Wearing green or drinking shamrock shakes, how do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? To celebrate Irish heritage this year, let’s take a look at the inspirational women who have shaped Ireland’s history. Here are five Irish women you should know this St. Patrick’s Day. Constance Markievicz (1868–1927) Constance Markievicz was a member of Sinn Féin, …
Gardening is the perfect family activity—if only every kid were interested. To start your family on your gardening adventure, here are five simple and fun ways for kids to help in the garden this spring. There are dozens of benefits to gardening: fresh food, self-sufficiency, and physical exercise, to name a few. However, even greater …
If there are any silver linings to the pandemic, one might be that we have increased our use of consent-based social behavior. Before, if we accepted a social invitation, we might have asked questions like, “What can I bring?” or “Does anyone have food allergies?” Now we ask questions like: “Would you be more comfortable …
Talking to Kids about Body Boundaries During the Holidays Read More »
When it comes to Generation-Z—young people born between 1997 and 2012—my number one piece of advice to start a conversation with Gen-zers is: If you want to know something, just ask them. In social situations—even one-on-one interactions—Gen-Zers can come off as aloof, rude, unsociable, awkward, introverted . . . (pop in whatever stereotype you want). But I have …
Summer break is over, and the days of slow, routine-less mornings are giving way to alarm clocks and school bells. While most parents feel at least a little relieved to get back to a regular schedule, the transition into a morning routine can be a major source of stress. I have three children in school …
The Morning Routine: Getting Your Family Out the Door Read More »
I had just criticized my fifteen-year-old son for staying on his video game longer than we had agreed. I could hear him laughing, talking, and interacting with a number of his friends from school as they played the game. They used the time to interact with each other. I simultaneously felt frustrated and confused as …
COVID Babies Grew Up! Remember somewhere around mid-March of 2020 someone flipped a switch? The museums we visited the day before were closed. Schools with the same friends and teachers as last week were shut. Office meetings were no longer around a staff table but on Zoom. Now after varying degrees of “stop and start”—and …
Play. To many, a simple, daily activity built into a child’s schedule where children are free to use their imaginations, set their own rules, and just be “kids.” But there is more to play than what meets the eye. Play is an essential part of a child’s overall development. As children develop, they pass through …
Stop any parent on the street and ask them what their number one goal is as a parent and I’ll betcha the answer is more or less the same regardless of how old their kids are or where they are on their parenting journey. At our core, most of us just want our kids to …
How to Support our LGBTQIA+ Youth in Today’s Challenging World Read More »
It was recently brought to my attention that there is such a thing as National Peanut Butter Cookie Day. And why wouldn’t there be? There are national days to celebrate just about everything under the sun. It only makes sense that there would be a special day for something as delightful as this cookie. Given …
