• Last updated 10/22/12 by emilyfrischmann

By Katharina Sandizell   Have you ever told your child the same thing again and again, but haven’t been able to get him or her to stop hitting a sibling, shouting at you, or ignoring your requests?  Do you sometimes wish your child would listen or be more respectful?  Do you ever wonder if and when the tantrums will stop? Well, I think most parents face these and many more challenges with their kids.  Often parents can feel helpless and alone when it comes to handling and correcting their children’s behavior.  Many people may not... read more

• Last updated 10/11/12 by Mothering Editorial

By Terry BainIssue 132, September/October 2005 My son is asleep downstairs, in my bed. He's been sleeping in my bed every night for over two years. This is where he should sleep. This is where all my children will sleep. I can't imagine it any other way. But I haven't always felt this way. Twenty-six months ago, for instance, it hadn't occurred to me that my children would share sleep with me. I suppose I assumed they would spend a few weeks there as infants, but then you moved them into cribs, right? Isn't that what cribs are for? For sleeping children? My wife is... read more

• Last updated 10/11/12 by Mothering Editorial

The Question of Routine Swaddling By Gussie Fauntleroy Nov 09, 2011 Please see the Special Report: Swaddling Reconsidered for more information and resources on routine swaddling.  Remember the bumper sticker, “What Would Jesus Do?” Here’s a variation on that query: What would Jesus’ mommy do? We are told his mother wrapped her newborn in swaddling clothes. So if it’s good enough for baby Jesus…? Yet simply because a practice has been widespread in various cultures and time periods doesn’t mean it is best for babies. Likewise, even though routine swaddling may have... read more

• Last updated 10/11/12 by Mothering Editorial

Compassionate Connection: Nonviolent Communication with Children  By Inbal Kashtan Issue 110 January/February 2002 When our baby was a week old, his grandfather expressed concern that my partner and I were holding him too much. Since then, Grandpa has worried about cosleeping and extended nursing, and we have continued to talk together about the differences in our parenting philosophies. At one point Grandpa tried to harmonize our obviously different approaches: "Surely we all want the same thing," he said. "We want our children to grow up to become independent." We do... read more

• Last updated 10/18/12 by Melanie Mayo

Assetou Diallo, with a brother, her daughter Mariam and nephew Mohammed in Kati, Mali (Photo: Peter Biro/IRC) By Peter Biro Kati, Mali— A week after Mohammed was born, he was abandoned by his parents and left in the care of an aunt who was already struggling to raise nine children. “Milk is expensive and it is very hard to feed them all,” the aunt, Assetou Diallo, said as she sat in front of her home, a one-room shack next to a busy dirt road on the outskirts of the Malian capital of Bamako. This year has been particularly... read more

• Last updated 10/9/12 by Melanie Mayo

Enter to win one of three signed copies of Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi by Mothering blogger and natural dad Brian Leaf! Leaf’s tale unfolds like a trail of delicious bread crumbs leading to the heart of yoga practice. Whether you choose to scarf them down mindlessly or savor every morsel is up to you. But definitely take time to savor Leaf’s brilliant self-inquiry. — Yoga Journal From its first hilariously humiliating image to its closing words of grace, Brian Leaf’s memoir is an unfolding miracle. – Rebecca Pepper Sinkler, former editor of The New York Times... read more

• Last updated 10/2/12 by Laura Grace Weldon

Image from Ajari’s flickr photostream Parenting would be easier if my children wanted to learn about the same things that I happen to love. Long ago I had the naive assumption that they would naturally develop my passion for environmentalism, muckraking journalism, anthropology, applied ethics, messy art, alternative medicine, and satire.  I knew these passions weren’t genetic, my parents were into playing bridge and visiting historical sites.  But I figured my children would absorb my fascination by osmosis. Nope. More like reverse osmosis. They seem to feel that just... read more

• Last updated 10/22/12 by Melanie Mayo

By: Beth Berry Over the years, I have pinpointed a few behaviors that — though widely accepted and even promoted by popular culture — simply don’t serve me. Changing these behaviors is a process and one that requires both a willingness to take personal responsibility for our choices and a continuous countercultural commitment to creating our lives by a truer, though “less convenient” set of standards. However inconvenient, these subtle shifts sure have made for better living in my experience — that is, once I sorted through the... read more

• Last updated 10/7/12 by SavvyHomeschool

In this episode we catch up after a week off, chat about fun and games while homeschooling, and… Homeschooling with The Amazing Race! Learn about all the great ideas we’ve found on the web, and some we thought up ourselves, on how to turn the tv show “The Amazing Race” into geography and social studies lessons, and more! Some links in this episode: Red Cabbage pH Indicator Homeschool Realm Exchange Change Game Secular Homeschooling Magazine (currently in hiatus, but back issues are available!) Homeschooling the Amazing Race on Annie-Babble Homeschooling with the Amazing... read more

• Last updated 10/18/12 by Melanie Mayo

This is my first post for Mothering and I am excited to be among the ranks of so many thoughtful writers and parents! I have been working to help families slow things down for several years now and I look forward to sharing some of my ideas and inspirations here! As we are well into our first quarter of school here in Austin, TX, I thought I’d share a topic very near and dear to us right now: homework. For those with kids in school, this time of year can feel a lot like  jumping rope. There might be a few missteps at first but once you settle into the... read more