• Last updated 12/8/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Christina Meade Cohen Lately I've been a kitchen poet seeing poems in potatoes and so forth. Needing to keep a pen on the stovetop to record snatches of thought. Ever-present toddler at my knees repeats with gusto the words I say aloud. We laugh at the more preposterous ones. Crowded in among shopping lists and everybody's schedules my favorite poems hang on the fridge competing for attention. Just as satisfying as a well-cooked meal my gourmet poems. read more

• Last updated 3/14/13 by mamazee

At 2:00 a.m. last night Etani, my 6-year-old son, opened the door to our room. “I peed in my bed,” he said. Bleary-eyed, I changed his sheets and tucked him in again. He went right back to sleep. I lay in bed thinking how short a time it is when our children are small. My oldest daughter’s feet have grown so much that soon we’ll wear the same shoe size. My second daughter now has a key to the garage and a $2/week allowance. Even Etani’s baby sister Leone, who’s only five months and two days old, looks like a sumo wrestler next to the newborn I... read more

• Last updated 10/17/11 by Mothering Editorial

By Kristy Lund Web Exclusive - January 16, 2009 My sons both adore my husband. I know they love me, and to the degree possible for one- and three-year-olds, appreciate the time and energy I give to them. But for the time being, Daddy is their hero, and I'm a nice standby while he goes to work outside the home, fighting the dragons of the world and returns home victorious, though tired. This daddy worship prompted me to plan a special bonding activity with my oldest son Lucas. Since the birth of his younger brother, he tended to hang out with Daddy while I was often... read more

• Last updated 11/18/11 by Mothering Editorial

By Allison Gilbert A Web Exclusive, December 4, 2006 There are a lot of jobs we moms have: making sure our kids succeed in school, ensuring they develop the social discipline to be a good friend, and ironically, scheduling unscheduled time into our hectic calendars so they can develop their creativity as well. For many mothers though, there is another albeit rarely discussed item on our priority list—keeping our own parents' memory alive for our children. My son Jake is six and my daughter Lexi is four. They will never get to know their maternal grandparents; my... read more

• Last updated 4/7/13 by AdinaL

  Happy customers buy kale at the Ashland Food Co-op “Did you hear about the embezzlement at the Co-op?” I asked James, who came back from taking care of his dad on Wednesday night. “I heard about it at the Buffalo Co-op,” James said. “When I was checking out. I said I’m a member of the Ashland Co-op and they said they were planning to review their safety measures because of what happened. What happened?” I wish I could answer that. The Ashland Food Co-op is one of the most popular stores in our town of some 20,000 people. It sells a... read more

• Last updated 4/2/10 by Mothering Editorial

My son was born three months premature. He thankfully has done well. We chose to co-sleep for his growth and to make sure he got all the feedings he needed, as well as catching up on one-on-one time. He has been slow to gain weight so we continued to co-sleep until now. He is currently 15 months (12 months corrected/developmental age). Three months ago he started where he won't sleep on his own for more than 45 minutes to an hour. So if I put him down for a nap, I have to cuddle and nurse him to sleep and then if I try to slip away for awhile, he wakes up. If I co-sleep... read more

• Last updated 3/31/10 by Mothering Editorial

Thank you for taking my question. I will try to be succinct...I was married for six years and had two boys and a girl with my husband. We married young and moved a lot to support my husband's career. When we moved back to NYC, our relationship, which had been struggling, fell apart, and do to financial issues we ended up in a homeless shelter. Needless to say, it was hard on the kids, especially the two who were already in school. My husband left us in the shelter about four months in, he found another woman to live with. I struggled to work and travel every day to get... read more

• Last updated 3/31/10 by Mothering Editorial

I have a nine-year-old daughter who gets very angry when things don't go her way. At meal times for example, she yells and insults the food if she doesn't want to eat it. I don't force her to eat, but I don't make a separate meal for her either. On occasion she opts to eat just fruit which she can get for herself. Her persistence in getting what she wants is not a bad quality, but I don't feel comfortable catering to her, or with her constant yelling. Do you have any suggestions?  Dear Parent, One of the best ways to prevent healthy demands and upsets is to fulfill... read more

• Last updated 4/1/10 by Mothering Editorial

I am gradually working on becoming a connected and attached parent, which is a big change and we are still getting there. I am finding that the more leeway I give and the more respect I try to show to his feelings my 7 year old seems to be behaving more and more selfishly and disrepectfully. Having said that, he is more caring towards his siblings, but more reluctant to do anything that he doesn't want to do. I expected that there would be a transition, but the "selfish" and "uncooperative" behaviour (my husband's judgement, not mine) is increasing the resistance... read more

• Last updated 3/30/10 by Mothering Editorial

Help! I have a really embarrassing situation with my 5 1/2 year old son. I don't want to admit it but my son picks his nose and will even eat it! This has been going on since he was 2 1/2 years old. My husband and I try to talk to him about how its not appropriate in public (yes he does it in PUBLIC!). We tell him to grab a tissue or go to the bathroom in privacy. He tells us he can't stop because his "brain" tells him to do it. His 3 year old sister even tells him to stop and says "That's disgusting". He also sucks two fingers and bites his nails to the point... read more