Dear First Time Mom, Motherhood is hard. Really hard. Don't look at your friends with more children and think that they must have it so much harder than you do. Yes, they have different challenges than you do, but they also have experience on their sides. The first time you bring a baby home, you have no idea what you are doing. You may have taken a class to prepare. You probably read parenting magazines or blogs. Perhaps you experienced babysitting. All of that is helpful, but it is nothing compared to the experience of actually parenting your baby. After one of Grace's first doctor appointments, I asked the nurse, "So what do I do … [Read more...]

Three different things happened recently that gave me pause and made me ask, "Why are we doing this to our kids?' The first: I was in a cafe working when I overheard a boy around 7 years old saying that pink was his favorite color. A woman in her 30s discouraged him with a smile and asked, "What does your dad think about that?" Everyone at the table was smiling and it may have all been a joke, but the message was clear. Boys shouldn't like pink. If they do, surely their father will be disappointed.  The second: My family was at a children's museum when a 3 year old girl joined us at a table with coloring supplies. She grabbed a … [Read more...]