Families
Family relationships, in all their complicated glory. Families explores the intricacies of being parents, siblings, mentors, and friends.
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Stories
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Creators
- 12,517
Top Stories
Stories in Families that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.
Sunday Afternoon in Hyde Park
In 1975, my father took a Sunday stroll along the stone pathways of Hyde Park in London. A crisp fall day, Speaker’s Corner was in full swing. People shouted from soapboxes. Gathering crowds heckled back. Children ran through the open fields with pinwheels. The grass was so green that my father believed he had stepped into a picture from a traveling book. A young man in his early twenties fresh out of college and looking to make a name for himself as a singer/songwriter in London, the experience was so moving that he penned a song that changed the trajectory of his life. Forty some odd years later, I walk the same pathways to find the places my father sang about to understand how I am like him.
W. Tyler PatersonPublished 3 days ago in FamiliesOur Last Summer Together
The days of summer in the year of 2003 felt different in ways I can’t explain. The innocence and the love were pure in the purest way possible. It was also the second last summer that I had spent with my father when he was alive. I could trade a hundred summers to live that one summertime all over again or maybe just over and over again. I can’t really be someone who could speak of a million childhood memories with their fathers. I only own a few and even that with no entirety but only glimpses. From those couple of memories, I have a really sweet memory with my father. A memory that I will always cherish.
Mashal HaroonPublished 3 days ago in FamiliesSunburnt Sprinkles
We rode bikes down sloped lawns into flooded streets, hitting the water with the tenacity of kamikaze pilots. We waged wars with squirt guns in worlds that didn’t exist, with battle lines drawn in the sunburnt driveways of Merritt Island, Florida. My summers were bright, magical, and long, yawning wide through the eyes of a child.
Sean KernanPublished 3 days ago in FamiliesTree of Enlightenment
When a boy is growing up, there eventually comes a time when he realizes that his father is not infallible, that he needs to make his own decisions in life, that bad stuff can happen to good people, that actions have consequences, and that you have to live with the consequences of your own decisions. Most often, those realizations don’t all occur on the same day, at the same moment. Only rarely do they involve a running chain saw.
Donald J. BinglePublished 4 days ago in FamiliesThe developmental process of infant intelligence
When our daughter little Dawnxi was first born, she would occasionally grasp what we put in her hand, perhaps this was called "the grasping reflex" and was unconscious. She smiled, which we thought may also be unconscious. Little Dawnxi spent most of the first month of his life sleeping, except for breastfeeding, and at about 1 month of age, little Dawnxi began to smile, initially during light sleep and then, when older, during sleep. At 2 to 3 months of age, little Dawnxi responded quickly and in a coordinated manner to our voices. She would smile at us when we called out to her.
Dawnxisoul393Published 4 days ago in FamiliesThrough the Candyman’s Yellow Smile
“Just push it a little further,” my grandfather tells me, “Until the shift reaches the letter D.” “Ok,” I tell him, my little awkward fingers wrapped around the contours of the car’s automatic stick shift, its cracked and dried leather scratching and clawing the smooth grooves in my fingers.
What it was like growing up in the 80s
There are so many things that kids know nothing about, things I grew up on or people that grew up before the 90s. I think it was a fun time growing up. Things were not like they were today, and not as dangerous, at least where I live.
Kerrie G.DiazPublished 6 days ago in FamiliesUsing My Own "Pocahontas" Family Story to Search for Truth
As a child, I was fascinated by our family story of Native American heritage. One of my goals as a genealogist is to distinguish (to quote mixed-race author Darnella Davis) “who we are” from “who we think we are.” I was told we were descended from a woman who was part of the "Cornplanter" tribe in Pennsylvania. Although I am pale white, my late brother, Peter, had darker skin and higher cheekbones, and he turned olive-brown in the summer. We assumed that was due to the presumed Native DNA. No. I have done a DNA test and it shows 0.0% Indigenous North American DNA. My story is not unusual.
Andrew GaertnerPublished 6 days ago in Families
Collections
Themed story collections curated by the Vocal moderators.
Kids Say the Darndest Things
The unfiltered truths from the fruits of our loins. And the creepiest things they've ever said. Help?
Parenting Wars
Do or do not - there is no try. The ins and outs of one of the most difficult jobs on earth: parenting.
Nature vs. Nurture
What plays into our humanity? Nature vs. Nurture – how two factors affect one individual.
Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
Masonisms
Masonisms Some of the most brilliant people have Autism. This kid is not less than a genius. He's socially awkward and has trouble with social reciprocity. He does not understand vague or abstract concepts. He's 18 now and over the years I have kept up with the funniest things he's said. They have been dubbed "Masonisms". I hope you enjoy this (mostly) funny little bit of my life with Mason.
Angie WilsonPublished about 5 hours ago in FamiliesHis Lost Balloon
My mother told my father she was leaving the day before their third wedding anniversary. I was only three. I don't remember anything about it. I was napping, apparently; fast asleep in the cot beside their bed.
Luisa GilliesPublished about 6 hours ago in FamiliesA pregnant girl meets guy on Tinder who takes on her and her baby!
He accompanied her, helped and took care of the entire management and now they are raising the baby together. He decided to support her!
Georgenes MedeirosPublished about 7 hours ago in FamiliesCycle Breaker Magic
My father was five years old when he first came to America as a refugee during the Vietnam war. The trauma this man has overcome is astounding. Even though our family doesn’t have an enchanted house with magic doors or super powers, I wholeheartedly believe that he is a cycle breaker that is just built differently.
Rebeka NguyenPublished about 8 hours ago in FamiliesLessons From My Father
Born in Hungary in 1938, my father's arrival in the world came at a tumultuous time. Hitler had made his presence known, and a year later, the Nazi leader's march into Czechoslovakia set the world's great nations on a collision course against chaos and evil.
Arpad NagyPublished about 8 hours ago in FamiliesMy Dad wasn't always a Dad
My Dad was wild as an adolescent. Growing up, I heard many stories of my Dad in his younger days. I seemed to forget that my parents actually lived and had their own lives before me and my siblings were born, the mind of a child I guess.
Play Ball
When I was a kid, I thought the last words of the national anthem were "play ball!" This song belonged on the pitcher's mound. It was made to echo off the Green Monster. It sounded best under the lights.
Rachel CollinsPublished about 9 hours ago in FamiliesA Son of a billionaire looking for love
Robert lives with his father in their big mansion. Robert's father is a billionaire. Robert has managed one of his father's companies. Despite Robert being successful in his business. He can not keep a girlfriend. One of his ex-girlfriends cheated on him with his friends. All the girls came into his life because he have money. Robert gets tired and decided to move where nobody will recognize him.
stephanie cetoutePublished about 10 hours ago in Families
Creators We’re Loving
The creative faces behind your favorite stories.
Stephanie Rosas
6 published stories
Billie Whyte
3 published stories
writemindmatters
22 published stories
Victoria Rivera
38 published stories
Shelley Wenger
289 published stories
Rick Martinez
161 published stories
Jenna Bygall (she/her)
5 published stories
Mary Haynes
32 published stories
Ange Dim
86 published stories
PK Brannon
11 published stories
Andy McAleese
7 published stories
Regina Campbell
8 published stories