Author Archives: naomi panzer
Money Changes Everything
Since motherhood, Mary is finding it harder and harder to maintain her friendship with Cara. Mary can hardly believe she feels this way because she and Cara have been super close friends since college. Both are SAHMs, but Mary’s husband makes considerably less money than Cara’s. Whenever Mary and Cara hang out during the day [...]
Posted in Conflict with Friends, Envy Leave a comment
Outsourcing Toothbrushing
The Wall Street Journal’s blog The Juggle posted what I initially thought was going to be a silly article, “Outsourcing Toothbrushing and Other Parenting Tasks.” Of course parents who work outside of the house have to rely on nannies or daycare staff to oversee the care of their kids, and that includes hygiene. I get [...]
Posted in Judgment Days, On The Go 4 Comments
Tantrums of the World, Unite!
I was reading a Babble interview with Kristin Armstrong and laughed when she shared her strategy for handling her daughter’s meltdown at Target. During the full-on tantrum, complete with screaming and fist-pounding, Kristin realized everyone was looking at her and judging her, so she acted fast: she got on the floor, mimicked her daughter’s behavior [...]
Posted in On The Go, Public Tantrums Leave a comment
Mommy Meanest?
This morning the Today Show aired a great segment called “Mommy Meanest? The Dark Side of Mom Blogs” which shed light on the criticism and cattiness we talk about here at Mommy Manners. This segment discussed the judgmental zingers moms shoot at other moms online, like: “Those who don’t vaccinate deserve to have their children [...]
Posted in Mean Mommies, On The Go 3 Comments
Mrs. Who??
I guess I’m old-fashioned, but I can’t get over how casual parents are with their kids—and with their friends’ kids also. When I was little, my friends’ parents were always Mrs. Schwartz and Dr. Spector and Mr. Canto. Not Carole and Bob and Jerry. This was not a big deal; they were grownups just like [...]
Have Your Cake and (Not) Eat It, Too
Every February when we visit my snowbirding parents in Florida, we celebrate my daughter’s March birthday. It’s a win-win for everyone: my parents don’t feel guilty for missing her actual party, and my daughter gets to celebrate her birthday twice. So the birthday girl and my mother bake a lopsided, four-layer Duncan Hines tower and [...]
Is it ever ok to tell another mom that something is wrong with her parenting?
If your friend doesn’t ask, is it your place to tell her parenting or her child need improvement? Most of the stories we have heard on this topic, do not have happy endings. Take, for example, our friend Mindy who was devastated when her old friend Jessica gave her an earful about her son, [...]
In Her Shoes
I was at a children’s shoe store with my five-year-old daughter on very rainy, cold Saturday afternoon. Usually packed, the store was empty except for the two of us. Then a woman entered the store looking tightly wound, with her son dragging his feet behind her, who looked about six years old. I know we [...]
&#!*ing Curse Words