April 2014 - Motherlode - The Network of Care

As a child, I wished my mother could spend more time involved with my school and activities, but that's not who she was. I hoped to do better, but I wasn't sure what that would look like. Read More...

Published Tue, Apr 22 2014 9:45 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Admissions Standards, Education (Pre-School), Highlights

My Daughter, Profoundly Disabled, Needs a School for Children Like Her

The consensus that children with disabilities are best educated in an inclusive classroom is in danger of hardening into dogma that risks re-stigmatizing children with severe or profound disabilities. Read More...

Published Thu, Apr 17 2014 12:25 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Disabilities, Children and Childhood, Education (K-12), Special Education, Highlights, OpEd Project, United States, DePaul University

The Decision: One Child, One School

Parents are notoriously anxious yet clueless with their first child. With the preschool decision, I felt additional pressure because after a recent ectopic pregnancy, it looks as if Zee will be our only child. Read More...

Published Tue, Apr 15 2014 7:00 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Children and Childhood, Education (K-12), Families and Family Life, Anxiety and Stress, Education (Pre-School), Manhattan (NYC), Preschool Admissions Diary

The Sixth Stage of Grief: Buying a Puppy

My adorable son has grown tall, lean and hairy. This explains, in part, the decision to add something unambiguously cute to our life. But Phoebe distracts us from more than just that. Read More...

Published Fri, Apr 11 2014 1:45 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: Autism, parenting, Grief (Emotion), Dogs, Highlights

Seeking College Application Essays About Money From This Year’s Seniors

Ron Lieber, the Your Money columnist for The New York Times, is looking for college application essays about money, work and social class from this year's high school seniors. Read More...

Published Fri, Apr 04 2014 11:19 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, new york times, Education (K-12), Colleges and Universities, Admissions Standards, Lieber, Ron, The Opposite of Spoiled, New York University

Jesus Lives, but Should He Live in My Front Yard?

As a young adult Christian whose political views are left of center, working in higher education where intellect is the only religion, I'm constantly negotiating how much of myself to share. My daughter has no such doubts. Read More...

Published Sat, Apr 05 2014 7:47 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Religion and Belief, Secular Humanism, Highlights, Jesus Christ, Evangelical Movement

Family Disaster Preparedness

Any family who has weathered a severe storm knows it's easier if you're prepared. But I admit it—we're not. No stockpile of water, no emergency plan. Are you? Read More...

Published Tue, Apr 08 2014 12:11 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Hurricane Sandy (2012), Highlights, Disasters and Emergencies

Facing the Skepticism in Adoption, in Qatar and in the U.S.

In Qatar, skepticism of adoption is such that, after an adopted girl died, her parents were accused of being intent on selling her organs. In the United States, doubts are less grisly but still apparent. Read More...

Published Wed, Apr 02 2014 6:50 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Race and Ethnicity, Adoptions, Highlights, Qatar, Huang, Matthew, Huang, Grace

Judge the ‘Rebel Heart’ Sailboat Parents, or Envy Them?

Are parents raising children in extreme circumstances, like on a sailboat crossing the Pacific Ocean, bringing children into their chosen way of life or selfishly exposing them to unnecessary risk? Read More...

Published Mon, Apr 07 2014 12:51 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Children and Childhood, Travel and Vacations, Highlights, Oceans and Seas, Sailboats and Sailing, Pacific Ocean

If Ivy League Is the Endgame, I’m Not Sure I Want to Play

"Exmissions" is the opposite of "admissions," and the other parents working to get their offspring into preschool in Manhattan all seemed to have the kind of clear long-term plans that make a school's "top tier hit rate"...

Published Tue, Apr 01 2014 8:21 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Children and Childhood, Education (Pre-School), Ivy League, Manhattan (NYC), Preschool Admissions Diary

Pay the Babysitter Over $1,900 This Year? You Owe It to Her to Put Her On the Books

Think paying taxes on the babysitter is a "one-percenter" problem? Think again, because if we parents don't pay taxes on our babysitters, it isn't just our problem. Read More...

Published Fri, Apr 11 2014 12:37 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: Child Care, parenting, Wages and Salaries, Highlights, Tax Credits, Deductions and Exemptions

In Defense of Chocolate Milk

When schools took chocolate milk off the menu, children drank less milk and purchased fewer school lunches, a study found. Read More...

Published Mon, Apr 21 2014 4:06 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Children and Childhood, Diet and Nutrition, Highlights

April 2014 - Motherlode

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