My daughter Lucy resembles me in many ways. She is tall for her age, as I always was. She has big, blue eyes, long limbs and a penchant for sweets. She loves to draw and ride bikes and swim. She loves me dearly, I know, and looks up to me, as any five-year-old does her mother, but it has become clear to me lately that she pines for another. THE OTHER MOTHER This other … [Read more...] about Is There a Pink Gene?
Children
2014 Caldecott Winners
The 2014 American Library Association (ALA) awards were announced this week. Best known of these awards are The Newberry Medal and The Caldecott Medal. The Newberry Award was the first children's book award in the world. The Newbery Medal is awarded annually for the most distinguished American children's book published the previous year. In 1921, Frederic G. Melcher … [Read more...] about 2014 Caldecott Winners
Helping Your Autistic Child
Many of the parents of autistic children that I have worked with over the years have expressed an urgency they feel in seeing their child develop within a certain time frame—trying to ‘beat the clock’ before they lose the ideal 'window of development.' This can result in an anxiety-filled experience in the background, or foreground, of their everyday life. Like a ticking … [Read more...] about Helping Your Autistic Child
Profile of a Mom of Courage
I am the African-American adoptive mom of two sons—one Caucasian and the other African American. I am trying to raise them equally in a world full of inequality. As a foster mother for years, I’ve watched many children come and go from my home. NATHANIEL Nathaniel, who is white, came to me when he was a little over a year old. I was living in Maine and it was assumed … [Read more...] about Profile of a Mom of Courage
Understanding the Four-Year-Old
I was on a parenting bulletin board recently and read a post by a mother who was worried that her 4 1/2 year old did not know enough. “What should a four-year-old know?” she asked. Most of the answers left me not only saddened but pretty soundly annoyed. One mom posted a laundry list of all of the things her son knew: counting to 100, planets, how to write his first and last … [Read more...] about Understanding the Four-Year-Old
My Daughter is My Son
Jey had been living as an out gay woman for ten years prior to her second “big announcement.” She came out to me as a lesbian in her sophomore year of high school. It was Mother’s Day and she said, “I want to take you out for breakfast. I thought we could talk.” Ninety-nine percent of me knew what this conversation was going to be about and I was kind of relieved that the issue … [Read more...] about My Daughter is My Son
Board Games for the Whole Family
I love board games, always have. We played cards and board games when I was growing up and the tradition has continued with my own family. When my children were teens, I made Sunday a mandatory family day and we would often play board games. Even now when they are all grown up, they come up on Sundays to eat and play board games and we especially love to play games during the … [Read more...] about Board Games for the Whole Family
Embrace the Teen Years
Twenty-five and a half hours of labor notwithstanding… when I gave birth to my first child sixteen years ago, I was in awe. No. Awe is an understatement. I could not stop looking at my son. I believe I kissed his toes, fingers, cheeks, nose, and his hair at least a million times. I was a neurotic mom to be sure. I didn’t allow anyone to kiss him other than his dad and me. I … [Read more...] about Embrace the Teen Years
Being Authentic with Kids
A few years ago, I was in an eye exam for my son Noah. The doctor wanted to get drops in Noah’s eyes and he was frustrated that Noah did not want to sit still. So he commanded me to hold Noah down while he put the drops in. Noah was crying wildly. I was taken off guard by the doc’s order, so I did it. I held Noah down forcibly, against his will, while the doctor put the drops … [Read more...] about Being Authentic with Kids
I Yell: I Roar at Him
I roar at him in the dog voice. It comes from deep within; from way down low in the belly as if coming from another being, another species even. Immediately I am sorry and I look down at his little face, innocent in so many ways but now in one less. I hold him and tell him I’m sorry and I want to somehow erase in our collective memories that bellowing voice. MY MOM I tell … [Read more...] about I Yell: I Roar at Him