Parenting
An Open Letter to SpongeBob
Dear Spongey (I can call you that after all these years, can’t I?), It’s with great sadness (well, a modicum of sadness) that my family […]
Back to School: Then and Now
Lenore Skenazy made a name for herself when she let her nine-year-old son ride a Manhattan subway, then wrote about it for the newspaper. Some […]
Parents, Do Your Kids a Favor: Force Them to Rock
If Boston’s School of Rock existed when I was a kid, maybe I’d still be playing guitar today. Instead, I gave up after discovering that […]
Riders on the Storm: How One Mom, a Grandma, and Three Kids Weathered Irene
We were packing our suitcases out in California when the news of Hurricane Irene started streaming across our laptops. With a flight to Boston set […]
What My Son Learned Over Summer Vacation
With summer coming to an end, I have to wonder: Did my kids spend their three months away from school wisely? In one regard, I’m […]
My 14-Month-Old Daughter, the Shoe Bomber
Last week the Transportation Security Administration announced that it’s testing a new system at Logan to weed potential terrorists from the friendly skies. The new […]
How to Teach Kids Proper Online Etiquette for Breaking Up
How to Teach Kids Proper Online Etiquette for Breaking Up. A moderator wearing a T-shirt with the motto “Face it, Don’t Facebook It” certainly helps. […]
Daily Feed: Mass. Behavior Enables D.C.'s Bad Manners (?!)
To Understand the Bad Manners of D.C., Look No Further Than Mass. Our school board meetings and sports teams (no, scratch that, the Patriots’ draft […]
Both Ends of the Scale: Malnourished Kids and Childhood Obesity
Last week’s Boston Globe article by Kay Lazar on the spike in childhood hunger in the Boston area spawned nearly 700 comments and shot up […]
Could Safer Playgrounds Be Scaring Our Kids Straight?
I’ll never forget the day we got a new jungle gym at my elementary school. It was the mid-1970s, and we all showed up one […]
Two Fathers, One Death: Malcolm Astley and Tomo Fujita
Everyone’s talking about Malcolm Astley, father of Lauren Astley, the Wayland teen whose bright-eyed, apple-cheeked face has been splashed across newspapers and TV screens since […]
Children's Hospital Pediatrician Taking Heat for Obesity Stance
Children’s Hospital Pediatrician Taking Heat for Obesity Stance. Boston Children’s Hospital’s Dr. David Ludwig, who co-authored an opinion that the state could intervene in cases […]
Parents Gone Wild!
In the battle to protect their kids, adults are hurting the very people they claim to be looking out for.
Should Obese Kids Be Sent to Foster Care?
The parents of that plus-size baby in Texas have another thing to worry about beyond how they’re going to hold that kid (we’re going to […]
Understanding The Nature of Forgiving in Light of a Tragic Murder
Understanding The Nature of Forgiving in Light of a Tragic Murder. Boston U. prof Charles Griswold, who’s studied the nature of forgiving, delves into Malcolm […]