July 2014 - Motherlode - The Network of Care

I’ve Ruined My Boys

My sons—and my husband—expect me to wait on them. I can't really blame them. I made my bed. And everyone else's. Read More...

Published Fri, Jul 18 2014 8:50 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Anger (Emotion), Highlights, Comedy and Humor

Playgrounds for Kids Who Can’t Run and Jump

Knowing how many ordinary pleasures were cut off from my daughter, I was angry when something as common as swinging through the air on a hot summer day was also unreachable because of broken or missing equipment. Read More...

Published Thu, Jul 17 2014 11:30 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Disabilities, Playgrounds, Americans with Disabilities Act, Highlights

Goodbye to Cloth Diapers, and Ideal Motherhood

Those washable diapers were part and parcel of the vision I had of myself as a woman and a mother. And when I gave them up, I didn’t know who I was any more. Read More...

Published Thu, Jul 17 2014 9:40 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, social media, diapers, Babies and Infants, Highlights

Easy Ways to Get More Vegetables on the Table, More Often

Lots of different types of vegetables and beans can fill a taco, be the excuse for a soup, or top a big bowl. Read More...

Published Wed, Jul 16 2014 10:37 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Cooking and Cookbooks, Highlights, Vegetables, Recipes

Simplifying Measuring Medication for Children

Parents trying to administer medicine to children younger than 12 are often baffled by measuring options and confusing labels. Read More...

Published Wed, Jul 16 2014 8:23 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Children and Childhood, Labeling and Labels, Highlights

The Gay Mormon Known Sperm Donor From Utah

My friends used to offer up my status as a gay former Mormon as an icebreaker. Now, they’re helpfully tossing my role as “known sperm donor” out at dinner parties. Read More...

Published Tue, Jul 15 2014 9:45 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Pregnancy and Childbirth, Artificial Insemination, Highlights, Sperm, Homosexuality and Bisexuality, Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

Weekly Quandary: The Kids Are Ungrateful

When kids who complain about the things a parent thought they would appreciate, like vacations and even chocolate, how can a parent help them change both tone and attitude? Read More...

Published Mon, Jul 14 2014 4:17 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Customs, Etiquette and Manners, Highlights

The Emotional Whiplash of Parenting a Teenager

One minute, your teen needs you. The next, she pushes you away—hard. That's normal for her, but tough on the parent enduring the push and pull. Read More...

Published Sun, Jul 13 2014 5:30 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Teenagers and Adolescence, Highlights

Summer Car Safety: Look Before You Lock, and More

The terrible accusations against the father alleged to have intentionally left his toddler to die in a hot car in Georgia make it too easy to mentally file the death under the category "things that will never happen to my family." Read More...

Published Fri, Jul 11 2014 1:21 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Children and Childhood, Automobile Safety Features and Defects, Traffic Accidents and Safety, Deaths (Fatalities), Highlights

‘All My Friends Are White’

My son is black, but I’m not. Neither is his mother. We live in Singapore, where we don't have that many friends of any color. I wish I had friends to give my son, but I don't. Read More...

Published Fri, Jul 11 2014 7:23 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Race and Ethnicity, Adoptions, Highlights, Singapore

We Tell Kids to ‘Go to Sleep!’ We Need to Teach Them Why.

Sleep does so much more for our bodies than preventing us from being tired tomorrow, but most parents don't tell our children that. Educating kids about the importance of sleep leads them to sleep more. Read More...

Published Thu, Jul 10 2014 9:14 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Research, Sleep, Brilliant

5 Ways to Teach Kids About Money at the Grocery Store

We all want things. It's not a character flaw. But financial savvy starts with understanding the difference between "want" and "need." Read More...

Published Thu, Jul 10 2014 7:52 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Personal Finances, The Opposite of Spoiled

Parent on a Smartphone, With Almost No Guilt

Smartphones can make us more present as parents—or not. Read More...

Published Wed, Jul 09 2014 11:14 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, smartphones, Highlights

Stir-Fries, Mastered. Next Up, the Easy Vegetarian Gratin

Looking for an easy way to incorporate vegetables into a simple summer meal? This week, the meat-loving Ruder family tries a gratin. Read More...

Published Wed, Jul 09 2014 9:07 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, vegetarianism, Cooking and Cookbooks, Highlights, Vegetables, Martha's Greener Table

The No Longer Reluctant Sperm Donor

When my friends Tori and Kelly first asked me to be their sperm donor, I was reluctant. But I quickly became fully invested in their process, and far more aware of how widespread infertility is. Read More...

Published Tue, Jul 08 2014 11:51 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, infertility, Artificial Insemination, Highlights, Sperm, Homosexuality and Bisexuality, Sperm Donor Diary

July 2014 - Motherlode

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