Motherhood

Fragments of A Life

Nancy Sharp | Posted 05.31.2012

Nancy Sharp

Every May, the buzz of adult, kid, family and professional activities wipes me out. So much so that I tend to feel rather porous, as if my brain has turned to Swiss cheese.

Why Won't My Kids Do Their Chores?

The Huffington Post | Susan Stiffelman | Posted 05.30.2012

Dear Susan, When I was growing up, my brothers and I always had chores on the weekends. We didn't like it, but we just did them. My own kids -- 9 a...

Storytelling in the Age of Screens

John McCormick | Posted 05.30.2012

John McCormick

How do I tear the kids away from flashing lights and explosions and get them to sit with a book or tell a story?

I Traveled 9,000 Miles For IVF

Adrienne Arieff | Posted 05.29.2012

Adrienne Arieff

Even though I've been on planes, trains, and automobiles to get here, the full weight of my passage and of what I hope to achieve in this journey has not quite resonated until now.

The Day a Plane Crashed on Our Street

Wendy Fontaine | Posted 05.29.2012

Wendy Fontaine

It is a house like any other on our street. Small and neat, with a few tidy shrubs in the yard. The only sign that disaster occurred there is a patch of flattened sod near the sidewalk. Where the plane crashed.

The Confidence Game

Devon Corneal | Posted 05.28.2012

Devon Corneal

So, in light of our extraordinary strengths, why do we lack confidence in our mothering abilities? Because, if what I read on the Internet is any reflection of what's going on in our heads, most moms don't believe that they're doing a very good job raising their kids.

Kids Say The Darnedest Things -- And Parents Put Them On Twitter

Posted 05.25.2012

Moms and dads have known it for centuries: kids say the darnedest things. But before Twitter was invented, parents didn't have the privilege of sharin...

Why Being a Mom is the Coolest Job Ever

Melina Bellows | Posted 05.24.2012

Melina Bellows

As I packed up to leave the conference, I found myself really, really missing my kids, ages 6 and 8. I considered calling them but hesitated -- sometimes they beg me to come home, which leaves me feeling tortured if I'm far away.

Are You a Rachael or a Martha?

Natalie Thomas | Posted 05.30.2012

Natalie Thomas

"I'm a better baker than cook." That was my go-to party line while dating when asked about my kitchen prowess. I imagined myself a Martha: all cakes and confections. Talk about delusions of grandeur!

Graduation Shakes Deep Roots

Ronnie Citron-Fink | Posted 05.24.2012

Ronnie Citron-Fink

As our children graduate across the country, my hope is that the planet-saving roots that anchored so many of these college graduates to fertile ground will not be shook to the core by greed, politics and apathy.

The Best Of The Mom And Dad Blogs This Week

The Huffington Post | Emma Mustich | Posted 05.24.2012

This week in Parenthesis, a dad blogger takes his daughter bra shopping, Katie Allison Granju picks up writing tips from a Hollywood memoir and Ilana ...

How Mobile Technology Is Saving Mothers

Gustav Praekelt | Posted 05.24.2012

Gustav Praekelt

In collaboration with Cell-Life and Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, Praekelt Foundation will launch MAMA South Africa -- a mobile phone based community that allows mothers to access vital health information on their mobile phones in a way that is personal and discreet.

What I Learned After My Friend's Baby Died

Jenny Isenman | Posted 05.23.2012

Jenny Isenman

The ER that she went to said her daughter had a simple cold. They made her feel neurotic. They made her feel overprotective and ignorant.

What Tabloids Get Right About Motherhood

Ilana Wiles | Posted 05.23.2012

Ilana Wiles

Welcome to motherhood, Jessica! You'll want to cry from happiness and tear your hair out with frustration on the very same day.

The One Thing Politicians Can Agree on

Michael Zacka | Posted 05.22.2012

Michael Zacka

The magic that happens over shared meals can help preserve the American family, strengthen all of its members and enrich their lives. I'm sure America's Republicans and Democrats both agree that more families should be sitting together at dinner.

How a Grieving Mom Accidentally Rediscovered 'Fun'

Babble.com | Posted 05.22.2012

Babble.com

There's a point to having fun, which is that it should be part of the human experience. A big part. I'd just completely lost touch with that.

Memories, Good, Really Bad and Good Again??

Christine Eads | Posted 05.22.2012

Christine Eads

I don't remember growing older. When did my kids?

'I Am Their Living Yearbook'

Penny Love Hoff | Posted 05.24.2012

Penny Love Hoff

In my head, I know that parenthood is just a scaffolding, a temporary support during our children's construction of the actual building of their adult lives. But inwardly, I am beginning the uneasy process of squaring my heart with their growing up and leaving.

What I Miss Most about My Daughter's First Years

Wendy Fontaine | Posted 05.21.2012

Wendy Fontaine

Some days, I lay next to her in bed in our new apartment, wondering when the sorrow of divorce would stop. I wondered whether we would survive.

A Mother's Silence Gave Her Daughter A Voice

Jane Shure | Posted 05.21.2012

Jane Shure

As women, we know what it's like to be tired and we keep doing what needs to be done. What if we applied the same attitude to fear, seeing it as something we live with rather than something to paralyze us?

There Must be 50 Ways to Say I Love You

Devon Corneal | Posted 05.18.2012

Devon Corneal

She said that peace isn't a noun, it's a verb. Meaning, peace isn't a state of being, it's an action -- a choice that requires constant tending. Seems to me, love is an action too.

Help! My Daughter And I Are Always Fighting Over Our Differences

The Huffington Post | Susan Stiffelman | Posted 05.21.2012

Dear Susan, We are an older couple with only one child, after trying for many years to have a family. I love my daughter very much, but we are extr...

Can Being A Parent Make You Happier?

Todd Kashdan | Posted 05.17.2012

Todd Kashdan

Raven (5 years old): Dad, we love you, even if you yell at us. Even if you rip out our eyeballs, we still love you. Chloe (5 years old): Are you going to die soon?

Losing the Aging Game by a Hair

Tracy Beckerman | Posted 05.17.2012

Tracy Beckerman

If she had been an adult, I might have rolled my eyes cynically. But from a kid, it was the ultimate compliment.

A Daughter's Love

Liz Black | Posted 05.17.2012

Liz Black

I felt myself breaking down. I kept thinking back to the things I never did, that I would never be able to do with her. I began to mourn my Mother while she was still alive.