A few months ago, my 5-year-old daughter, Elana, and her friend were playing dress-up. After they had dug up the fanciest gowns in the costume box, they decided to hold a wedding. Three minutes later, I heard the girls fighting and poked my head into the room to investigate.

"What's...

Todd David believes that "A strong public school system is the foundation of a healthy local economy and a vibrant democracy." When his eldest daughter enrolled in kindergarten, he was amazed at the great things happening in the neighborhood school, Alvarado Elementary. Only 15 years ago, the school's outlook was...

Last night, I packed her Hello Kitty lunchbox carefully -- cucumbers, cherries, yogurt, and a peanut butter sandwich, cut into bite-sized hearts and flowers, hoping the hearts would remind her that she is loved. Somehow, it didn't seem enough.

This morning I woke up with my alarm and tip-toed into...

To my dearly mistaken children:

Over the past five and a half years, you have developed a skewed vision of my job description. When I signed up for a lifetime career as "mommy," I wasn't prepared to add numerous new skills to my resume, skills such as expert nose-wiper and...

The modern parenting movement is demanding. Raising two young daughters in a highly progressive neighborhood in one of America's most liberal cities (San Francisco) has had its challenges. When the girls were babies, the playground moms had an unspoken, yet very evident competition. The winner was always the mom who...

Like all parents, I have many hopes and dreams for my girls. Since they were mere embryos in my uterus, I have imagined their futures overflowing with love and happiness. Of course, I want them to have rich, fulfilling lives, where goals are achieved and triumphs are celebrated. However, I...

At one in the morning my toddler screams from her room
"Mommy, I need you!" she wails with gloom.
With eyes half open and feet full of lead
I make my way down the hall to the side of her bed.
There she is sitting, with...

Heidi is one of those women who always knew she was going to be a mother. I first met her in elementary school when we were 8 years old. Back then she cared for her Cabbage Patch Kids as though they were made of skin, not cloth. During a high...

Unfortunately, these days it appears that every minute milestone warrants a mortar board. By the time a child graduates from college, she may have already sported a cap and gown at least five previous times!

In a few weeks my oldest daughter, and all of her little friends, will be...

"If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers." -Edgar W. Howe

Spring break (and winter and summer, and the average weekend for that matter) always gives me a new appreciation for teachers. Over the...

On May 10th I will attempt to conquer my tremendous fear of public speaking by telling an audience of over four hundred people about my struggle with depression; I will be participating in the Listen to Your Mother show in San Francisco. Before the curtain rises, you may...

I never really intended to be able to write "homemaker" above the occupation section of the joint tax forms I share with my husband, but "parenting blogger and budding freelance writer" doesn't quite fit in the designated space. Yet, this is the situation in which I now find myself. As...

For the past five years I have been attempting to stay carefully balanced in the center of a parental seesaw. On one seat rests my children's independence and creativity -- this side is strong and heartily managing its position. On the opposite side sits obedience and respect for authority, which...

I know what many of you are thinking: How does she raise two young daughters, maintain a career as a struggling freelance writer, and still find the time to throw her hair into a ponytail, jump into an old pair of faded yoga pants and feed her family nutritionally balanced...

Halfway through my second trimester with my first daughter, my husband and I went to dinner with a couple who deemed themselves seasoned parents of a 5-year-old. "There are two types of parenting," the husband informed us, "Attachment or detachment parenting. You must choose one."

Not knowing what either...

Every few months, my husband and I have the same argument: he likes a neat, clean, orderly house and children, I allow the girls unfettered access to a wide variety of art supplies. On any given day, my 4-year-old may arrive at preschool with her face covered in watercolor paints...

When my first daughter was a year and a half old I replied to an ad on Craigslist from a young woman, I'll call her Y, looking for work as a part-time caregiver. I was newly pregnant with my second daughter and in need of a few days a week...

I am a proud, social security card carrying member of Generation X. In high school, I dressed in the latest grunge fashion (plucked fresh from the bins at Goodwill), and drove my beat-up Honda Civic in the rain while listening to REM, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana. My fellow Gen X'ers...

I've started jogging, an activity I vowed never to participate in. However, due to my two young offspring, I find it to be just the right exercise to distract my mind from the chaos running amok in my home. It gives me time to think about my writing, listen to...

When my first daughter was six weeks old I introduced her to my teenage cousin, Alex. After appropriately oohing and aahing over her spit up and gas-induced smiles, Alex asked, "What activities are you going to sign Elana up for when she's two?" At that point I hadn't thought much...