Allison Cooper

I so firmly believe that everyone should have the freedom to truly be who they are, without limits, and it’s important to me to raise kids who are open and accepting of that, too. Here are five ways I’m raising a gender equal child.

I've noticed an evolution within myself over the past year: I’ve been avoiding leaving my house at all costs.

Yes, it’s a public place, but neither myself or any movie-going patron should have to worry that they might not be able to hear what’s being said on the big screen because a baby is crying. End of story.

Don’t you think that this “trend” looks like the person wearing it woke up and just couldn’t decide on what color to wear — so she wore them all? I mean, color blocking is a great trend, but not meant to be worn on the lips. I am a very assertive person, I know what I want in life, and it doesn’t include a multi-colored sections of my face. Pass.

... there is no joy in the season when mom is locking herself in the bathroom to pull her hair out — don’t let that be you!

Body-shaming exists, but we shouldn't accept it as just another sad and simple fact of life. Model Ashley Graham is on the front lines of this fight for body positivity.

While this final stage might take years to get to, you will finally come to a place where you realize that strong truly is the new sexy and you did something that took all the strength that you have inside you to bring your child into this world. This is not something to take lightly, this is heroic.

Finding yourself doing extra loads of laundry because your toddler’s favorite T-shirt is dirty and you know there will be the mother of all meltdowns tomorrow if it’s not clean?

I am still a very spiritual person, but don’t necessarily agree with a lot of the things I was taught growing up — or the way it was shoved down our throats. So when Branden came along, we decided not to baptize him, because I just didn’t believe our sweet baby was born in sin. My husband wasn’t religious, and this was the right choice for us.

I remember very vividly those first days of feeding my son solids.