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    Mommyish

    Mommyish

  • I Bribe My Kids And I’m Not Ashamed (Thanks, Supernanny!)

    Call it negotiation or compromise, but a bribe is a bribe. And nothing beats extrinsic rewards when dealing with a four-year-old. Thanks to my years of watching Supernanny, I've discovered the invaluable parenting techniques of positive reinforcement, reward charts and the promise of toys and treats

  • Cooking For A Vegetarian, A Carnivore And An Allergic Child Is The Death Of Me

    Are you one of my Facebook friends who posts pictures of stuff you cook (or, even worse, grow) for all the world to see? If yes, please don't send a friend request to my husband. Seriously. I don't need for him to find out that pita pizza, taco night and pasta isn't what everyone else is eating on a

  • I’m Young, Childless, And Scared To Death Of Labor

    I was around 12 years old when I became truly aware of my fear of childbirth. Perhaps it came with the onset of puberty, but ever since I was a little girl I've been terrified of labor.

  • Having More Kids Around Has Improved My Sex Life!

    In a recent post on this very site, writer Samantha Bailey wrote about her (sadly) non-existent sex life: "It's simply about trying to be intimate amid the chaos of kids." I just happened to read her post one day after I had a quickie sex session in the back of my boyfriend's Acura that was parked i

  • Spying On Your Daycare Provider Is A Really Terrible Idea

    A while ago, CBS MoneyWatch has put out on an article onHow to Spy on Your DayCare Provider. Or, the more likely outcome, how to really piss them off. The whole premise is wrong because spying on your daycare provider is a lot less helpful than actually talking to your provider. Two of their tips ar

  • The First Rule Of Fight Club Is Not In Front Of The Kids

    Welcome to Splitsville. This weekly column will focus on parenting after a divorce, break-up or one-night stand thatdidn't end like a Katherine Heigl movie.

  • Stay-At-Home Moms More Likely To Be Depressed. But Working Moms Have Shtick, Too

    Yet another study confirms what moms everywhere already know - that we can't have it all. Of course, there's that nagging questions most moms face at some point: stay at home with the kids or pursue a career? For some, they have no choice but to work for financial reasons. Others need it for their s

  • Your Child Will Get Into College. Even Without Three Extracurriculars In Kindergarten

    Back to school takes on a different connotation for parents who have their kid's whole scholastic career already mapped out. While some children enjoy coming back into the classroom, reuniting with their peers, and being presented with new academic challenges, others are returning to campus already

  • The Big Family Backlash: Is Having A Dozen Kids Selfish?

    Super-sized families have been getting more attention than ever. From reality television shows, tabloid news coverage and even a special on Nightline. But the Duggars, Bates, and Sulemons have also inspired some serious anger in those that believe large families are fundamentally wrong. Just take a

  • What To Do If You Don’t Like Your Child’s Teacher

    We all had a teacher in school that we simply couldn't stand. Mine was Mrs. Truitt*. She was seriously evil. I came home from third grade crying on a regular basis. I had a whole lot of wonderful teachers in my educational career. I adored school, to be completely honest. But I remember Mrs. Truitt

  • Back To School: Girls Perform Better In Single-Sex School Environments. Why Don’t Boys?

    Single-sex education has proven to be beneficial to girls for sometime now. From kindergarten through college, girls do well when learning in classrooms with just other female students. Yet when boys are placed in single-sex environments, they don't exhibit the same results.

  • How To Deprogram Your Kids After Camp (Enough With The Eye Rolling!)

    Calling Dr. Drew! Or A&E's Intervention! My daughter just returned to camp and I need help!

  • Jours Aprés Lunes Sexualizes Girls Ages Four And Up With Lingerie Line

    Jours Aprés Lunes, a French clothing brand, has created a collection of "loungerie" for young girls - very young girls. The company's collection marked under "fille" depicts bras or "brasseries" and "triangles" for girls as young as four years old.

  • Sorry Childless By Choice, But Motherhood Made Me A Better Person

    Forget the "Mommy Wars", there's a whole new battle being waged by women everywhere. It's not concerned with how you raise your children. The new debate is whether we should have them at all. The Today Show and the New York Post have profiled women who choose not to have to children and the struggle

  • Abortions In The US Are Safer Than Ever, So Why Isn't Childbirth?

    Giving birth in the United States has reached a new point of concern as more and more complications threaten the lives of both babies and mothers.According to the World Health Organization, C-sections are only necessary in no more than 5 percent to 15 percent of all deliveries. Yet, one in three bir

  • Opposites Attract? Surviving Friends With Radically Different Parenting Styles

    I hear a lot of mothers gripe about summer vacation and what the heck they're going to do with a full house all that time. For expat mothers like me who are also primary caregivers, summer is a time for heading back to the motherland, which can generate exponential anxiety.

  • Is It Irresponsible To Pull Kids Out Of School For Travel Adventures?

    My husband and I have this idea that we can still live a semi-nomadic lifestyle with our two children in tow. I'm not talking about applying for a World Passport (yes, it's a real thing), or hopping on a private jet, but we envision a life in which we have a home base somewhere that we're able to us

  • Splitsville: Why Did You Buy Our Daughter Bridal Barbie?

    Welcome to Splitsville. This weekly column will focus on parenting after a divorce, break-up or one-night stand thatdidn't end like a Katherine Heigl movie.

  • Who Needs A Backyard? A City Girl Speaks Out

    We live happily in the city - Brooklyn, to be exact - but whenever we head out of town into the great expanse of lawns, big-ass grills, backyards and double garages connected to the house (!), my husband and I get disoriented by our attraction to suburban life.

  • My Daughter Is A Pathological Liar And I’m Ignoring It

    My three-year-old daughter's pants are permanently on fire. She lies non-stop, often for no obvious reason, about pretty much everything. She lies with abandon, about things that are easy to disprove and are sometimes important to her health, such as whether or not she's washed her hands after using