January 2015 - Motherlode - The Network of Care

When Did ‘Teaching Independence’ Become ‘Possible Neglect’?

Parents in Maryland are being investigated for allowing their children to walk home from a park unsupervised. When did we abandon this idea that our children should learn to move about in the world without our hovering presence, and what have we lost...

Published Thu, Jan 15 2015 2:41 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Child Abandonment, Highlights, Maryland, Walking

Do I Need Screen Time Rules for Other People’s Children, Too?

It’s my house and my rules, but I’m uncomfortable snatching away a prized possession a child brings over. I'm also uncomfortable with the recent sleepover in which every child spent the night buried in her own screen. Read More...

Published Mon, Jan 19 2015 12:31 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, advice, Computer and Video Games

Free of Gluten, but Not of Arsenic (or of Guilt)

For gluten-free families, the increasing concerns about arsenic and rice are a source of worry and guilt. But how much should parents blame themselves? Read More...

Published Wed, Jan 21 2015 2:24 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Food, Celiac Disease, Gluten, Highlights, Rice

Changing Early Pregnancy Etiquette: Share Good News, and Bad

When we decided not to tell friends and family about my pregnancy until after the first trimester, we never paused to consider how much we might need those people if something did actually go wrong. Read More...

Published Sun, Jan 25 2015 6:24 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: Highlights

A Mobile Umbilical Cord, Off the Table, but Still Connected

Those of us who keep our phones nearby all the time — just in case — run the risk of 24/7 distractedness, of never being fully there for our work, ourselves, or our non-offspring companions. Read More...

Published Mon, Jan 26 2015 1:07 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Children and Childhood, Highlights, Text Messaging, Cellular Telephones

Helping a Perfectionist Child Worry Less and Do More

Perfectionism can take a high toll on children who see it as the only route to living up to their own and their parents’ high standards. Read More...

Published Thu, Jan 29 2015 7:42 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Children and Childhood, Education (K-12), Anxiety and Stress, Highlights

Resolutions for a Year of Change in a Military Family

With deployment hanging over our heads, 2015 will come with incredible challenges for our marriage, our children and ourselves. I'm resolving to take care of myself as well as my children, accept help when we need it, give it where we can and appreciate...

Published Tue, Jan 06 2015 7:13 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, New Year, United States Defense and Military Forces, Deployment Diary

‘Redshirting’ Kindergarten-Age Kids Can Lead to Regrets

Because wealthier, better educated parents ‘redshirt’ while others don't, a kindergarten classroom can include 4-year-olds who have never been to preschool and can’t sit still, and 6-year-olds who are fluently reading chapter books and ready for advanced...

Published Wed, Jan 07 2015 12:30 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Education (K-12), Education (Pre-School), Highlights

Selling the Merits of Sleep

Sleep has a marketing problem. Why don't we remind our children of how good it feels, and how good it is for us, instead of the way we tend to insist on it? Read More...

Published Fri, Jan 09 2015 7:09 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: Highlights

Harsh Critics in Public Spaces, Judging Only What They See

Strangers like to tell me what I’m doing wrong as a parent, or at least give me hard, critical looks, all the time. But there's a big part of our story they often don't know. Read More...

Published Mon, Jan 12 2015 9:56 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: Autism, parenting, Down syndrome, Disabilities, Children and Childhood, Special Education, Highlights

New Report Urges Less Intervention in Births

"If overtreatment is defined as instances in which an individual may have fared as well or better with less or perhaps no intervention," says a new report which collects and interprets the research regarding the hormonal physiology of childbirth...

Published Tue, Jan 13 2015 8:51 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Research, Pregnancy and Childbirth, Babies and Infants, Highlights

Skipping School for Vacation: Good for Families, or Bad for Students?

I’m a parent. I have taken my children out of school for family events and other trips. I am also an educator, and I have seen the havoc these absences can wreak on students and their teachers. Read More...

Published Thu, Jan 15 2015 7:54 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Education (K-12), Holidays and Special Occasions, Highlights, Parent-Teacher Conference, Absenteeism and Truancy

Charities That Inspire Kids: Kiva

Diana Williams, a teacher from Surrey, British Columbia, describes the value of making microloans from the classroom. Read More...

Published Mon, Jan 19 2015 8:30 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Education (K-12), Philanthropy, Highlights

When Measles Spreads From Disneyland, It’s a Small World After All

A current measles outbreak, now at 48 confirmed cases, began with a visitor to Disneyland, and quickly spread beyond those directly exposed there. Read More...

Published Wed, Jan 21 2015 1:50 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Measles, Vaccination and Immunization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Highlights, Washington (DC), Epidemics, California, Disneyland (Anaheim, Calif), Utah

Childless, With Regret and Advice: Don’t Wait for the Perfect Picture

I didn't want to become my mother, so I actively avoided becoming a mother at all until it was too late. Read More...

Published Fri, Jan 23 2015 9:23 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, infertility, abortion, Babies and Infants, Women's Rights, Highlights

January 2015 - Motherlode

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