advice
It takes a village to raise a family; advice and tips to make the most of yours.
Overcoming Childhood Abuse
Will you listen? Why I'm Writing This Article The phrase “overcoming childhood abuse” sounds glamorous, doesn’t it? It sounds like I’ve climbed some kind of really tough mountain and am now sitting pretty on top of it with a beautiful view. Wouldn’t you love it if that were the case? Wouldn’t you love it if I could give you a road map for your own recovery or else give you a ‘rags to riches’ tale of how one woman triumphed over a horrific past to become almost normal and perfectly socially acceptable?
By Sarah Jane7 years ago in Families
How To Save Money as New Parents
Babies are insanely expensive, and while every parent will tell you it's worth it, no one ever really drives home how expensive kids really are. According to a recent study, the average family will spend a minimum of $245,000 on raising a single child throughout the first 18 years of their lives.
By Ossiana Tepfenhart7 years ago in Families
Feeling Like Mom And Dad
You know how they say "it takes two to make a baby." Well, that part is most certainly true but what if that's the only part where the two actually work together? Then there's trouble. I've been with my fiance since we were 16 years old. We have two beautiful children and one on the way. Since I was pregnant with our son he has been there but not been there. Let me explain to you what I mean: when I was 3 months pregnant with our son he went to jail over something very stupid and had to do 8 months. So by the time he got out, our son was already 2 months old. He was so happy and excited. He took his role very seriously...for about a month.
By Kiwana London7 years ago in Families
5 Signs You're Ready to be a Parent
I am a believer that no one can really, truly ever be 100 percent ready to be a parent. Parenting is one of those things that no matter how prepared you are, it's still going to be the most life changing event of your entire life. It's a rather quick and dramatic change too.
By The 'A' Girl7 years ago in Families
Potty Training Tips for Beginners
One of the things that parents really detest doing is changing diapers — and who can blame them? Human feces isn't exactly the nicest part of having a baby. Thankfully, kids can actually get potty trained relatively quickly.
By Stephanie Gladwell7 years ago in Families
How I Learned to Love Myself Again
From a very young age up to my late twenties, I was bullied. I was bullied for the way I looked, dressed, my body, my weight, for having learning problems and for being 'too soft.' It went on for so long, that I started to hide behind a 'mask,' this means, I hid my authentic self and changed everything about myself just to fit in with the 'crowd.'
By Carol Townend7 years ago in Families
It's Okay
You ever just feel like you're being trapped inside a little box with one little hole in the center of it. There's no way to get out and that's the little pinch of freedom you ever get. Well, I've felt like that pretty much all my life. I was the sweet girl who always said yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Never stood up for myself. Let people talk to me any and every way possible and I sat there and took it. Every last bit of it. Recently that all changed.
By Sasha-Brianne McClain7 years ago in Families
Baby Talk
A few months back I watched Chrissy Teigen give an amazing speech about how it's not ok to ask someone when they are having children. They could be going through fertility treatments, they could be trying to adopt, or they could simply not ever intend on having children. Bottom line, we don't know someone else's struggle. It stirred a lot of emotion up in me, that I typically push to the back of my mind on most days. I identify so much with what she was saying it’s insane. Not having children by the age of thirty isn't an uncommon thing nowadays, but for some reason you still get the same old tired “your clock is ticking” or my favorite “those eggs won't cook for too much longer.” I get it, I do. It’s not that I don't want children, I do hope to have my own little bundle of joy someday. People, however, act as if they get offended that I don't have children or that I'm not actively trying. I'm honestly just not in the position I would like to be in before I bring a being that's totally dependant on me into this world. I got a late start on college, so at the age of 29, I'm still working on my degree. I want to be financially stable, not working paycheck to paycheck to barely make ends meet. I can't even begin to think about the world I would be bringing a child up in these days with being in a constant state of war, political turmoil, social injustice, bullying, and let's be frank here all the creeps running around nowadays. When people feel the need to discuss someone else's declining fertility, it tends to get a tad under my skin and here's why:
By Erica Tinnin7 years ago in Families
Stop Persecuting Us For Doing What Comes Naturally
So, here's an image for you. A young mom is sitting in a park, or a beach, or wherever you prefer. She's fully clothed. Held tightly against her chest is a beautiful, healthy baby, and its little round grapefruit-shaped head covers the woman from public view.
By Crystal Renner7 years ago in Families
Parent Shaming
Parent Shaming. Charlie, who is 6 and High Functioning, needs new shoes for school, and here you sit, in the middle of the shoe department. Charlie has been trying so hard to keep it together. He is on his 5th pair of superhero light up shoes. You know they are the right size, but to your son, they don’t feel right.
By Jenna Logan7 years ago in Families