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Wellbeing

So My Kids Can Use the Big Knives, and Other Reasons to Get a Divorce

I had to learn that sometimes the best thing you can do for the people you love is break all the rules.

Inspiration A kid is sitting in a tent house with torche light on

Planning the Ultimate Winter Break? Check Out These Hotels with Cool Kids' Amenities

Many hotels around the country have amenities that appeal to younger travelers – including unique kids’ activities and experiences.

Learning baby with flowers on its head

Making the Case for the Middle Name

A carefully selected middle name can discharge an obligation, preserve history, and appease in-laws all at the same time.

Wellbeing Family is having food in dining hall

Here's Another Benefit to Eating Together as a Family

According to the results of this longitudinal study, maintaining a family mealtime is important for your child’s long term well-being.

Inspiration Mother and child playing in bedroom

Perfectly Aged

The other day, my daughter asked my husband, “What was the best age for you?”

Parenthood Kid playing in water

On Growth and Earthworms

From day one our children are measured. We know their heights, weights, and head circumferences, for that matter. At each check-up these measurements are again taken. With data in hand we can look ...

Inspiration Child is rearranging alphabet letters

How to Shop for Kids with Insufferable Hippie Parents

If you have hippie-ish parents in your life, and you're panicking about how to shop for their kids, you aren't alone.

Wellbeing Family members holding full of gifts

The Radical Act of Paring Down Holiday Consumption

Research suggests that financial stress is one of the worst carryovers into the new year, largely because financial stress is one that snowballs.

Learning Twin sisters

Does Being a Twin Impact Your Future Relationships?

Twins are born into the world with a cosmic connection to another person. What does that mean for everyone else that comes into their lives?

Parenthood A father feeding food to a kid

A Letter to All Parenting Experts Who Don’t Actually Have Any Kids

I used to be somewhat of a parenting expert. Then my first child arrived and forced me into an early retirement. Many will presume to know what it takes to be a parent before actually becoming one....

Parenthood A father is holding a kid while kid is watching through back side

Guilt: It’s Not Just for Moms

Attention Moms: the pressure to lean in, both at work and at home, isn’t just in our heads.

Parenthood Flower painting

Whether They Meet Them Or Not, Our Relatives Shape Our Kids

Even if the stories aren’t happy, love-conquers-all stories, they're important. These were real people’s stories – people we have ties with.

Parenthood A boy is standing with closing his mouth

The F Word: a Discussion on the Power of Language With My 9-Year-Old

The consequence for the use of this language will depend upon the context, the cultural norms, and, let’s face it, the potential for parental embarrassment.

Parenthood Boys doing riddle arragement

In the Middle

You could say we’re each experiencing a kind of “middle-age.” First there’s my son, Ryan. He’s nine. He’s in the middle years of his childhood, halfway to adulthood. He’s loving this time in his li...

I'm a Stay-At-Home-Mom With an Older Child, What's Next for Me?

This is a submission in our monthly contest. December’s theme is Growth. Growing up I always knew I was "going to be somebody and make something of myself." An obsessive overachiever, I was confide...

Parenthood Fire Alram

Five Workplace Strategies That Totally Work on Your Kids

Having spent years dealing with angry customers and clients, I've seen how some of the same tactics that put out fires in the workplace can help me at home.

Parenthood Crying Baby

I'm Going to Need You to Stop Screaming Now Please

Hi Baby! It's your Papa. How you doing? Not good? Yeah, I can tell. As for me, I’m… well, I’m frustrated. I have a simple request for you: Stop screaming.

Wellbeing Phone hanging

Yes, You Can Grieve the Living

Over the years my mother and I have fallen apart and come back together plenty, but this time was different. I could feel it.

Why the Grandparents Can Exercise Their Spoiling-Rights This Christmas

Grandparents love to spoil. It is as part of the job description – especially around the holidays.

Wellbeing Family journey with a kid sitting on top of shoulder

Can an Introvert Change Her Stripes?

The question of whether introverts can really become extroverts is up for debate. Famous psychologists have argued that personality is immutable.

Parenthood Parenthood happiness

Growing into Parenthood

This is a submission in our monthly contest. December’s theme is Growth. Change can be hard, especially for parents. A former neighbor (and at the time, soon-to-be mother of five) once explained th...

Parenthood A lady is watching mirror inside metro train

All Grown Up

This is a submission in our monthly contest. December’s theme is Growth. When daughter A was a little I used to read her a book titled "Leo the Late Bloomer" by Robert Kraus. In the book, there is ...

Wellbeing A girl is holding books by covering her face

The Problem with Teens No Longer Working Part-Time Jobs

The reluctance of teens holding part-time or summer jobs is now a national trend that has caused a fair amount of concern from experts in the marketplace.

Learning Cartoon zebra painting

7 Books to Help Kids Understand Life with Autism

It's estimated that one in every 68 children in the United States has experience with some form of autism. These books can help them relate.