How Do You Tell Parents Their Kid Is a Brat?
What do you say when the kids you watch are often whiny, demanding or uncooperative? It can be a touchy...
Child care
What Do You Do When a Kid Throws a Tantrum in Public?
You’ve all experienced it: a child having a breakdown in the middle of a store. Kicking, screaming, crying. Ugg. But...
The First Day of School Jitters
This month across the country, thousands of parents are sending their kids off for their first day of school. It...
A Lazy Mom’s Guide to Potty Training (That Actually Works!)
Let’s be honest: potty training is one of the more unpleasant aspects of child-rearing. And all those unrealistic “potty bootcamp”...
When Silence Is Deadly: 5 Common Misconceptions Parents Have About Water Safety
Drowning looks nothing like it does in the movies. Trust me, I know. Back in 2002, my husband and I...
Why I Wish I’d Worked More When My Kids Were Little
It was 1999. My husband and I had just moved to Los Angeles with our six-month old son. I was...
Kitchen Science: The 5 Best Science Experiments for Kids That’ll Blow Their Minds!
I’d spent hours planning a fun weekend for my family, full of activities designed to delight — and ultimately exhaust....
Pause
My son and I had a long, tiring, stressful day at Children’s Hospital today. We end many of these appointments...
Six Tips for Grocery Shopping with the Kids
Grocery shopping with kids can be a real challenge! I remember when my kids were little – they would pull...
Is This 4th Grade Teacher Too Hot To Handle?
The internet is all buzz today over an elementary school teacher’s outfit choice. Like many young millennial women Patrice “Paris...
Here’s Your Daily Dose of Love and Feels: Videos of Kids Asking Stepparents to Adopt Them
Like any good Millennial, my usual morning routine goes like this: Wake up Check Facebook to see if anything awesome happened while...
This Just In: Google’s Report on 2016’s Back To School Trends
Think With Google, the internet company’s data driven digital marketing site, recently published their findings as to what the hottest...
10 Ways to Make Drop-off Less Painful — For Both of You!
Drop-off can have a lot of tears, no matter how old your child is — and how much they love...
9 Life Lessons I Learned When I Turned 40
I’ve had many wonderful birthdays, but turning 40 has been the best so far. I feel so right in my...
Zucchini Soup Creamy Goodness
Recently we have been obsessed with zucchini. We have been seeing a plethora of zucchini pile up at all the local...
1-Pot Southwest Pasta
When I saw this recipe on Amanda Fink’s blog, The Wholesome Dish, I knew instantly that I would have to try...
The Importance of Making Memories with Your Kids
No matter at what point in your life you try to take a trip down the memory lane, you’re hardly...
Bad caretaker!
It’s so very sad when caregivers steal and lie. Becarful who you hire.
Baltimore School Replaces Detention With Meditation. The Result? Zero Suspensions All Year
As you can tell from some of my previous posts, I’m a very big fan of stories that involve shaking...
Helpful Playgroup Tips
As we start to windup our information about playgroups, I thought that it would be helpful to give you a...
Memories of Peaches
Have you ever tried canning peached with your children? I purchased a bushel of peaches from our local farmers market...
My Teenager Lied To Me About Homework
I have a 14-year-old daughter, and I gotta say that we don’t always see eye to eye. In fact, last...
How Meditation Can Keep Cold and Flu Season at Bay
Yes, it’s that time of the year again. Not only do our school aged children descend upon us with pounds...
A Deputy Sheriff Threatened to Arrest Mom for (Legally) Breastfeeding in Public. What Do You Think?
Here’s yet ANOTHER story of a mom being shamed for breastfeeding in public. This time, though, it was a deputy...
Teaching Kids About Stranger Danger Without Scaring Them
This past week, I received two Amber Alerts on my phone. Scary! I know many child kidnappings are domestic in...
Why I Talk to My Kids About the 2016 Election
“Who are you voting for?” This was the question my six-year-old asked her friend over the summer. “I’m going to...
Gamification and Parenting
I recently came across the term gamification and realized that this is why I enjoy DietBet so much: it makes...
The Best — and Worst — States for Child Care, Ranked in Order
This week, Care.com introduced the Care Index, the first comprehensive data report on the current state of child care in...
How to Make My Amazing Green Blend
As a busy mom, I love posting simple healthy recipes that are sure to become family favorites and this one...
Parents, we can’t manufacture friendships, for us or our kids
There’s this saying that I love (and use often), and it goes like this. We’re only as happy as...
Cleaning Frustation
Cleaning fits, that’s what I call it when I am so frustrated and the only thing I can do to...
Mariel S.
Meet Mariel. She is a high school guidance counselor and part- time babysitter. Three years ago she joined Care.com in...
4 Ways to Have Helpful Conversations With Teachers When Problems Pop Up
On most days, your child bounds into the classroom with nary a backward glance, but lately she’s been having a...
Note to Hospitals: I Shouldn’t Have to Pay a Fee to Hold My Newborn
I mean, honestly. Does this even need to be said? Apparently, the answer is “Yes.” As you’ve probably seen and/or heard,...
To My Son: Why Going Back to Work Will Be the Best Thing for Us
Dear Son, I can’t sleep. I’ve been lying here in bed for the past two hours, staring at my alarm...
How My 20-Year-Old Babysitter Helped Me Deal With My Anxiety Disorder
I saw the black Toyota pull up in front of my house. Right on cue, my chest tightened and butterflies...
How to Protect Your Child: Parenting Insight From a Childhood Bully
In my childhood, I was a bully. I was an angry child that verbally took it out on anyone that...
The Two Bullying Facts That Caught Me Totally Off-Guard
As a journalist, I’ve written articles about bullying. I’ve informed parents about how to look for signs that their child...
Health Options When Your Kids Say Take Me To Taco Bell
My kids love tacos. In fact, they would eat tacos every day if I let them. It’s almost an obsession!...
The Truth About Work-Life Balance — From a Mom Who’s Tried It All
“Work-life balance”: the thing everyone wants, but no one knows how to get. What every lifestyle or work-related article/book/blog/vlog would...