Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
It's Okay to Drop Toxic Family
"They're your family. You have to love your family." No, you don't. We give people the talk about dropping toxic friends or significant others, but what about family? What if your family does no good to you, or your health? What if your family is abusive?
By Nikolas Martin8 years ago in Families
One Day at a Time
Happy birthday! As you sit and watch your precious little baby start to stuff that sugary rich cake in his mouth, you can’t help but think back on the last three years and just take it all in. This is so exciting! Your child just became what some affectionately call a threenager. Congratulations!
By Terry Gill8 years ago in Families
How To Document Your Child's Milestones
They say that days move a lot faster when you’re raising a child. So naturally, as a parent, you want to be able to remember all the beautiful moments that you had with your little one while he or she was growing up. In the blink of an eye, your baby will be able to talk and walk so you have to make sure you remember some important milestones. Here are some tips on how to document your child’s milestones:
By Andrea Dawson8 years ago in Families
Chapter 2: A Somewhat Dad
Uncle Vaughn was handsome tall, funny, and loved me. My mother dated him before she decided to get married. In Trinidad we call men that are older than us uncles. She dated a few people but, he was the first person who sat down on the floor with me and colored with me. I could not have been older than four. And I remember every detail of that man. He was pure sunshine. My heart skipped when I saw him because I knew he would pick me up and spin me around. I knew he gave a s*** about me.
By Rebecca Law8 years ago in Families
An Introspective
About a year ago, in January, I was sat on a train destined for London’s Denmark Hill. There is a hospital there. It is not far from the station and hugely imposing, with corridors so expansive one could easily become lost (and I regularly would). It had been a wonderful Christmas; wonderful, blissful happiness accompanied by a wonderfully blissful sense of ignorance and, I suppose, a youthful hope. In truth, I did not even know that anything could (or indeed would) be wrong. I met my parents at the hospital and, later that day, after confused faces blurred into one tear-marred mirage, a doctor finally decided to admit my mother into the hospital indefinitely. Then, my dad and I drove home, stopping at a restaurant to eat. It was a Saturday night and it was busy and loud, with people simply being wonderfully and blissfully happy. It was an overwhelming typical Saturday night.
By Caragh Taylor8 years ago in Families
Parents Are Encouraging Children to Be Homosexuals with Their "Conservative" Teachings
I came from a Chinese family where it has always been a stigma to talk about emotional stresses, relationships, and LGBT. There was no personal touch between me and my parents. It was more of a dictatorship or none at all sort of bonding, and I? I consider myself open-minded and a liberal thinker.
By Jessica Chok8 years ago in Families
A Toy
I sit on a shelf and I watch. The little girl comes and goes frequently. She doesn’t play with me anymore. I am a frog and I rattle. I have seen many birthdays and many sad days, like the day she took me to the hospital to say goodbye to her grandma. Or the day she turned five. I’m all dusty now and I have moved homes. The little girl got taken away from her family 'cause her daddy hurt her. She was in the hospital a while one time. She slept a lot and hardly picked me up. She constantly brings little children into this room. They come and go. Never the same children. I don’t know why they don’t play with me anymore. The little girl is grown now. She has a big belly. She took me down off the shelf and washed me. I was put into a bed but it has bars. The girl has gone away for a couple days but she is home now. There is a small child in the bed with me. I am getting played with again. The little boy becomes one then two and then three. I watch as he grows older and older but he constantly plays with me. I don’t rattle anymore but he sleeps with me and I haven’t been put on a shelf in a long time. I got taken to a new place and it’s huge. He calls me lucky. He thinks I’m a good luck charm. A few years pass and soon we move again. I am set on a shelf in a little room. It has dragons and knights on the walls. And the bed with bars is in the corner. He takes me to a hospital with him. He is crying. I notice the girl is in the bed. She says he will see him soon and then there is that same weird noise. The same noise that was there when she said goodbye to her grandma. He turns to a girl who is standing next to him. She hugs him and places a hand on her belly. He says it’s time. He rushes her out the door and takes her to a different floor. I am in his pocket. Time flies by quickly and soon I’m introduced to another little child. He holds me and the child as doctors rush past. The kid grows up constantly in the hospital as his mother loses her hair and then her strength. The little boy holds me close as his dad kneels in front of him. He says mommy has to go to a far away place. The little boy is confused. But his mom tells him goodbye and she loves him and then she is gone. I am growing old my time is coming close. I watch the little boy turn five. I watch more years fly by. I have a hole in my side and I have lost all my stuffing. My time is close. I am put in a bag and then a metal box. I hear rumbling and then I feel wind. The bag is with a bunch of other bags. The bags get picked up by a metal claw thing. The bags are dropped in a chute and a weird clanking sound starts up. I see a bright light and then I feel heat. This is it. This is the end. I am close to thirty years old. Most toys don’t live past fifteen. I feel the heat get hotter. I am ready. I am gone.
By Lillibeth Rayanne8 years ago in Families
