after all, no standardized...

Our daughter startled us at the table one recent night by saying that she and a friend were playing a trick on two of their other friends. When we questioned what this meant, she brightly replied that they were going to make the other girls think they didn't like them...

Wanted: One child, part-time only, flexible hours. Ages 5-7, girl preferred, though boys who like American Girl doll play will be considered. Must be available for play dates, excursions, dinner with grown-ups. Sleep-over expertise desirable. All snack, outing, and transportation expenses covered; no reciprocation required.

If there was such a...

From the top of the center arch of the Sophie May Lane bridge in Norridgewock, Maine, high above the racing waters of the Kennebec River, I thought I could see the way out. At 15, I was not looking at the point where the brown river curled around the bend...

Two years ago, my daughter startled us with a most unusual request for a costume: She wanted to dress up as Madonna. She was not even 5 at the time, so this raised some eyebrows in our house, and made us consider two questions:

• 1) Why would a four year-old...

My daughter has something to say to Keith Ablow, but since Fox news never asks her opinion, she'll have to speak through me.

She hasn't actually met Ablow, nor have I, but he and I have a lot in common. Both in our 40s, we each got married in...

I was terrible at science and math in school, and skipped out of so many courses in those fields that my left brain was practically wizened from lack of use by the time I graduated. And yet I feel perfectly qualified to comment on the latest buzzy scientific study:

Of all the reasons I've heard from people who oppose same-sex parenting, perhaps the most oft-repeated concern is that having gay or lesbian caregivers sets up a lifetime of trauma for the child who will endure teasing about the comparative oddity of her family. As one person recently asked, "Did...

The Hello Kitty backpack is ready, as are the Justin Bieber notebook and the shiny purple pencil box freshly larded with Ticonderoga #2s. All that's left now is to pack the first lunch and saddle up for the first day of school drop-off, knowing that our simple presence will provide...