If parenthood had a motto, a good candidate would be, “it didn’t go as planned.” When our kids were born, we had every intention of sending them to the local public elementary school as soon as they were old enough for kindergarten. We had even bought a house that was within walking distance to each... Continue Reading →
Last week we were just returning from a lovely vacation near Lake Michigan. We stayed in a big wooden lodge in the Michigan woods with our extended family. We had five families totaling ten adults and fourteen kids. It was an amazing week. The kids were never bored. There was always someone to play with.... Continue Reading →
After I published this article about why we unschool our kids, I got quite a few requests for more detail. What does unschooling look like in practice? What do unschoolers do each day? The stock answer is that unschooling looks different for each family and different each day. Unschooling is more of an overarching philosophy than... Continue Reading →
When my kids were nearly 4 and 1.5, we lost our 9 year old dog to cancer. It came as a shock to all of us. After being our first baby for many years, he had taken a couple of demotions in life after our kids were born, but he was still an important family... Continue Reading →
Imagine that you are a tourist who has just arrived in a brand new country you have never visited before. In fact, before you arrived you had never heard of the place. You have never even read so much as a brochure about it. Upon arrival, you know absolutely nothing about the culture or social... Continue Reading →
Babies are physically exhausting to parent, but as they grow into toddlerhood and beyond, the physical exhaustion is slowly replaced by emotional exhaustion. For much of babyhood, needs and wants are identical, but over time needs and wants start to diverge, which means that parents need to start setting limits. We can’t let our kids... Continue Reading →
My daughter was just two and a half years old when we took her to the dentist for the first time. Our pediatrician had advised us we didn’t need to take her to the dentist until age three unless we suspected a problem. Well, one day I was horsing around with her and happened to... Continue Reading →
At ages 6 and 4, my kids have yet to outgrow the play dough phase. In fact, I'm not sure I've quite outgrown it myself. It's one of those things I can do with my kids that is enjoyable for all of us. Below is the recipe I've been using for a while. I start... Continue Reading →
Never-ending bedtime scenarios are no parent's favorite Being separated from your caregivers and protectors before you are old enough to fend for yourself is scary to most young children. For most of human existence, it would have been a dangerous thing. Our children are the descendants of prehistoric babies who did not get eaten by... Continue Reading →
Peaceful parenting is a movement that aims to raise kids who will become responsible, resilient, happy adults who do good in the world. It involves setting limits with empathy, trying to understand and address the root causes of problems rather than manipulating behavior through rewards and punishments, and generally being kind and non-punitive in our... Continue Reading →
At first glance, having a baby and going on a honeymoon may appear to have nothing in common. One is a fabulous vacation and the other is a decidedly unglamorous jumble of sleep deprivation, spit-up covered clothing, and never-ending laundry. But when it comes down to it, both mark a major transition in life that... Continue Reading →
A few years ago, our family took a two-year hiatus from watching TV, an experience I wrote about here. When we eventually re-introduced TV, we swung a little too far in the other direction, letting screen time take over more and more of our days and lives. Although I know several families for whom complete... Continue Reading →
Like just about any 1980s child, I grew up watching TV. And not just the occasional commercial-free documentary for its educational content. We’re talking Looney Toons, Nickelodeon shows with the apparent sole purpose of broadcasting green slime dumped on people’s heads, and the same Disney movies hundreds of times over. Most kids I grew up... Continue Reading →
Living in Central Texas, getting out to water is a necessity for surviving four or five months of heat. Fortunately, we have a variety of amazing swimming holes here in the Austin area. That also means there is a lot of pressure to learn to swim early. There are baby swim classes for kids as... Continue Reading →
Nothing says summer like snacking on watermelon, strawberries, and popsicles between dips into the water. Our fruit consumption really goes through the roof during the summer months, which I mostly love. The only part I don't love is that fruit isn't very filling, so it will leave kids (and adults) constantly in search of another... Continue Reading →
Last summer a colleague and I were chatting about life with kids. His baby was approaching a year old and he mentioned that his wife was starting to feel pressure to wean, despite not feeling ready. I assured him that my kids were nowhere near ready to wean at that age either. Then came an... Continue Reading →
It may seem like the last thing the world needs is another parenting style. There is attachment parenting and peaceful parenting; helicopter parenting and slow parenting; tiger parenting and elephant parenting; RIE parenting and the CTFD method. I’m going to sweep these aside for a moment and focus on an analogy: Raising kids is like... Continue Reading →
When someone first envisions homeschooling, the first thought is often a family replicating the school environment at home. Lessons start promptly at 8:30am, with children working studiously around the kitchen table until a break for lunch at noon. After the lunch break, lessons continue until 2:30pm. Then the homeschool day is over. But, for a... Continue Reading →
If you’ve been a homeschooling or unschooling parent for a while, you are probably already familiar with people commenting on and questioning your choices, or trying to single-handedly determine your child’s level of knowledge on the spot. Next time you find yourself in the line of fire, try one of these responses. WHAT ABOUT SOCIALIZATION?... Continue Reading →
“Mama, will you play on the train with me?” my daughter asked, lining up the dining chairs to form a line of seats. “Sure! Where’s my seat on the train?” I responded, thinking we were about to engage in some good, old-fashioned pretend play together. This is what childhood is supposed to be all about,... Continue Reading →
