Being a middle child can sometimes be a bummer
Sexuality and gender identity is a lot different with this generation notes Demetrius Cofield, a licensed clinical mental health counselor who works with Black Clinician Network,
The second you have a child, you are responsible for what that human goes on to do with his or her life. That does include if your kid grows up to be, well, a jerk. I’ve known a lot of narcissists in my time and, when I’ve seen how their parents interact with them, I’ve often had an ah-ha moment.
I just went on my family’s annual ski trip, which is the only time I really spend with my nephew. He is 18 years old and if you didn’t know that, you’d believe he was 13. Unfortunately, his parents ruined him. They never push him. They never challenge him. They never force any issue. They […]
I recently had the opportunity to spend an extended weekend with my family. It was my first family weekend since having a baby and my newfound mommy status definitely allowed me to see my aunts and cousins through new eyes. It wasn’t until we were all gathered for a celebratory graduation dinner that I stepped […]
Sometimes, your kid will throw a tantrum because a teacher or coach reprimanded them. Sometimes they’ll throw a tantrum, crying and screaming, because a friend picked some sort of fight with them. Don’t immediately assume everyone else is wrong and your kid is a victim, marching off to confront her “attacker.” Ask your kid what happened. Make her think through it and talk through it.
One of the toughest things you’ll have to do as a parent is officially kick your child out of the nest. Even if she no longer lives at home (which, by the way, might make her one of the rare independent millennials), she may still look to you for rent money, her phone plan, health […]
Don’t start asking your kid whether or not they’ve engaged in same-sex sex, what they’ve done, who they’ve been with etc. This is still as delicate of a subject as it would be with a straight kid. Tread lightly.
Teach kids to never act out of anger. Teach them at a young age to just take ten when they’re feeling angry. If you don’t teach them that young, then smashing their sibling’s Gingerbread house at age ten becomes punching a person at age 30 and going to jail for assault.
Child development charts have not been A) around or B) so thorough for very long. Now parents are obsessing over the fact that their child is technically one week behind on taking her first steps or saying her first word. Really, I’m sure all of our parents and grandparents would have varied greatly on these charts, and yet they all turned out fine.
“Juanita thinks you should stop breastfeeding the baby during the day and give her more bottles,” my mother said matter-of-factly. I moved the phone from one ear to the other as I looked down and noticed that I had successfully rocked my baby to sleep. “Wait, what? Why would I do that?” I asked, already […]
When you have friends and family over, tell them—in front of your child—all the great things your kid has done recently. He may be a ham for the attention, and aspire to do even more impressive things by the next time guests come over.