• Last updated 3/13/11 by Mothering Editorial

By Lindsey Rock Issue 120, September/October 2003 I was living in New York City, where I'd just completed a two-year theater studies program. A Canadian with an expiring student visa, I lived with my boyfriend, Jared, a US citizen who worked at one of Manhattan's countless Starbucks and played guitar in a band. Our plans were nonexistent beyond making it to the end of October, when our lease was up and the future would be ours. But the summer after graduation, when I was home in Edmonton, Alberta, on vacation, the stick turned blue-and I discovered, to my shock and... read more

• Last updated 11/28/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Katharine BealsWeb Exclusive One afternoon last spring Nancy walks into her studio and finds it ransacked. Portraits and still-lifes are smeared with cadmium red. Paint tubes are smashed, as are the Krispy Kreme donuts and homegrown squash that she brings to life on canvas. A lock left unlatched for five minutes; a studio laid bare to the visual and tactile cravings of her severely autistic son. Hours pass before Nancy has the heart to mop up. A few days later she milks this story for all its humor over tea in her kitchen, the setting for many long... read more

• Last updated 9/5/10 by Mothering Editorial

Dear Ellen, My sister in law lives in Michigan with her parents and is the mother of a three year old son. The father of the child and she were never married and he lives in California. He is mostly out of the picture except a couple times a year when he starts a campaign of wanting to see and know his son. It seems that he mainly does this in order to try and maintain a relationship with and control over my sister in law. He sends some money but is very unpredictable with money, communication and visits. I am hoping you can give us some direction on what boundaries we... read more

• Last updated 8/3/10 by mamajake

by Jake Aryeh Marcus Find Sustainable Mothering on Facebook and Jake on Twitter. According to a class action lawsuit filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) , a six year old boy was arrested and chained because he did not move when his teacher told him to move . No one was being hurt, no one was in danger, no crime was being committed. Little J.W. simply didn’t do as he was told. He didn’t follow directions. While this same behavior happens every day in elementary schools across the country, J.W. attends an elementary school in the Louisiana Recovery School... read more

• Last updated 8/2/10 by Jennifer Margulis

The Sketch of Mt Shasta James Made Before Getting Lost on Grizzly PeakTo celebrate my birthday this year, James, the baby, and I went for a 5-mile hike up Grizzly Peak at 7:00 a.m. while it was still cool outside. The older kids didn’t want to come so we left them at home. A better parent would have insisted they accompany us. A better wife would have noticed sooner—four and a half years ago—when her husband was gone for five hours. As we hiked up the trail my thoughts drifted back to when we first moved to Ashland… “Did you call Search and Rescue yet?” James banged... read more

• Last updated 11/22/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Patricia Donohue-Carey Issue 114 September/October 2002 The following list was compiled from various sources, including the AAP policy statement on SIDS risk and the AAP book Caring for Your Baby and Young Child, Birth to Age 5.1,2 While not officially endorsed by any one group, it represents a thorough range of currently recognized precautions aimed at maximizing infant safety in cribs and, for those parents who choose to bedshare, adult beds. Recommendations That Apply to Infant Sleep in Both Cribs and Adult Beds Use a firm mattress. A soft mattress can... read more

• Last updated 3/13/13 by mamazee

The 20-something dental hygienist, wearing dark purple scrubs, smiled at my children and me as she motioned for us to follow her to the examining room. “Okay,” she chirped at my 10-year-old daughter, “Mom will wait outside while we take a quick picture of your teeth.” I could feel my face stiffen. “We aren’t going to do X-rays this time,” I said, keeping my voice as casual as possible. “I mentioned that we didn’t want X-rays when I called for an appointment, and I also wrote it in on the consent form.” The young hygienist furrowed her brow.... read more

• Last updated 4/2/13 by AdinaL

As the years have passed and I moved out of infant, toddler and child mothering and into preteen, teen and adult mothering, I held in the back of my mind the thought of mother mothering. I am one of two girls and two boys born to my mother and father. I am the eldest. I knew the day would come when my parents would have health issues and would need help with their day-to-day living tasks. My father has had health issues for many years and my mother has been his caregiver day in and day out. She also mothered her own mother for several years as well as her... read more

• Last updated 4/2/13 by AdinaL

Good evening, friends. My children enjoyed a lovely summer day with neighbors and good friends. We have an urban, collective sort of farm going on and between three houses we have chickens, bunnies, fish, cats, hamsters, and a pig! And we live in West Los Angeles! So, the children were frolicking and running between the houses. They swam in the house with a pool, took a bath with six kids in a tub, face-painted, water-colored, rode bikes; a gorgeous offering of yumminess in my oh-so-humble opinion. Then it came time to leave the fun and accompany Mom (me) on some... read more

• Last updated 12/5/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner Issue 111, March/April 2002 Kathryn Spracklin was in her kitchen in Montreal , Quebec , making a snack for her son and listening to a radio interview with Evelyn Drescher, of Mothers Are Women (MAW). "As a new mom, I'd been feeling that I wasn't being true to my idea of what a feminist should do, which was to work at a paid job," Spracklin recalls. "Listening to that interview, I realized for the first time that maybe feminism wasn't just associated with making an income." This insight moved her to join MAW, a Canadian activist group that... read more