The Pain of Parenting with Depression by author Jane Roper
My twin daughters were right in front of me. But it was as if I was looking at them from behind a dirty, doubled-paned window. They toddled around the guest bedroom of my aunt’s beachside home in...
View ArticleMaking Lemonade in Europe by Author of ‘The Expats’ Chris Pavone
Suddenly at age 40 I found myself living in Luxembourg, sitting on playground benches in the cold damp, watching my small children clamber up dangerous apparatuses, making small talk with vague...
View Article5 Tips for Your Child’s First Broadway Experience by a Westchester Mom
“Tomorrow! Tomorrow ! I love ya Tomorrow!” These lyrics have been belted out by my children and their 5-year-old friends for the past year or so. When I heard “Annie” was coming to Broadway, I knew it...
View ArticleBoy or Girl? How an Author Decides the Gender of Her Main Character
The title character of my new book, “Henry and the Incredibly Incorrigible, Inconveniently Intelligent Smart Human,” was supposed to be a girl. I held out against Harry Potter for years because it...
View ArticleEqual Parts You, Equal Parts Me, Equal Parts Jack by The Momma Files
I didn’t know what a real temper tantrum was until today. For most milestones in Jack’s life, I refer to the two moms in my life as a point of reference. I spoke early so why isn’t Jack talking yet?...
View Article‘Screens Hurt Their Creativity’: An NYC Dad Learns at 92Y Parenting Conference
I squirmed, I sweated, felt guilty and encouraged, I laughed and held back tears, had the weight of the world shove me to the ground, and then was given a hand that brought me back up. And all that...
View ArticleBirthday Notes to Her Little Boy by Nater Tot
Long Islander mom blogger Amber writes letters to her son Nate to mark the milestones in his life, from half-birthday reflections to a two-and-a-quarter years celebration, on her site Nater Tot. Each...
View ArticleBefriending the Tooth Fairy by Autor Malve von Hassell
“Letters from the Tooth Fairy” is the product of an entirely spontaneous and unplanned correspondence between my son and the tooth fairy. Due to various complicated reasons, my son had a limited...
View ArticleYou Can Take the Girl Out of Brooklyn by Secrets of a Momaholic
Growing Up in Brooklyn I was born and raised in Canarsie, a small neighborhood in Brooklyn. It was the kind of place where store owners greeted you by name, where if you did something wrong as a kid,...
View ArticleBooks & Bricks: A Journey With Tourette Syndrome by A Westchester Mom
My husband and I discovered our son’s love of words early on in our parenthood. He learned to talk early in his little life and by kindergarten, he was an articulate, attentive boy, who could always be...
View ArticleValue Your Children for Who They Are–Not Who You Need Them to Be
Marta Fuchs, a marriage and family therapist, librarian, and author shares the “essence” of parenting, which is to see and value your children for who they are, not as an extension of yourself or a way...
View ArticleTeaching Kids Social Skills in an Age of Technology by a Long Island Mom
In an age when we teach our children using smart boards in the classroom and much of their communication is through texting, it is clear that many of today’s children are lacking certain basic skills...
View ArticleSummer Camp Mishaps by a Long Island Dad and Author
I’m a teacher, author, and father, but when it comes to summer I’m all child! Long days at the beach and warm August nights when the bugs are at their loudest fill me with a pleasure that the rest of...
View ArticleThe Power of Fantasy for Young Readers by a YA Author
After reading “The Voyage of Lucy P. Simmons,” my historical fantasy novel for young readers, a teacher asked, “Where do you get your story ideas? How do you think up this stuff?” I paused. Truth is...
View ArticleHow One Long Island Mom Got Her Family Out of Debt
Before having children, I worked full time as an accountant. When I was pregnant with my first son, I had serious complications and was ordered on bed rest and was out of work for my entire pregnancy....
View ArticleOver the River and Through the Woods to Our House in the Suburbs We Go
I used to think becoming a mother was the scariest thing I could imagine. But when my son was born and my husband suggested we move to the suburbs, I found that idea much more frightening. Having lived...
View ArticleSteven’s Story: A Child on the Autism Spectrum
When I first met Steven, he was 3 years old, non-verbal, and had limited communicative interactions. It was difficult to engage Steven as his preference was for solitary play. His play was...
View ArticleWhat an NYC Mom & Registered Dietician Feeds Her Kids
Every once in a while, I’m reminded that I need to focus on my children’s feeding and eating patterns as intently as I focus on those of my clients. Don’t get me wrong, I prepare a variety of homemade...
View ArticleHow Becoming a New Mother Has Changed this Musician’s Approach to Kids’ Songs
I’m thrilled to be writing a piece under my recently acquired title of “new mother.” My daughter is now 3 months old, so I am still very, very new to the whole mommy thing. I am blown away every day by...
View ArticleFrom Reading with Babies to Reading with My Own Baby by a Brooklyn Librarian
I have been a children’s librarian for more than 15 years. I loved sharing books with rooms full of toddlers and with my nephew, young cousins, and the kids of friends, but it was not until I had my...
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