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Category: Family + Parenting

The Importance of Creating a “Print-Rich” Environment for Our Children

I admire, and in many ways aspire to be like, Marie Kondo, but one thing we fundamentally disagree about is the utility of keeping as many books as we want on the bookshelf!  Of course I give away books I didn’t love or know I won’t read again, lend to a friend, or keep for my kids to read, but in general, I love having books all…

Family Meetings the Kiddos Will Love

I don’t know about you, but before I had children, I always thought of “The Family Meeting” as a serious, maybe even somber event, in which there were discussions of major life issues or concerns.  I myself didn’t grow up with formal family meetings, so my image of them must have come from some of the 90s classics like Full House (as an aside, finding out that…

Three Family Fun Activities For The At-Home Covid-19 Summer

We’re all probably in a similar boat—at home, and trying to find fun things to do with our kiddos this summer.  There are so many ideas out there, and I’m so grateful for all of the sharing on social media of the myriad ways we can have fun and make this experience a positive one for our littles.  As parents, we have so much to…

The Importance of Apologizing to our Children

If you’re like me, at the end of each day, you take inventory of how many times you made a parenting mistake.  I shouldn’t have lost my patience.  I shouldn’t have given that look.  I should have been more encouraging.  I should have listened more closely.  The shouldn’ts and should haves really add up, and if you let them, they weigh…

Two Ways to Revamp Allowance and Chores to Reduce Entitlement

Most of us probably grew up associating allowance with chores and vice versa, right? Complete your weekly list of to-dos and get rewarded.  But when you step back to look at that model, does it really make sense?  Does it represent real life, and does it teach our kids the right lessons?  This is an issue I completely reconsidered because of Positive Parenting Solutions (by founder…

Four Books Championing Women That All Young Boys Should Read

I used to think I wasn’t a feminist.  I guess I associated it with extremism or radical ideas.  But when I realized that feminism is just the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of men and women, I pinned on my feminist badge proudly. As a feminist mom, one of my primary goals in raising my son is to abolish unhealthy, stereotypical…