I have a cousin who continually inspires me, and who happens to be a life-long Bostonian. She lives close enough to the shootings in Watertown that they woke her up at night, and as I write this, I learn that my brother and his wife can hear sirens in their...

I'm having a holiday sensory overload today. It's International Day of Happiness. It's the Spring Equinox. It's the New Year for Persians who have celebrated this holiday for thousands of years. And it's the last day of the Baha'i Fast, marking the New Year, or Nowruz (Persian for New Year)...

The day after the horrific shootings in Newtown, Conn., at the busy Trader Joe's near my home in Pennsylvania, a well-dressed, middle-aged man behind me in line had a large button on that read "Freedom First. NRA." I couldn't ignore it and asked him: "Has anyone commented on that button...

Driving this morning with my 9-year-old and half-listening to the BBC news on the radio yielded a nice, teachable moment. They advertised their round-the-clock election coverage of the U.S. presidential race. It sounded momentous and a little urgent. I took their tone for granted, but I'm glad my daughter, Sophia,...

When I excitedly opened the cardboard tube containing the new Children Inspire Design map delivered to my door, my first reaction was perplexity. The world map had no countries identified on it, but did have whimsical animals and people. What's the good of a map without, at minimum,...

It was one of those mornings when I was in a hurry, but the universe had other plans. I sat my groggy 4-year-old down with a buttered bagel so I could rush to get ready while she ate, but when I came running back to her, I saw that she...

Imagine if the children of leaders from Iran, North Korea, the United States and Cuba could meet in a park far away from political posturing and just play outside, where they might invent a version of "tag" or a relay race involving water, balls, racing back and forth and cheering...

More and more people are recognizing the exploitation of women's images in the media and the impact it can have on our daughters -- and our sons. They are pushing back, not gonna take it anymore. I am impressed by the mainstream embrace of courageous campaigns, like my local Costco's...

If parents want to raise children who rise to the top in the hyper-competitive global economy, whether the goal is to out-innovate, out-smart, out-shine their contemporaries or to create lasting change for a better world, what will it take? A new book, Creating Innovators: The Making of Young...

"Women and men have been and will always be equal in the sight of God" --Bahá'u'lláh.

For Bahá'ís, equality and empowerment are essential spiritual principles. This is illuminated by the metaphor "The world of humanity is possessed of two wings: the male and the female. When the two...

I'm mad this morning. My 8 year-old (Eight! Yes, just eight! In third grade!) is a nervous wreck. Today is the first day of PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, or Pissed Students Seriously Anxious?!) standardized testing at her school. They've been prepping for weeks (or is it months?) to...

Despite volumes of parenting advice and research, which seem to have multiplied over the past generation and get revised annually, when it comes to the day-to-day labor of love of raising our children, most parents do what their parents and parents' parents did before: go with our gut. In other...

I was fascinated to see that the New York Times piece about foreign-born affluent, educated parents sending their kids to New York City public school in higher proportions than their American-born counterparts is the most e-mailed (and second-most viewed) article this morning on the Times website. It fascinates...

The Year of the Dragon celebrations offer a great opportunity to grow our understanding of the world -- while having fun with our kids. Before you good-intentionally blurt out "Happy Chinese New Year," to colleagues and neighbors -- stop! "Chinese New Year" represents a subset of the cultures that celebrate....

I think it's essential that kids of all backgrounds grow up with memories of actively marking Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday. At most schools this is a day off, and a growing movement advocates making this a "day on." When parents engage with their children on important matters Dr....

Feeling the pressure of tighter consumer spending, giant retailers catering to bargain hunters will open earlier than ever this Black Friday, on Thanksgiving Thursday. Imagining the stampede of shoppers is enough to give me indigestion, even before I take a bite of turkey. But it doesn't have to be that...

Sunday was World Food Day, and while hunger endangers the lives of too many around the world, for many parents, our daily food challenge might be more on the order of just getting our little ones to eat their broccoli. I've found some simple strategies that help

Around the world, myriad creative activities have been organized for September's International Peace Day. And for those who prefer reflection, there is an organized pause, or moment of silence at noon worldwide on September 21, 2011. But for those for whom International Peace Day may have...

The age difference between my oldest child and youngest is 10 years. The daughter who was in third grade on September 11, 2001 started her first year of college last week, and the "baby" is now at the same school, sitting in the exact same elementary classroom as her big...

We had been bracing ourselves for the last day of our exchange student "daughter" Lucie's stay with us. Over the year the five members of our family had each developed inside jokes with her, had favorite things to do, from actually enjoying practicing piano with her, to predicting the outcome...