What Happened When I Said “No” To My Daughter
My daughters’ snuggles are my form of crack. On a biochemical level, my body sinks into a deeper calm when I hold them. And it
Category: Tweens
When Your Daughter Hits Below The Belt
It seemed like an ordinary night. There were no harbingers of doom — A murder of black crows on the telephone wires outside. A vanity
My Shiksa Daughters Want to be Jewish
We went to a Bar Mitzvah Saturday. You would have thought we’d asked our tween Shiksa daughters to shave their heads and flap their arms
The Drugs Talk With My 11-Year old
Middle school started on Tuesday. Would there be gang bangers? Mean girls? Nurse Ratched-style teachers? One-eyed drug dealers? Should I stop watching CNN? My daughter
My Tween Daughters And I Love “Camp Gyno”
If you’re the mother of daughters just ramping up for puberty this Camp Gyno video is a must. (this is NOT a sponsored post). It’s
My Kids Aren’t Me
I always think my kids will like the things I like. I was a water baby. I lived in the ocean as a kid visiting
My Kid Needs A Therapist
I have a child who is anxious about a big transition coming up. We’re moving to Nebraska where we’ll be installed in the Witness Protection
I Could’ve Been A Milk Carton Kid – Which is Why I Helicopter Parent
My friend Amy told me she lets her 10-year old walk around our Los Angeles neighborhood alone. I tried to keep myself from gasping aloud.
My Daughter’s 11-Year Old Friend Got Her Period
Right after the fifth grade culmination ceremony yesterday, Clare’s good friend Gabriella (a pseudonym) got her first period. Sweet Jesus. It felt to me like
Little Girl Movie Star Parties Freaked Me Out, Not Anymore
I’ve been Professor McGonegle. I’ve been Medusa. And now I’ve been Makeup-Artist-to-the-Stars, Gilda. I blame my myriad incarnations on my daughter Bridget, because she loves
Castrating an Unwitting Softball Commissioner
A child, who shall remain nameless — (So if you think you know which child she is, you don’t!) came home tonight from her first
You Read, Therefore I Am
I’m back! Wait .. whaddaya mean you didn’t know I was gone? Didn’t your world feel a little bit empty? Wasn’t it harder to laugh,
When Is It TMI For Kids?
Bridget came home the other day and said, “Mommy I love third grade.” What luck! Thought I. She must love her teacher, unlike me as
5 Things Not To Do In Front Of Your Daughters
Clare is 10, Bridget is 8. They still climb in bed with us in the morning. They still want to snuggle in front of the
Does It Really Matter Whose Kid Is Smarter?
My kids are smart. They have a genetic pre-disposition. I was smart. Their dad was smart. We had high GPAs. We had high SATs. We
Why I Stopped Trying To Make My Daughter Be Pretty
My 10-year-old daughter Clare only likes to wear clothes from the boy’s section. Preferably a boxy, shapeless t-shirt with pictures of Spiderman or any other
The Puberty Video’s at the End of the Year
Puberty is coming to my house. I have a fifth grader and the puberty video’s at the end of the year. But already things
There will be no child actors here!
A star has been born in our family. Yes, yes, I know Bridget is my child, therefore I’m partial. But this is not a subjective
I Both Want, And Don’t Want To Be A Working Mom
I need to get a job because we need the cash flow. My girls are 8 and 10 and I’ve had freelance writing jobs
What’s Tearing My Relationship With My Daughters Apart
It’s 2:45 on Friday. I arrive at their elementary school to pick my daughters up from 4th and 2nd grade. They approach, sluggishly, pinched faces,
I’m A Benign Racist, But I Don’t Want My Kids To Be
We’re going to send our daughters to the public middle school. Don’t hold me to it. In a fit of helicoptering white-flight panic we might
How to Throw a Greek Mythology Party For Kids!
First of all, don’t do it. Are you insane? But, if you must the very first thing you should do is to make the
Over The Edge, Death In Grand Canyon!
Over The Edge, Death In Grand Canyon is the title of the book I’m reading since Henry, the kids and I set off for the
Wordless Monday in Sedona, Arizona
We’re on spring break. There are no beer funnels. No calling parents from a Oaxacan jail. No tequila-induced tattoos of dancing Geishas on our
Softball Mom
“Wow, your daughter’s got quite an arm!” says a dad sitting next to me at Little League softball tryouts. “Oh I don’t know … I
