Tag Archives: mom

Are Playdates Like Vegas?

I took my kids to see the Yogi Bear movie and was horrified when, instead of kid-appropriate previews, the theatre showed a Rihanna video for her whine/scream/song, Only Girl. I don’t know if any of you watch MTV anymore (not that they play videos anyway) but if you have seen this video, you can understand [...]
Posted in Clash of the parenting styles | Tagged | 2 Comments

Sainted for airplane kindness

“I get on the plane with my kids. People sitting next to me look at me in disgust and say, “Move”. A woman shared this after she witnessed me agree to give up my cozy aisle seat for a cramped middle seat so a single mom traveling alone with her three kids (all under five) [...]
Posted in Air Travel, On The Go | Tagged | 3 Comments

When Other Adults Tell Your Kids What to Do

    Do you teach your children to follow commands from all adults, even if they are rude or illogical?  I’ve noticed that some other parents are completely offended if they ask my child to do something and my child does not acquiesce.  I understand that in old school parenting (i.e. pre-stranger danger), children were taught [...]
Posted in On The Go, Strangers, Thanks for the unsolicited advice, Unsolicited Advice | Also tagged | 2 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 [...]
Posted in Different Parenting Styles, Values | Tagged | 3 Comments

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 [...]
Posted in Corrupting our Kids, Family Matters | Tagged | 5 Comments

Just Say NO

We have a friend who can’t say no.  Candy for breakfast?  Well, just this once.  One more T.V. program?  Sure.  Two more?  Oh, all right.  A new toy?  If you finish your dinner. Constantly saying “no” to our kids can be exhausting.   Most of us pick our battles and give in on occasion. The problem [...]
Posted in Blame Game, Conflict with Friends | Tagged | 3 Comments

Bad Mother:You let your child climb trees at the park

We were at the park today enjoying the sunshine and my 3 year old decided to climb a tree. Soon his 5 year old sister and their friends joined them and were laughing with glee. I stood close enough by to help if anyone needed it but let them have their fun. Two other children [...]
Posted in Comparison parenting, The Playground | Tagged | 5 Comments

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, [...]
Posted in Conflict with Friends, Judgement Days | Also tagged , | 3 Comments

Different values

  Most of the parents I meet value honesty and integrity and teach these same values to their children.  As a result, I am always somewhat taken aback other parents do not live up to what I consider to be basic moral standards. I recently had one such awkward experience selling a used car seat [...]
Posted in Different Parenting Styles, Values | Tagged | 2 Comments

Do you need to invite everyone to the birthday party?

  The preschool that my daughter attended for three years had a rule that if you invited any kids from the class, you need to invite the entire class.  So from age two on, her birthday parties accommodated 20+ kids.  Still, the policy seemed reasonable so I never thought to question it.  Until we switched [...]
Posted in Birthday party politics, Preschool | Tagged | 4 Comments