Category Archives: Parents

Parenting is a very special job. Find great tips here on how to make your job easier – or at least take comfort in knowing that others are going through the same thing!

Cultural Lessons on the Cost of Child Rearing

Heeled sneakers are all the rage with hip moms in France right now. While I will happily pass on the Sneakletto craze; I’m not opposed to employing practical techniques parents in Paris and other parts of the world have mastered in order save cash while raising young children. Less is more:  Surveys show the average American household spends $200 per child for birthday parties and gifts.  That means forking over nearly $1,000 per year if you have three or four kids.  Compare that to most French parents who typically celebrate their children’s birthdays with a simple home-cooked meal.  In Japan, … Continue reading →

Fun Father’s Day Reads

Forget about the tacky tie, fluorescent golf balls, and the tennis racket-shaped bug zapper.  What Dad really wants this Father’s Day is some quality time with the TV remote, his trusty recliner and a plate of bacon. Of course, what Dad wants for the upcoming holiday and what his enthusiastic young offspring want for him may be vastly different.  Fortunately, the following Father’s Day reads may be the key to compromise.  Kids can cuddle up with Dad on his favorite chair and share quality time reading the delightful holiday-themed page turners… while Mom cooks a pile of pork products for a post-story time … Continue reading →

Avoid Swimming Pool Sickness

And I thought chasing after a wet, naked child in public was a problem… Imagine taking your kids to the city pool to cool off on the first day of summer vacation, then being forced to spend the next week nursing them back to health. A growing number of kids are getting sick from swimming in public pools.  The problem has become so widespread the Center for Disease Control recently issued a warning to parents about protecting their children from recreational water illnesses. Heath experts say even regularly maintained pools can contain contaminants like cryptosporidium.  If a person doesn’t shower … Continue reading →

Are You Too Critical?

How often do you start the day with a morning lecture? My 8-year-old daughter’s answer:  “Too many!” She’s probably right. If she asks for help locating her backpack, I spend five minutes “suggesting” that she hang it in the back hall where she can easily find it. If she complains about taking the same home lunch to school every day I “propose” that she expand her palate because there’s only so much I can do with strawberries, crackers and plain chicken. When she whines about not having enough time to eat a leisurely breakfast before school I “recommend” moving up … Continue reading →

The Importance of Listening

How could I possibly resist listening to this adorable angel? My daughter’s smile can light up a room, but her insanely long recaps of lunchroom drama between five girls, a shoe, a note and some other item that I have no earthly idea about, are far from illuminating. In fact, her convoluted conspectuses often make my ears burn, though the pain could actually be my brain frying, as I try to decipher what green socks and Eggplant Parmesan  have to do with how she fared on Friday’s spelling test. I try to make sense of it all, but I’m old. … Continue reading →

Never-Ending Advice

Remember when your kids were babies and everyone around you felt the need to give you parenting advice—even when you didn’t ask for it? Well, the unsolicited guidance doesn’t stop as your children get older. Case in point:  The other day my daughter and I were getting a bite to eat at a local family restaurant.  We frequent the eatery on a monthly basis because she loves the rotisserie chicken.  And by love I mean she’s so obsessed she will not order any other entrée.  Given her near religious devotion to the seasoned bird, I didn’t even bother to ask … Continue reading →

Waste Not

My mom spent years battling stage II breast cancer, three of my aunts died from the insidious disease, and I am long overdue for a mammogram. I keep ignoring my doctor’s suggestion to make an appointment and potentially save my own life, yet I refuse to eat unopened yogurt that’s been in my refrigerator even one day past its expiration date for fear of getting sick. How’s that for irony? And by irony I mean stupidity. My senseless thinking hurts my budget as much as it does my head.  What’s more, I take little solace in the fact that studies … Continue reading →

Let There Be Light

I can see it, smell it, and almost touch it. It’s the light at the end of the tunnel. And by tunnel I mean my daughter’s school year. In two weeks I will enjoy a treasured reprieve from the worst mom job ever—packing school lunches. I abhor the near daily ritual, which hurts my brain, as much as it does my wallet. I’ve endured this penitent practice for nearly three years and I still haven’t figured out what I can pack that my now 8-year-old won’t toss into the school’s 80-gallon garbage barrel. Aside from the torment of devising a … Continue reading →

The Great Changing Debate

I will be the first to admit that my child has relieved herself in some very unconventional places. Many of these incidents took place prior to her procuring a paralyzing fear of automatic-flushing toilets. In fact, much earlier.  As in diaper early. While I am quite thankful for the convenience afforded by disposable diapers, changing a soiled Pamper in public is not always easy. Accidents happen, emergencies need to be dealt with.  As a parent, you likely know this very well and take measures to cope accordingly. Unfortunately, you can’t always predict when uncomfortable situations may occur. Just ask the … Continue reading →

What I Wouldn’t Do If I Were Rich

Guess who didn’t win last week’s $590.5 million Powerball jackpot? That’s right. I also didn’t win the subsequent jackpot worth a mere $20 million despite there being a zillion fewer people buying tickets. Because why play when the prize is only 20 million? Clearly, I don’t subscribe to that line of thinking, but I highly encourage the rest of the world to do so, as I need all the help I can get to bolster my odds of winning. I’m a working parent, after all. A very not rich mom who will likely die without ever being able to afford … Continue reading →