• Created on 10/3/12 by Mothering Editorial

Marybeth LambeWeb Exclusive JinJin Joseph Levy and MeiMei Julia Levy leap off the school bus every afternoon, laughing and talking loudly. Competing with each other for my attention, they tell me about their exciting day in kindergarten. They speak of friends, new songs learned, and their adored teacher, Miss Ferries. Their words spill out in a mixture of English and Mandarin Chinese, for these two children have only recently joined our family. My husband, Mark, and I adopted JinJin and MeiMei when they were five years... read more

• Created on 10/1/12 by Melanie Mayo

How perfect that October is Bullying Prevention Month and Attachment Parenting month — since healthy attachment is the first best anti-bullying program! Healthy attachment is the wellspring optimal brain development, especially the social brain circuitry that governs such anti-bullying capacities as self-regulation, empathy, trust, emotional and cognitive flexibility, and imagination. As I’ve written about in a prior post about the origins of empathy, my opinion (in agreement with many others) is that even the very best school-based anti-bullying or conflict... read more

• Created on 10/1/12 by Mothering Editorial

By Patty Wipfler Issue 115, November/December 2002 The man at my parenting talk is exasperated by his two-year-old son's behavior. "First, he wants a glass of milk," he tells me. "I pour the glass and hand it to him, and he gets upset and says he doesn't want it. So I say, 'Okay, then, I'll drink the milk.' I'm trying to show him I'm flexible. But he fusses and says, 'No, don't drink it, I want it!' I offer it to him again, and he swats it away! What in the world is going on?" He adds that these episodes are increasing. What could end this cycle of contradictory wants... read more

• Created on 9/30/12 by Melanie Mayo

Last month, we asked three members of the Mothering community to try out the STRIDER Bike, a balance bike made for children 18 months – 5 years. Balance bikes are a great alternative to traditional tricycles because they allow toddlers to build balance and coordination, which are the key skills for bicycling but are often overlooked as a child moves from walking to riding a tricycle or to a bike with training wheels. Balance bikes are smaller and more lightweight than tricycles or regular bikes, and they don’t have pedals, so toddlers can learn to balance... read more

• Created on 9/28/12 by Melanie Mayo

I’m going to try and keep this post short and to-the-point. A handy toolkit to ease the stress of mothering, regardless of the “brand” of mothering (working, stay-at-home, by fathers, by others, you name it). This is a summary of the gems that emerged from my appearance this week with Mallika Chopra and Sarah Ripard at the California Women’s Conference. The audience loved what we shared, so I wanted to share it with you! First, why do so many of us tend towards feeling overwhelmed with the stress of mothering these days? Since humans are by nature... read more

• Created on 9/27/12 by Melanie Mayo

By Deborah Jackson Issue 98, January/February 2000 My bed feels somewhat empty now. I lie scrunched up in one corner, like a kitten in an oversized basket, and I wonder how it came to this. My husband, Paul, is away again, working on the other side of the country, and my children are downstairs, asleep. There’s Frances, 12, sprawled easily across her loft bed (she’s going to need a bigger bed soon). Sharing her room is Alice, buried invisibly under the covers—she’s still small for her nine years. Then there’s Joseph, lying in his very own bedroom, his... read more

• Created on 9/27/12 by SavvyHomeschool

In this episode we share 2 new segments: “Books of the Week” and “Links of the Week”, as well as discuss homeschool bullying and teasing and ideas we have for dealing with it. Some links in this episode: Cursive First: An Introduction to Cursive Penmenship Secular Homeschool A to Z Home’s Cool Homeschool Groups     To see the full show notes, including a LOT MORE links to all the resources mentioned, please visit our website: The Savvy Homeschool Moms, episode 18. To subscribe to or download our show, check us out on iTunes, or our website. You can also now find us... read more

• Created on 9/24/12 by Melanie Mayo

  CC by 2.0 ricardo266 My name is Laura. I have a chronic library habit. Sure, I have other, less socially acceptable habits. We can talk about those another day. Right now I’m eager to turn other people into equally obsessed library fanatics. I’ve already been successful with my kids. The stacks of books my family brings home may be pushing up the state average. Now that my kids are older they are surprised most of their peers never bother with libraries, in person or online. And I’m surprised to see how many of my friends don’t... read more

• Created on 9/23/12 by Melanie Mayo

Stay-at-home parents won a victory over their own financial futures late last week when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) agreed to propose a new rule requiring credit card issuers to take household, rather than just individual, income into consideration on an application for credit. The proposed rule will remedy an issue that arose last year when the Federal Reserve stipulated that credit card agencies could only consider individual income on an application. The Credit Accountability, Responsibility & Disclosure Act (CARD), which was intended... read more

• Created on 9/21/12 by Melanie Mayo

I talk a lot in my lectures and coaching sessions about the child’s need for our calm, loving authority as parents. Let me clarify loud and clear that I mean authoritative parenting, not authoritarian parenting! In the authoritarian style of parenting, children’s unquestioning obedience is the goal — a short-sighted approach on every level, including optimally healthy development of the child’s social brain, which is the polestar of parenting for peace. Authoritative parenting takes a longer view and is marked by the parents’ decisive yet respectful... read more