• Last updated 1/30/13 by Melanie Mayo

Thinking, feeling our way through motherhood.   By V.K. Harber   Hey, remember when you were growing up and you swore up and down that when you had children of your own you would never ever in a million years do that thing that your mother did? Yeah, me too. Yet, here I am, mother of my very own living breathing challenging toddler and I have, on more than one occasion, heard the very same words that used to issue forth from my mother’s mouth, pouring out over my own lips.   Sometimes, whatever comes out is the right thing for the circumstances. (Thanks,... read more

• Last updated 10/18/12 by Melanie Mayo

These photos were taken yesterday, a day that got up to 70F in October, a day that was bright, sunny, and unexpectedly beautiful. My daughter and I just returned from a trip to Ohio last week and my suitcase is still sitting unpacked in the middle of our kitchen floor, there’s laundry to be done, dinners to be planned, and a host of other chores on my long to-do list. But I simply couldn’t keep us indoors yesterday while this was going on outside. A mama’s gotta have priorities, right? We spent the morning biking around our house and... read more

• Last updated 3/22/11 by Jennifer Margulis

“Want to take a bath?” I suggested to the baby, who’s 16 months old now. She rushed into the bathroom shrugging out of one sleeve of her red shirt. “Psss! Psss!” The baby said a few minutes later, submerging a bowl to fill it with bath water. “Psss” is the noise the baby makes when she has a wet diaper or needs to go pee. But she sometimes cries wolf, signaling she needs to go but refusing to pause in her play long enough to use the potty. Plus, I was busy writing in our family journal. When I finally looked up, Leone was still saying, “psss,” almost singing the sound... read more

• Last updated 4/5/13 by Melanie Mayo

By Colleen Lowe Smith   Things are changing.   Cassidy is not yet two and a half yet and I knew this time would come.  It started the other afternoon when I woke her up from her nap.  I didn’t want her to stay up late, and it had already been two hours.   It could have been a growth spurt, needing that extra sleep, who knows.  I should have let her stay in bed.  Instead she roused in protest, wailing, and was inconsolable for the next 45 minutes.  She ran away from me, hiding under chairs and tables, delirious and crying, “Go away, Mommy!”     Go Away... read more

• Last updated 10/18/12 by capnsmak

Toddler Wearing By Caroline Jane Cole April 4, 2012 The author would like to dedicate this article to Jean Liedloff, who passed away in March 2011. "Her work profoundly affected the way I parent, and continues to teach me new ways of seeing each time I re-read her work." Dancing-in-arms It is the evening of our friend's wedding. We dance enthusiastically at the Ceilidh, a hundred bodies dressed in their finest, moving in tune to the music. Instinctively I swoop to avoid a flying arm, my free hand reassuringly touching the blonde mop nestled at my chest. As... read more

• Last updated 3/25/13 by Melanie Mayo

  Before I was even pregnant, years before really, I began to develop some beliefs about what parenting was going to be like. I felt strongly (and still do) about the value and importance of toys without lights and whistles and ones that don't do all of the playing for a child. I felt passionately certain that I would have the most amazing breast feeding experiences of anyone, ever. I believed that cloth diapers would rock my world and that my precious little son or daughter would never watch television and instead we would frolic happily through the yard;... read more

• Last updated 11/2/12 by Cynthia Mosher

For many mothers, these words bring a mixture of joy and dread.  Joy at the thought of a chance to sit down and rest, or possibly to do things they otherwise couldn’t do with little ones around.  At the same time, many mothers dread bedtime because everyone seems so irritable and fussy at bedtime, yet somehow resistant to the whole idea of going to bed.  For some families, bed time is a battleground. Every family does bed time differently, and indeed some families don’t have a bed time at all for their children.  We’re all different. At the... read more

• Last updated 2/23/13 by VKHarberRYT

A book recommendation.     By V.K. Harber     I am extremely grateful to a friend and fellow mother who recently gave me a copy of The Whole-Brain  Child by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D. As I ponder the last few weeks with my, ahem, spirited toddler, I cannot help but wish that I’d gotten my hands on this book sooner.   I do not tend to believe that any one parenting book or philosophy is a one-stop shop, as each child and each family circumstance is completely unique, but I do love having as many tools as possible for parenting... read more

• Last updated 1/21/13 by Marcy Axness

A coach helps by holding a vision of success when you, for whatever reason, cannot. A coach sees the powers inside you and guides their unfolding. In singing, soccer, life in general -- and in parenting.   A coach helps by seeing the desired result, knowing the steps for getting you there, and patiently reminding you of those steps. A coach helps as you take those steps, which may feel awkward or unnatural at first. A coach patiently encourages you along what can feel like an interminably long road, sometimes to what feels like an unreachable mountaintop, even... read more

• Last updated 1/15/13 by Cynthia Mosher

If you are spending prolonged time with your toddler, chances are you have to tend to some other obligations during your time together. Here are three tips for getting ANYTHING done with your toddler in the mix… a) Set your child up with a “work-station” to engage in the same activity that you are tending to: pen/paper, flour/measuring cup, rake/leaves, etc., depending on your project. b) Set your child up with a “play-station” near you with her own activities while you continue your task: a blanket with soft toys, a safe mirror, healthy snack,... read more