• Created on 4/19/10 by Jennifer Margulis

Leone and I just returned from Rock Valley College, where I was invited to be the keynote speaker for their annual Student Writing Awards Ceremony. I haven’t been on an airplane for six months. My last trip was to New Orleans when I was almost nine months pregnant. My conversations with fellow travelers, flight attendants, and airport personnel during that trip went like this: “When are you due?” “You don’t want to know.” “That soon?” “Sooner!” Even though I had just written a travel article advising pregnant women not to travel too close to the due date, I spent... read more

• Created on 4/16/10 by Mothering Editorial

Trying to run a business and family all at once? Light your Fire! Check out The Firestarter Sessions from Mothering blogger and creator of WhiteHotTruth.com! (a portion of the sale of these session through Mothering.com goes to support Mothering) for mamas who rock business from Danielle LaPorte on Vimeo. How's your cashflow and your mojo?Does your vision match your reality?Does your brand match your soul?THE FIRE STARTER SESSIONS is: an e-book meets video transmission of acumen and love. You: are likely sitting on an empire of content, product, services,... read more

• Created on 4/16/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Janet FackrellIssue 103, November/December 2000 We are as busy as most families are. We have four daughters, a business, , piano lessons, a paper route or two, a preschool co-op, a homeschooling group, a cycling hobby, a research project, housekeeping, breastfeeding, and a pet turtle to juggle. Some days we rush from one project and appointment to the next. The weeks blur as we try to accommodate every commitment and activity. And we know that some families have even more obligations to squeeze into their schedule than we have. Some nights I look in on our sleeping... read more

• Created on 4/15/10 by AdinaL

This coming Sunday the 18th, starting at 2 pm PST / 5 pm EST, I'll be hosting a Firedoglake Book Salon for Naomi Cahn and June Carbone and their new book, Red Families v. Blue Families: Legal Polarization and the Creation of Culture: Red Families v. Blue Families identifies a new family model geared for the post-industrial economy. Rooted in the urban middle class, the coasts and the "blue states" in the last three presidential elections, the Blue Family Paradigm emphasizes the importance of women's as well as men's workforce participation, egalitarian gender roles,... read more

• Created on 4/13/10 by Mothering Editorial

Hi Naomi, I had a question about playing with my daughter, who is twenty months old. I'm not always entirely sure how to play with her. We have some toys and she plays with them sometime, more often because I've said "Do you want to play with blocks? Do you want to color?" I try to pick interesting toys (basic puzzles, big blocks, we have a rocking horse) but they're not that interesting to me and I wonder if her lack of interest stems from my lack of interest? Right now, more than about anything else (besides nursing!) she prefers being outside and playing in water.... read more

• Created on 4/13/10 by Mothering Editorial

I write and edit when my daughter (5 yrs old) is asleep, because I tend to zone out when I'm really into a project or storyline. We do write and draw some short stories together, but I wait on bigger projects until she doesn't need or want my attention. Do you have any additional suggestions for this type of work at home? Did you work at home when your children were young? If so, what did you do? I enjoy reading your book and appreciate all the time you put into answering our questions. Sharing your thoughts with the world helps so many parents view things from an... read more

• Created on 4/12/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Kathleen Hirsch Issue 101 - July/August 2001 We are hunting frogs, and my five-year-old son has almost got the hang of it. A stealthy hand comes up behind his prey, the other forms a gentle cup in front. A few feet away from the edge of the pond, I sit watching. Now it happens. William has managed to coddle his pulsing green quarry of these long, languid days. Only--he hasn't the heart for capture. I watch as he lets the frog bound away, out from between his hands and into the cold, clear depths of water. When the Lord... read more

• Created on 4/12/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Michael Harburg My newly three-year-old son Sam, who has learned a few things in his day, one morning found himself alone in the house without those two big supervisor people, for the first time. Mama had to leave abruptly to go to work, and I, the father, really wanted to finish digging the garden in the back yard. Over the course of a few minutes I went in to listen at the back door a couple times, but he seemed to be doing OK. Then, the inevitable crash followed hard on by the urgent cry, "PAPA!" I ran in and found Sam in the middle of a back porch in a very... read more

• Created on 4/11/10 by mamazee

I still remember when one of my aunts, furious at her son’s defiant and impolite behavior, ran into the bathroom to grab a hairbrush so she could spank him with it. I was downstairs playing. I cowered behind the couch in the living room, trying to make myself as small as possible, trying to disappear. She went back upstairs with the hairbrush. I didn’t see her spank my cousin but I heard him shrieking. I’m not sure how old I was, maybe four? My parents did not hit me when I was a child and I felt confused and frightened by my aunt’s... read more

• Created on 4/10/10 by Mothering Editorial

Dear Naomi, thank you for your writings. I appreciate having someone like you to look to on my parenting journey. My question is about how to respond to compliments paid to my 14 month old daughter. We live in an apartment building in an urban center and frequently run into people who praise my daughter. "oh what beautiful eyes." "my goodness, she's so beautiful!" "what a lovely smile" and so on. Most of the compliments are about her appearance, though so are about her intelligence, friendliness etc. Making small talk with neighbors makes our urban enviroment feel more... read more