This has been adapted from the Phase Series by Reggie Joiner and Kristen Ivy Parenting is hard. Just when you think you understand your kid, everything changes. And then you have to get re-acquainted with them and figure out a new way to parent. It might be helpful to know that every kid at every phase is…
Leah Jennings I can count on one hand the amount of things I love more than I love Zumba. Zumba and me go way back: I started taking the fitness class at a point in my life when I was the most downtrodden I’d ever felt—I had been laid off from my first job after…
Jon Acuff How do you NOT embarrass your teen? You can’t. The end. Good article everyone. I’ll be here all week. Make sure to tip your waiters. It’s impossible, right? You’re going to embarrass your teenager on some level in some way. That’s just a fact of life. You take the good, you take the…
Diane Dokko Kim Autism. Diagnosis code 299.00 Our toddler could barely walk when his future ran out on him. The slippery slope from diagnosis to the dissolution of dreams is steep and cruel. Regardless how rare a child’s condition, the heart of every special-needs parent tumbles into a universal pit of despair, “He may never…
Crystal Chiang Helping your child transition from one phase to the next is never easy. You probably remember the first day of kindergarten, the first day of middle school, or the day they got their driver’s license. Chances are, at each phase, you found yourself the same, very important, question: Do they have everything they…
Chajay Wise Summertime is here—and that means more free time for the little people in my home. Between pools, playdates, camps, and finding the right time to just relax, summer can be another full time job. I don’t know about your kiddos, but mine are out of school for exactly 10 weeks which can seem…
Liz Hansen “Moooooom! I’m boooored!” I’d been bracing myself for this time-honored refrain for months as my almost-4-year-old’s naptime slowly transitioned to “quiet” time. I felt a deep stab of guilt. His toddler brother was sound asleep, and the nap block was sacrosanct for my work time. We had to solve this. “That’s a long…
Leah Jennings Confessions of an Introvert I am an introvert through and through. Although I love authentic relationships and conversations, people, no matter how much I love them, drain my energy. Do you know who else is a person (albeit little)? My three-year-old daughter, Arden. No one ever talked to me about what it would…
A few years ago, I volunteered in the children’s ministry at my church. Most of the time, the volunteers were busy serving the children. There were a few opportunities during the class for the volunteers to chit-chat. Working with the children was easy. The adult socializing was hard for me. “Your son is so bright,”…
In 2012, I found my daydreams of motherhood shattered, replaced with several diagnoses for both of my boys and a slew of endless appointments. Every few months, one of them would receive yet another diagnosis, which would send me into yet another cycle of grief. Each diagnosis also amplified my anxiety, sending me researching on…