Can we stop over-scheduling our children with back-to-back activities and unrealistic expectations that are completely age-inappropriate for what they can handle developmentally and then blaming it on how ‘this day and age’ is so hard for our poor kids? Wake up, parents. We’re the rule-makers. Recently, a mother I don’t know wrote a piece online…
filosophies+parenting
Family Easter: 10 ways to celebrate the day with kids.
Holler if you’ve got a crazy rabbit this time of year. At our house, Mr. Easter Bunny likes to make a mess of our yard with half-bitten carrots before he somehow breaks into our home in the wee hours of the morning and leaves a trail of candy from my daughters’ bedroom and through the…
Good Friday: A Kid-Friendly Explanation.
“What’s Good Friday, Mommy?” my 8 year old asked. Oh crap. As a mom with longtime faith — faith that grew stronger after I became a parent — I suddenly find myself dealing with what I’m calling “a great Good Friday dilemma.” Spoiler alert: I also happen to be a Sunday School teacher. Although my Pre-K…
For the teens dealing with college rejections.
A previous version of this piece was originally published in The Fresno Bee on April 6, 2019. Thanks to the recent and crazy college cheating scandal (and friends and family being on pins and needles about college acceptance/rejections happening this month), I’ve been flashing back twenty-plus years… Flashing back to the panic, the tears, the…
MOMO on YouTube & Moms Blaming Everyone Else.
Ok parents. I’m diving into this creepy ‘MOMO on YouTube’ thing that’s got all our panties in a tangle. Was it a hoax? Was it real? At this point it doesn’t matter… what is was though, was a wake up call. My fiery take featured on HLN’s On the Story: My quick & dirty: STOP…
For the love of kids, slow the screen-time!
A previous version of this piece was originally published in The Fresno Bee on February 2, 2019. Hi loving parents. Another study about screen-time is shouting at us, so why the hell aren’t we listening? For the love of family & health & kids & community — LISTEN. In the name of February and LOVE…….
I’m dreaming of a fake Christmas…
A version of the piece below was previously published in my monthly ‘FAB Mom’ family column in The Fresno Bee on December 1, 2018. Parenting through family Christmas traditions sometimes mean eating your words. Call me flocked. Since first becoming a mom I’ve taken deep pride in keeping traditions from my own childhood alive with my…
