It's a school morning and we're running late, as usual. I zip up the boys' coats as they wiggle into them and I huff and puff as the zipper buzzes up. Next up, grab the backpacks, break up two fights, wrestle with lunch boxes and throw open the front door. The children spill out, pushing around me to dart down our porch steps. "Don't go running around the yard, we need to get into the car!" I shout. They pretend that they can't hear me and off they run into the grass while I scowl and lock the front door. They're laughing and karate chopping and the cold morning air mixes with my …

I'm going to level with you here, my house is rarely spotless. More than likely, if you were to stop by my home unannounced, chances are that dirty dishes were quickly shoved into the oven and unfolded laundry tossed into the bathtub a mere moment before you knocked on the door. I find it almost comical that the roll of housekeeping has fallen on my shoulders because the discipline of keeping a tidy home is not in my nature. I'd much rather hide under a clean load of laundry while playing hide and seek with my children than actually take a moment to fold those clothes.  My house may not be …

  The other day my friend and I had a ridiculous conversation on the playground while trying to plan a play date for our children. Attempting to schedule a time to get them together proved to be a daunting task. "We have soccer practice after school on Tuesdays and soccer games scheduled on Thursdays. Oh, we have gymnastics, too, on Thursdays for my little one, and then we have an oral report due on Wednesday that he will be finishing up," I told my friend. "So it looks like we could only play on Monday or Friday." She scratched her head and reviewed her children's after school activities; "…

Imagine discovering that an over-worked teacher locked your crying child in a storage closet at school as punishment for not following the rules. Scenes like this are getting the Hollywood treatment in the 20th Century Fox film "Won't Back Down," to be released in theatres on September 28. The movie touches on parent trigger laws, a takeover movement that grants frustrated parents the right to petition for sweeping changes in low-performing schools. The law is designed so that if 51% of parents in a failing school agree, they will be given the power to replace teachers, change curriculum, …

Breastfeeding a newborn can be challenging. Add to the mix, a well-meaning nurse who pushes formula, and it can be enough to make a confused new mom give up breastfeeding all together.New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg believes moms need support and that having formula readily available at the hospital interferes with a woman's choice to breastfeed. So, he is inviting NYC hospitals to participate in the city wide initiative, Latch On NYC.According to a press release issued by the New York City Health Department, the program involves both a hospital commitment to limit infant formula …

As most families filed into a pew at church on Sunday mornings, my family slid tokens into video games at Chuck E. Cheese's. We had implemented a reward system where my sons earned tokens throughout the week for good behavior with the promise that we would go as a family to spend them when the weekend arrived. We always found ourselves taking them on Sunday mornings because we had the run of the place. My husband and I jokingly called it "Chuck E Cheese Chuch." The boys loved the family time and ran from game to game, collecting tickets and smiling from ear to ear. Despite the joy I felt …

  Being a 14-year-old girl can be awkward. Trust me, I was a pre-teen who flipped through the pages of Seventeen Magazine and felt strange in my own skin as I saw photo after photo of seemingly perfect models.I would imagine that it's even harder to be a teenager now in the digital age, when the majority of photographs in today's magazines are Photoshopped. Models are digitally enhanced to be skinnier, their lips made to be a deeper red, their teeth a piercing white, and their skin blemish free with the simple tap of a button. It's enough to make a young girl feel just plain ugly.Julia Bluhm…

  The debate over routine male circumcision intensified last week as a ground breaking case unfolded in a regional court in Cologne, Germany, that declared it illegal for parents to perform religious-based circumcision on their son. The ruling came from a November 2010 incident in which Muslim parents requested the circumcision of their four-year-old boy. Days after the procedure, he was admitted to an hospital emergency room due to hemorrhaging. Prosecutors were notified and the doctor was charged with grievous bodily harm but later was acquitted by the court since the circumcision was …

  You drive your child to camp, help him or her get settled and give a quick kiss on the cheek before waving goodbye. You made sure that they packed everything that they may need to survive the days and nights as they venture off into the world without you. Their reflection gets smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror as you drive away. It may sting a bit, but you know in your heart that attending camp will be good for their independence, so you drive away. After all the time you invest in making sure that your child is safe, how do you know that you can trust the adults in charge? It …

  I can remember the exhilaration of the air rushing through my hair from the open window of the bus as I rode to school. At the ripe age of 8, I was introduced to the choking game that sunny day by a boy in the seat next to me.It seemed so exciting. After a series of deep breaths, I placed my hands around my own neck, and made myself briefly pass out. When I came to only seconds later, my head felt fuzzy. A few other kids on the bus sitting near us tried it, too. Luckily, we all arrived at school that morning unscathed after playing such a risky game. Little did we know that we were actually…

  I'm running out of excuses and can no longer blame my voluptuous body on holding on to "baby weight" because my "baby" is actually 36 months old. It's high time for me to get my pre-baby body back. I don't think that walking from the couch to the refrigerator to fetch another Diet Dr. Pepper counts as a workout.I have to admit, there is little motivation for me to take care of myself when my day is filled with chasing after two rambunctious little boys. I had high hopes that keeping up with them would do the trick. But I noticed the other day that my jeans were getting tighter instead of …

  I'm going to be honest. As a stay at home mom, the thought of having both of my children at home with me all day this summer actually sounds terrifying. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids. But just thinking about all the hours that I'll have to fill with activities makes me want to crawl into bed and suck my thumb.So, I decided to compile a list of activities and daily routines that will ensure my sanity in the heat of summer. My goal is to not once hear a child say "Mom, I'm bored!" Plus, a little structure never hurt anybody.Get outside-The first order of the day will be to head outside …

  By now we've all seen the now famous Time Magazine cover that sent shock waves rippling through the media. A mom stands as her pre-school aged son perches on a chair and practically hangs from her naked breast. The words "Are You Mom Enough?"scream in bright red letters beside the breastfeeding pair. The actual article focused on attachment parenting, particularly extended breastfeeding. Attachment parenting, which was coined by Dr. William Sears, author of “The Baby Book”, encourages breast-feeding (sometimes extended to toddlerhood), co-sleeping and “baby wearing." Parents who practice …

  I love that women have so many choices when it comes to childbirth these days. We've come a long way even since the time that my mother gave birth to me in the 1970's. Today, women have some say over the direction that they want their child's birth to take.If a mother wishes to have a water birth at home with a midwife by her side, she has that option. Those who would rather be in a hospital and settle into a lovely epidural during labor have that option as well. With the trend of parents writing a birth plan, a woman can feel secure that her wishes will be acknowledged as her labor …

I have a confession to make. When I was 6 years old, I stole a handful of diapers from the grocery store for my dolls. I swiftly slipped them into my zipped up jacket and walked right out of the store without paying for them.The guilt was just too much. I confessed my mistake to my mother the moment our car pulled out of the parking lot toward home. She promptly turned the car around, marched me into the store, and forced me to return the diapers to the manager along with an apology. I was mortified but I learned my lesson.I should thank my lucky stars that my mother did not humiliate me in …

At first glance, a school playground may look like a fun place to play. The tire swing beckons and the monkey bars shine in the sunlight. Yet, to some children, it is a battleground. A place where a villain may lurk behind every tree and a hero to save them seems far away. Bullies have been around since the beginning of time, it seems, but statistics show that more and more children are victims than ever before. Some 77% of students are bullied mentally, verbally and physically. In a time when a child is bullied every seven minutes, it's crucial that parents talk to their children about the …

  I am the first to celebrate when my children reach a new milestone in their development. My hands clapped with pride when they rolled over for the first time. I showered them with praise as each of them took their first wobbly steps. I made up songs about happy carrots as I slipped their first bites of pureed veggies into their sweet little mouths. Gratitude fills my heart that they are happy and healthy children. Yet, I didn't anticipate that my heart would also ache so much as they grew up. It seems that just when I get comfortable with where they are in their development, they change and…

  What is the perfect age to potty train a child? These days, it seems  there's mounting pressure on parents for their children to be diaper free by the age of two. Many parents are even starting to train their children during infancy. Some circles insist that cloth diapers are better for training, while others swear by disposables. With so many conflicting methods, potty training can be a daunting task. Currently, we are potty training my almost three year old son. He has his own red potty and often sits proudly on his miniature throne. He loves to report to us that he used the "big boy" …

  Ariel and Deborah Levy of Portland, Oregon, underwent genetic screening for their unborn daughter four years ago. Legacy Health System told them the happy news that they would give birth to a healthy little girl. Turns out that they were mistaken, and their daughter was actually born with Down syndrome.The couple decided to file a “wrongful birth” lawsuit against Legacy Health System, claiming that if they had known that they were expecting a special-needs child, they would have terminated the pregnancy. They sued for $2.9 million, claiming the money would help to pay the estimated lifelong…

It seems as though I can't toss a croissant without hitting another article about Bringing Up Bebe, a book by Pamela Druckerman. The media has been swarming for weeks around her claim that French parents are superior to American parents.It all started with Druckerman's essay in the Wall Street Journal in which she shared her observations about why French children seem better behaved than American kids. According to her, you rarely see French children throwing temper tantrums, misbehaving at restaurants, or interrupting their parents in the middle of an adult conversation.So, the exasperated …