Differences or Disabilities? The first thing you need to know about learning differences is they are truly often differences and not disabilities. The list of brilliant people who struggled with these so called learning disabilities is huge. Really, really, HUGE! Steve Jobs, Michael Phelps, Whoopi Goldberg, Steven Spielberg, Jammie Oliver, Charles Schwab, Richard…

Help with the challenges of early parenthood, part 4 A lack of family and community support is taken for granted in our culture. It is our normal. Parents figure it all out, and make it all work. And yet, it’s not the norm in many parts of the world where extensive networks of family and friends help to care…

When you have two parents working and multiple young kids, life is just crazy. You’re waking up early to get ready before the kids. You’ve got diapering, dressing, bottles, sunscreen, packing the daycare bag, more diapers, lovies, blankies, lunches, snacks, more bottles, and then clothing changes for everyone after the…

By Jessica Grose Awesome book. Deeply researched. Deeply personal and touching. Well written and to the point. Jessica Grose, the parenting editor and columnist from the New York Times, pulls no punches. I think it’s especially important for people to understand the history of American motherhood. If you don’t know…

In your first year of parenthood, you may find yourself in a continuous struggle to work out how to care for your children. I’m not talking about how to feed infants or how to potty-train. That’s a different topic. I’m talking about how to arrange adult care of young kids. …

Protecting Adult Relationships. Babies put a huge strain on relationships. With a second child the stress is logarithmically increased. Your life will be savagely altered by the needs and demands of parenting. At times, you will be exhausted and hurting. You may find yourself taking out your frustrations on your spouse. Their failings…

We like control in our culture, so anything that promises us that feeling is quickly embraced. Thus, the power of the “health and wellness” industry to win new believers to one new goal after another. Medical people are also vulnerable to wanting control, and so they too can sometimes be…

It is truly amazing how much righteousness and judgement complete strangers will feel free to fling at mothers. Fathers usually get a pass for all but the most obviously egregious behavior. They are expected to be barely involved, which means anything more is golden. Mothers, however, are expected to be…

Ah, yes. I do remember the fleet of crumby, gummy vehicles which packed my garage. Into which fine chassis would we pack our twins today? Would we take the front-back tandem or the side-by-side? Maybe we’d take two umbrella strollers or the knobby wheeled all terrain double? So many options…