• Last updated 11/3/12 by Cynthia Mosher

I saw a mother smacking her 2 year old on the bottom when he ran near the road yesterday.  It made me wince then it made me sad.  Where is the sense in hurting a child to stop them hurting themselves?  There is always another way to keep them safe.  Although smacking has been proven to be an ineffective form of discipline, many of us still believe smacking, or spanking, is a necessary evil. Why, in our modern world full of human rights, is it deemed unacceptable to do to an adult, but not a child? A 200lb man can smack a small child as often as they like as long... read more

• Last updated 4/4/13 by mamazee

Honorée presented Laura with an impromptu gift this evening. “This is from me and Nathaniel.” She opened it. “It’s my mom!” Honoree said. Indeed it was. She and Nathaniel crafted a 3-D portrait of me out of construction paper, yarn, bottle caps, tape, and a toilet paper cylinder. It’s so becoming! I actually blushed. Of course you want to see it… Subscribe to the Mothering.com Blogs Feed This entry was posted on Friday, November 7th, 2008 at 8:55 pm and is filed under greener pastures, mama on the spot, stranger... read more

• Last updated 4/4/13 by mamazee

Exhaling… Election day has passed, and we can all chill out somewhat. I know that I’m doing so. Suddenly, my attention span has been restored. It no longer resembles a flea in size and tempo.  It’s the first election that my kids actually noticed…and I am happy that the guy they rooted for won. It will probably give them a good start in terms of an imprint of general optimism about politics and democracy.  The night before, Elizabeth (Mothering’s marketing director) and I got together with our kids and made PB & J sandwiches, cookies, and muffins... read more

• Last updated 3/31/13 by mamazee

Today, we’re going over to the kids’ school to help paint Honorée’s first grade classroom. Kudos to the organizers for buying zero-VOC paint. Especially given that it’s a kids’ classroom. My faves are Mythic and Yolo Colorhouse, but they probably got the local stuff, BioShield. I’m tempted to let the kids bring their bikes, since the campus is so sprawling and safe, but since there won’t be a dedicated sitter, I’m thinking that Nathaniel might just keep going. You know that theory that kids have an invisible tether to a parent that varies in length at... read more

• Last updated 3/31/13 by mamazee

Taller, I think. Both of them. Lovely and happy and squishable. They were in good spirits and I didn’t need to lie on the floor and sing falsetto. We ate mac-n-cheese, breakfast sausages, and fresh-made fruit smoothies for dinner (and why not?). That was after we went to Tar-jay to buy Honorée her birthday bike, compliments of my dad. She picked out a purple one with streamers and hand-brakes and a butterfly theme, right down to purple butterflies affixed to the wheels’ spokes. I bought her a tennis racket, and I got Nathaniel one too. That way, we can start... read more

• Last updated 3/31/13 by mamazee

Earlier this week I was sitting with four-year-old Liko watching teenagers play pick-up basketball in our neighborhood. This is a regular thing with us; Liko loves watching basketball. "Daddy," he asked thoughtfully, "why do only black kids play basketball?" My heart skipped a beat and my stomach clenched with anxiety. I looked around the court: In fact, there was one young red-headed white girl and one middle-aged white guy, which I pointed out to him, but otherwise, yes, all the other players were black kids. (For the record, I should note that I'm white... read more