compassionate parenting

Nighttime Parenting Isn’t Always Pretty

January 16, 2012

My first had always been a good sleeper. We co-slept through about 18 months or so, and when we moved, Little Man jumped right into his big-boy bed and that’s where he wanted to sleep. After I had my second child, we went through a phase where Little Man would wander into my bed in [...]

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Telling Your Child About Death

July 29, 2011

Just three weeks ago I paced the house, cleaning and straightening. I was nervous about breaking the horrible news that our neighbor and first-grade teacher had died suddenly. My eight-year-old daughter adored this woman and I knew that she would be hurt. Children learn about death from many sources, but they learn about grieving from [...]

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Quiet is Okay

June 29, 2011

Early on, I remember being in new groups and being shooed away to “go play with the kids.” I have memories of not really wanting to play with a bunch of kids I didn’t know, but they would look like they were having fun. So I’d force myself, thinking that I might end up having [...]

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The Practice of Attachment Parenting

February 9, 2011

There are days when I think to myself, “I shouldn’t call what I do attachment parenting – because quite honestly, today was anything but.” I never thought of attachment parenting with any interest until about a year ago, right after Bella was born. Before that, I just knew I didn’t want to spank or hit, and [...]

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Mama, that’s my spot: A co-sleeping metaphor for Motherhood

January 5, 2011

Annika has been noticing her “spot” in bed as of late. If I happen to roll over there, or if god forbid, we happen to switch sides and she is lying in “my spot,” she screams, “Mama! That’s MY spot! You can’t lay in my spot!” A few mornings ago, as we were lying in [...]

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Finding Grace and Love in Potty Training?

October 28, 2010

Potty training. Again. While I’ve done this twice already with varying degrees of difficulty, I still find the process to be exhausting. Most days, I want to throw all the cloth diapers out the window – other days I want to chuck the potty seat and trainers along with my determination to teach this skill. [...]

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Mamas Need White Space

October 4, 2010

One of my favorite non-mom blogs is Zen Habits. This week he posted about making space in your life using the design principle of creating white space. Creating white space around the important things and getting rid of clutter lets you focus on what’s important. I loved the post so much that I immediately began [...]

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Beyond Babyhood: The Joy of Mothering Toddlers to Teens

June 28, 2010

I’m anxious to see the documentary “Babies” (see clip below), that chronicles the first year in the lives of four babies from across the globe. However, I can’t help but wish that the producers would follow up with a sequel, “Toddlers.” And of course, “Teens” would also be an interesting film. (In case you haven\’t [...]

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