Parenting

Parenting

I've watched her type her applications, and it sparked a flashback to when I sat in the kitchen of my run-down college apartment and learned I was pregnant with her. I'll never forget the look of the brown linoleum floor illuminated under the harsh fluorescent light, its buzzing the only other sound competing with my sobs. My boyfriend held his head in his hands, the positive pregnancy tests fanned around him like the color sticks at a nail salon.

My older daughter got into a car accident while driving my younger daughter's car. The damage amounted to a few thousand dollars, and my older daughter did not want to pay for it. I offered to cover the expenses in hopes that it would settle the dust between them, but it didn't. My youngest feels that her sister should've at least offered to help cover the costs and accuses her sister of always being careless.

Most babies haven't developed a personal style yet, which makes them the perfect recipients for gifts that aren't for them at all. That 3-month-old won't find a crinkly newspaper toy funny, wood toys unique, or tiny Mary Janes squeal-worthy, but the parents sure will. And maybe that bunny bonnet is really for you, because who doesn't wanna see a baby with rabbit ears?

On this episode: Lucy Lopez, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Zak Rosen are doing a double listener question episode! First up, a parent is OVER their current television show rotation. The 'Rents give recommendations for shows in the eight-year-old to fifteen-year-old range that aren't overly preachy or totally mindless. Then, they sympathize with a parent dealing with a clingy sixteen-month-old who won't stop screaming and going full Hulk-mode every time a tiny thing goes wrong.

Most of us received minimal, awkward, or fear-based sex education. We had to learn in small, fragmented ways, like ripping open the sealed section of a Dolly magazine or attempting to find things out from our peers (who were honestly just as clueless as we were). Pleasure was rarely, if ever, discussed and our bodies were seen as problems we needed to fix or manage.

My son has gotten ahold of my credit card information and has been using it excessively and without my permission. He is 23 years old. He has a job and lives on his own. This feels like a violation to me, but my husband thinks I am overreacting and that my son probably thought it was OK. From what I've gathered, it seems like he has my information attached to his tap-to-pay, because he's used it for in-person purchases. This feels deliberate to me.

This is a tough time to be a kid in our society. Adults are behaving badly everywhere, from the nightly news to the holiday dinner table. Anger has become the go-to dialect of choice in politics and infiltrates our living rooms and our minds-including those little minds that are playing with their trucks under the coffee table during 60 Minutes. Righteous indignation is the new patriotism. Everyone is upset about something. And the kids are watching.

I always felt like there were two divergent paths for me to follow. One led to New York City, where I would live my best Carrie Bradshaw life, fiercely independent. The other led to a partner I really trusted, and a large family to structure my life around. Soon after I met my husband, Demario Davis, I realized I was moving along the second path.

I expected the empty nest to be a lonely and sad place. Instead, I learned that motherhood doesn't end; it evolves. When my youngest of four left for college, I cried for days. Someone said to me that they thought I would get used to it. That having four kids makes it easier in some strange way. It is not easier. The silence that came from the last kiddo leaving felt almost shocking.

You know that saying about how we should never judge someone because we have no idea what's going on in their lives? I honestly feel like that advice should be used every single time we interact with another mom. Not because we need to excuse them being rude or justify them being snappy at preschool pickup, but because we need to give every mom some grace, no matter the situation.

While waiting for a delayed flight to take off, the couple was determined to be able to sit together on the flight. Natalie and her daughter, River, were a couple of rows ahead of Nick. Both Nick and Natalie were in middle seats. Presumably, River was on Natalie's lap. Natalie explains that she asked the man in the window seat next to her to switch seats with Nick. He declined.

Birthdays are usually depicted as happy celebrations with loved ones gathered, a cake, gifts, laughter, and, if it's a child's birthday, games and balloons. Even when resources are low, as they are for many people these days, something-no matter how minimal-is often done. If you look on social media, you see all the photos of these eventsl, with everyone smiling and close.

On this episode: Lucy Lopez, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Zak Rosen take a listener question about how to be there for a fellow parent who is going through a hard time. The listener's friend's kid is acting out and causing lots of stress. They toss around ideas about ways friends have shown up for them, ideas for support without smothering, and more.

I say, 'The E.L.F.' And he says, 'Got it.' And then he sneaks out of the room and suddenly Emmy Nemi's in a new place,

While having them 12 months apart wasn't the plan, it's what it is. What I'm finding is that my boys aren't close. They love each other and are excited to see one another when they've been apart, but often when it comes to empathy for one another, they're a bit....lacking. They have to be coached to hug one another and say "sorry" for hurts or slights.

One of the biggest adjustments newly minted single parents must make following a separation or divorce is adjusting to holidays without their children present, or present for only part of the time. Whether the kids are babies, teens, or young adults, the result can be an unfamiliar silence that can take some getting used to. As a family law attorney and divorced single mom (of four adult children) who remarried a divorced single dad of two more than a decade ago, my husband and I have walked (and are still walking) this road, just like you may be this holiday.

"I see so many posts about how parents have to line up for the school pickup line 1-2 hours before school is even out due to the line just taking forever,"

We are still financially supporting her, including her health insurance

6. A Tushbaby Hip Seat Baby Carrier that'll give you tons of extra support for all of that hip carrying you'll find yourself doing. Along with evenly distributing baby's weight, it also has storage for diapers, wipes, keys, a wallet, and a phone, AND includes a bottle holder. Give your back a break and enjoy so many more baby snuggles.

"Everyone says it's different when it's your own kid. Everyone says the first time you hold your baby, you have an instant bond. Everyone says it's the most amazing and important thing a woman will ever do. None of that was true for me. I always knew from a young age that I didn't want children. My family is religious and strict, and pressured me into"

I am very happy to be the mom of one child and don't want another. My labor and recovery was very difficult. I struggled with postpartum depression, and the first four months of her life were basically hell for me. Things have improved. But, as much as I love my daughter, parenting is still quite challenging, stressful, and boring for me.

"Have fun, we'll be home by 11. Help yourself to anything in the fridge," I said to the babysitter as I sauntered out the door for a rare, long-awaited date night. An hour later, I clinked glasses with my husband and sipped Prosecco before the Philharmonic. I'd left my 16-month-old baby with another woman for the first time and was overcome with emotion. "Are you OK?" My husband asked. "No -" I started, as I ate a French fry soaked in ketchup. "I'm...great!"

My father was, in every sense, a gentle giant. He never raised his voice and never came home empty-handed. From the farm, he brought mangoes, sugar cane, guava, mandarins, and more. These were gifts from his labor carried in the same worn bag and offered with quiet joy. There was also a family ritual that revealed his character. No matter how small the portion, he always cut a piece of meat from his own plate and gave it to the youngest child.

Maybe 10 years ago, I bought permanent Advent calendars for the kids: Scandi-looking Christmas houses with 24 tiny drawers, from Sainsbury's. I think my original plan was that some of the draws could contain something other than chocolate, not because I'm the kind of almond mum who won't let anyone eat sweets before breakfast, but because their dad and I are separated and have them half the time each,

When do you break the news to your kids that Santa isn't real? Do you let them realize on their own? Leave it up to other kids to fill them in? How do you approach the topic? Some parents don't do "Santa" at all, while some do but then sit their kids down to break the bad news (which seems like overkill). At some point, kids do need to learn the truth about Santa (unless you're Buddy the Elf), but how do you do it?

That college is not always the 'path.' Some people don't need to go to college immediately after high school. Sometimes a gap year is not enough. I have met lots of people from the various jobs I had who tried to go to college and found out it wasn't for them. Our generation is told to go to college or university or else it's the end of the world for us. There are so many paths you can take after high school like being in an apprenticeship, taking a basic full-time job, and so on.

Every family gathering began the same way when I was a kid. I would open my grandparents' front door, and the smell of tamales, turkey, rice, and the best of our Mexican-American world would welcome me at the doorstep. I loved the laughs, food, and family, but before I could settle in, I had to brace myself for the greeting ritual.

Our 18-year-old daughter has been a Taylor Swift fan since she was a toddler. We didn't really have a problem with it as it was harmless music and seemed to be a little empowering. But now with Swift's sexy new look, she wants to emulate that. I am getting constant demands now for clothes which are, let's face it, lingerie. I know I can disagree to the demands but, with the internet and everything, there isn't really much I can do.