Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
Parenting Problems
Walk into any public venue or walk down any public street and you will find any number of people who have an opinion on how you should parent your child. Read a magazine or go online and you will find a ton of people voicing their opinions on how to raise your child. Co-sleeping vs crib sleeping, breast feeding vs bottle feeding, time outs vs taking things away. As a parent these things can be helpful but also aggravating and very confusing. We all want to be the best parent we can be and we all want to do everything completely right by our children and it can be hard to figure out what the right thing to do is.
By Kimberly Essenburg7 years ago in Families
Through the Eyes of a Toddler
I’ve previously written a blog called “Through the Eyes of a Newborn.” Now I’ll do the same kind of thing, except for it being about the next phase of my life, which was my toddler years. I’ll begin with my second birthday as that is the age a child generally begins to get called a toddler.
By Rebecca Sharrock7 years ago in Families
Homecoming
When I was a kid and storms woke the family, Mom would come into my room with a lit candelabrum to watch the sky with me. It was only fitting that lightening would dance for her funeral. The heat storm scared away most of the family and friends, but me and a few others stood around the hole in the ground. My mother wasn’t Catholic, but was close friends with Father Welch, so he spoke today in full regalia. My grandmother, a proud Protestant, would have rolled in her grave, if she had one. Father Welch finished his prayer and the crowd dispersed. He came over to me and clapped his fat hand on my shoulder. His grim demeanor looked wrong on a face cut with laugh lines.
By Ashleigh Walker7 years ago in Families
Staying Together for the Kids
I write this story because I am a child from a household that stayed together for the children. Growing up, I can remember never liking my father. Before I get to telling you why, let me tell you the little bit of the history I know of my father's past.
By Audrey Woods7 years ago in Families
When Did It Change?
It was such a beautiful night two years ago, when I got an invite to meet a complete stranger. His name was Derek and his intelligence won me over and made me drive two hours just to see him face-to-face. The moment we met was such a cliche' movie feel; fireworks and fatal attraction. As he cooked us dinner, we just talked. Yes, something that simple stole my heart in complete absolution. He was the most profound human I had ever met. The room was filled with laughter and nervously sent seductive looks. I felt like I was 13 again. We had no idea what this one interaction really was, how huge it would alter our lives.
By Shaina Steele7 years ago in Families
Top Ten Ways to Shake Up Your Week as a Parent
I think all parents at some point hit a rut. Life becomes this endless rotation of to-do lists. We switch to auto-pilot and forget just how fun being a parent can be. I understand it is hard, believe me, I know what a midnight cry over ice cream feels like.
By Amy Jourdan7 years ago in Families
Hurt. Abused. Broken.
It all started when I was in the third grade. My dad had a better job offer in a small town in the middle of nowhere. He always worked late or just never came home. That’s when it all started. The long, dark, scary nights. I came home from my first day in third grade at my new school. I was already friends with everyone. That night, I was told by my father’s ex-wife that I was a bad girl and I didn’t deserve anything but the scraps from dinner. She had moved my room to the cold, dark, lonely basement. She tied the door shut with rope so that I couldn’t get out and the cellar door had bricks on it. She’d call me up after everyone finished their dinner (dad wasn’t home) and told me to clean up. I remember time passed and if I was hungry, I had to eat a cold can of peas. I was so skinny, the only way my body knew to protect me was to grow hair. I got sent to school with only an apple and a quarter for milk everyday. I went to school and begged my classmates for just a little bit of food.
By Tabitha Rzeszutko7 years ago in Families
Failing at Dance Mom
I never thought I would be a dance mom. Well, I never thought any of my children might be a dancer or good at dancing. My first daughter took ballet and tap and it was not a great fit. She is a fabulous strong swimmer now. I have two sons and neither of them wanted to try dance at all. My second daughter decided to dance as she loved tumbling. We had a friend who owned a dance studio in town and I actually used to watch her dogs when she had to go to competitions. She told me to get my daughter in one class to see if she liked it. So, we started with a hip hop class. Well, my daughter did like it.
By Erin Misenar7 years ago in Families
What My Mother Would Have Wanted?!
If you've ever seen the movie Raising Helen then you know there's a scene where when they go to buy a turtle and John Corbett's character is giving Kate Hudson's character a lecture on what her sister expected when she left her the kids. Kate's chatacter tells him bluntly not to talk about her sister, a sister he didn't even know. I understand this so much now it hurts. Every stranger I meet has decided they know what my mom would have wanted more than I do. I spent my entire life with her, we talked about everything. They think in my grief I no longer have any rational thought, but my grief has actually made me think more rationally than before. I've always seen the world differently, more clearely in a sense. I see more of the possibilities of what could happen, I see more of reality. I never saw the world through rose-colored glasses, never pretended it was better than it was. Perhaps that's why I've always hated it so much. Disliked people so much. I've seen so much of the bad. My mother and I asked each often where are these good people who are supposedly out there? We never found an answer, no matter how hard we tried. Never found the good people. We just had each other.
By Shannon Hummell7 years ago in Families