parenting

Ok, for the record, he's in kindergarten, and for his age, it did not suck. It was a masterpiece of little boy seriousness and hard work, actually. (Of course, I might be biased.)

As the mother of a 12-year-old boy, I knew this day would come. And it came sooner than I thought it would. My kid said, "I hate you" to me.

When your kid starts talking back or mouthing off, it pushes your buttons! Staying calm feels incredibly hard, even though you know — in theory — that a calm response is best for everyone involved (as well as your blood pressure).

It’s the 21st century and there are still dad stereotypes that are not only anti-feminist but also downright backwards thinking that need to stop. But you can’t stop something until you know what it is, so here is a list:

I've been doing this a long time. If you think I'm doing something wrong, well, keep it to yourself. We all walk a different path. Mine may look beaten, but I can assure you that my kid isn't calling Mrs. Smith a b*tch online. If he did, he'd be grounded, lose all his stuff, and apologize.

Instead of asking these questions, here's what you can do: Bring that new mommy a lasagna (or ask her what she has a craving for). Tell her the baby is beautiful. Tell her that she's doing a wonderful job. Ask her how she's doing, how she's feeling. Ask her what she needs.

How many times have you opened your mouth only to hear your parents instead? This happens to me all the time . . .

These days parenting has been the biggest subject in my life. I’m living it, breathing it and recently started going to therapy because of it. Since having my daughter, two-years-ago, I’ve been at odds with my own parents, who, I’ve come to realize parented me in a much different way than how I’m parenting my daughter.