We all do it: compare our kids to others. All kids develop differently, and the range of 'normal' is wide. Here's why you should stop comparing kids. I jinxed myself, again. I was just beginning to think my toddler's tantrums didn't seem as terrible as in the past. And of course, he threw an all-out, can't-catch-my-breath tantrum in what should've been a fun birthday party. We had to listen to him cry the whole ride home—through traffic, of course—before he calmed down. All the while, I couldn't help but remember how his cousin and birthday celebrant was laughing with family, sharing … [Read more...]
On Accepting Your Children for Who They Are
We say we love our kids no matter what, but accepting your children for who they are can turn out to be a struggle. Learn how to love your child unconditionally. When we were pregnant, we may have imagined what our kids would be like. Maybe we thought she'd be the little showman. The three-year-old who'd charm friends and family with her humor and wit. Or we thought she'd be the next child prodigy who could solve puzzles in record time. Or we looked forward to long hours of sweet slumber as we hold a calm baby in our arms. Instead, we got the opposite. The little showman we … [Read more...]
Moms, We’re All in This Together
We all have different parenting styles and family values. But before you judge, here are three compelling reasons moms are in this together. Be honest: At some point, you've thought about others with different parenting opinions from yours as strange. Uninformed, selfish, lazy, backward. This thought process applies to so many parenting debates over the recent years. The parents we see at Target at 9:30pm with their three-year-old, while yours has been sleeping for hours. Those who give their kids packaged food (Ugh... Lunchables). The mom sitting at the playground bench should stop … [Read more...]
(Old) The Benefits of Fostering Gratitude
Feeling grateful and counting your blessings are important. Learn about the benefits of fostering gratitude in children and how it can change your outlook on life. Life can be rough, and not even in a major catastrophic way. Some months I don't meet my goals, or money was extra tight, or I came down with the stomach flu. It's easy to mope and feel down, even comparing myself to others who seem to have it so easy. But then I remember to practice a great trick: gratitude. Benefits of fostering gratitude in children Because no doubt bad things have happened to me. And when they do, I … [Read more...]
Ask the Readers: Do You Feel like a Confident Mom?
Does this sound familiar: You have no idea what you're doing with this whole parenting business, you doubt yourself a lot, especially when you hear conflicting advice or admonitions from others around you, and you're starting to get scared your kids will fall short compared to their peers. Meanwhile, you see other moms who feel very confident with what they're doing. They don't doubt their decisions or second-guess actions. They know they're doing all right in the overall scheme of things. We all vary with how confident we feel as mothers, and sometimes this confidence ebbs and flows by … [Read more...]
How to Teach Gratitude to Children
Teach your kids to be grateful! Avoid spoiling your kids and instead get tips on teaching kids gratitude so they're thankful for what they have. Many of us will (thankfully) never face true hardship at its grittiest. The kind that leaves you walking miles or taking three buses just to buy your groceries. Health diagnoses that leave you weeks or months to live. And most of us don't worry about diseases we drink from our water. We don't live in a one-room makeshift home where owning a tin roof over yours is a sign of wealth. Still, sometimes we lack the empathy for these issues. We're … [Read more...]
Are Moms Boasting when They Share Natural Birth Stories?
My friend Danielle from Keeping Up with the Holsbys wrote a post about a mom who received backlash from other moms (surprise!). This mom, Kirra, belonged to a Moms Facebook group where she described her natural birth story—no medicines, everything according to her birth plan, her ideal delivery. Boasting? To the other members, yes—she was bragging too much. I'm probably the last person who should weigh in on this topic. Unlike many moms, I saw my birthing process as something that had to be done—a means to an end, if you will. Of course, I wanted to avoid unnecessary or conflicting … [Read more...]
How to Respond when People Criticize Your Parenting
It doesn't feel good to be the oddball parent among family and friends. Here's what you can do when someone criticizes your parenting methods. One glaring fact sets me apart from my family: I didn't let my kids eat sweets. They had no first-year birthday smash cakes or Christmas cookies. It took years before my eldest had his first taste of candy. I'm more lenient now with the twins, but not too much. Coming from a family where dinner can can include five desserts, this was sacrilege. And sometimes, I felt it. "Don't you feel bad for him though?" Someone might say as we're all eating … [Read more...]