parents
The boundless love a parent has for their child is matched only by their capacity to embarrass them.
Do I Even Have the Right Not to Love My Mother?
Trigger warning: child abuse, self-harm, psychological trauma, surveillance I want to share the story of my friend Emma. Her mother, Anya, made her childhood feel nothing like other kids’ stories. While Emma’s friends talked about bedtime stories and gentle goodnights, Emma was simply told, “Go to sleep!” — the lights were turned off, and the door slammed shut. The silence that followed was heavy, almost like waiting for something bad to happen.
By Nikol Danilova8 months ago in Families
Growing Up Without a Dad
Growing up without a dad leaves a space you notice even before you can name it. It is not always about what is missing materially. It is about guidance, reassurance, and the quiet sense that someone is always there to support you. Children notice absence even when adults try to soften it or explain it away. They notice empty chairs at birthdays, missed celebrations, and unanswered questions about who they are and where they belong.
By Eunice Kamau8 months ago in Families
Do I Even Have the Right Not to Love My Mother?
Trigger warning: child abuse, self-harm, psychological trauma, surveillance I want to share the story of my friend Emma. Her mother, Anya, made her childhood feel nothing like other kids’ stories. While Emma’s friends talked about bedtime stories and gentle goodnights, Emma was simply told, “Go to sleep!” — the lights were turned off, and the door slammed shut. The silence that followed was heavy, almost like waiting for something bad to happen.
By Nikol Danilova8 months ago in Families
How to Know When a Person with Dementia Is Nearing the End of Their Life
Watching someone you love slip away through dementia is heartbreaking. It's that slow fade where their spark dims, and suddenly you're wondering if the end is close. One of the toughest parts is spotting the signs death is near dementia – those quiet signals that the body is shutting down. I've been there with my own family, holding hands as the room grew still, and it helps to know what to expect. This isn't about giving up; it's about being ready to comfort them through those final days.
By Shelia Bailey8 months ago in Families
Blessing Platinum-Williams on Church Belonging, Family, and Accountability: Community as Sacrifice and Care
Blessing Platinum-Williams is a London-based, self-taught software developer and the creator of Tonely AI, an “auto-reflect” keyboard for iOS and Android that surfaces the likely tone and intention behind a message as you type. Tonely aims to reduce everyday digital harm by prompting users to reconsider wording that may sound blunt, passive-aggressive, or manipulative. Privacy is a core design choice: Tonely runs tone detection on-device and, per its terms and privacy policy, does not upload or store your messages. She founded Tonely AI Ltd in Britain. She also has a law degree and a therapy-informed perspective on language for everyone.
By Scott Douglas Jacobsen8 months ago in Families
Raising Children Alone: Choice, Circumstance, and the Emotional Consequences We Rarely Talk About
In recent years, more people are raising children alone. Sometimes it is a deliberate choice. Other times it is the result of loss, separation, abandonment, or the need to leave an unsafe situation. Society often debates the decision itself, asking whether it was chosen or forced, as if that distinction determines whether the emotional weight is valid.
By Eunice Kamau8 months ago in Families
What If I Am the Victim
There is a moment many of us reach after deep self-reflection. You ask yourself hard questions. You examine your behavior. You wonder if you are the problem. And after all that honesty, another thought quietly appears. What if I am actually the victim
By Eunice Kamau8 months ago in Families
Why Are Teachers Leaving Education?
As someone who is new to teaching, I will not sit here and pretend to fully understand everything veteran teachers have endured over the years. I do not yet have decades of experience to draw from. However, I can speak honestly about what I have observed in my year and a half in the classroom, and what I have learned in that short time is both eye opening and concerning. Teaching today is no longer just about teaching content. It has evolved into a profession that often requires educators to act as the judge, the juror, and the executioner, so to speak, all while being expected to maintain patience, professionalism, and compassion at every turn.
By Kimberly Nightengale8 months ago in Families
Forever Mommy
You are placing bricks, one on top of the other, oblivious to the couples pressing their noses to the glass that separates them from you. The room on this side of the glass has many more like you, in all shapes, sizes, colours, and ethnicity scattered on tables, chairs and mats, playing and laughing unaware of the fate that awaits you on the other side of the glass. The couples on the other side are seated in a waiting room awaiting their turn to view from the glass and choose their prospective offspring. It’s a thrift store of the unwanted and used.
By Poonam Desai8 months ago in Families
Bettijo Hirschi
Introduction Bettijo Hirschi is a multi‑talented creative professional from the United States. She works as a designer, art director, photographer, writer, and event planner. Bettijo has built a long career in creative work and media. People know her for her artistic skills, her work in magazines and television, and her lifestyle blog. She is also known in recent news because of changes in her personal life.
By Farhan Sayed8 months ago in Families
