Are Easy Babies "Better"?
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Recently, an acquaintance of mine was telling me about her fourth child and the joy and grace his arrival had brought to her family. I was eating it up - I love this kind of stuff.
But then she started talking about what a “good baby” he was. He never cried, he slept easily and often, he was mellow and easygoing. He was so “good.”
I bristled, a little bit. I’m not sure this is a fair reaction, but... READ MORE
Eye on the Prize
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Since we found out the news about the twins two days ago, I’ve felt like the whole world is a little… surreal. I said to my husband on Monday night, “Maybe we will wake up in the morning and realize this twin thing was just a long weird dream.”
What happened instead was that I woke up at 2:30am and lay there wide awake thinking about how it’s crazy to imagine I can fit two babies in my womb at once.... READ MORE
Eat, Please?
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Monday, November 08, 2010
I’m all about flexible parenting, but I have a few firm rules for myself, and one of them is this: I do not fight food battles.
Camilla was a slow starter on solids and after a few months of fretting I realized I had two choices: I could spend years of my life coaxing her to eat, or I could let it go.
In the name of sanity I chose the second option. As parents, our approach to feeding kids is to... READ MORE
On Not Diving
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Monday, October 18, 2010
My daughter is cautious to a degree that often frustrates me. She freezes if she senses that something might be uncomfortable or hard or scary. Even if we know she’ll enjoy something, we still have to coax her to try it. Nearly always we’re right and she loves it. That doesn’t mean she trusts us unthinkingly the next time. She’s less hyper-cautious than she used to be but progress is slow.
I watch... READ MORE
Hugging My Girl
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Monday, October 11, 2010
I’m not usually a fan of pop psychology, but I learned about the love languages a couple years ago, and the knowledge has really enhanced my marriage.
(My husband and I took the quiz which ranks the five languages in order of their importance to you, and our lists are inverses of each other. You can probably see how knowing that has helped us to bridge some communication gaps.)
But honestly, it only... READ MORE
Do You Road Trip?
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Tuesday, October 05, 2010
A while ago, we had a podcast chat about traveling with young children, and I mentioned that we’d yet to take a long road trip with our kids. When traveling more than half-a-day’s drive away, we always fly.
That’s about to change. On Thursday, we’re loading the car and driving to stay with Blaise’s godparents in Virginia, a ten-hour drive from here.
I’m excited for our vacation. I’m happy about all... READ MORE
Mix and (Don't) Match
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Monday, October 04, 2010
Many days, my son wears more than one t-shirt. The first one is covered with yogurt or similar, so he gets a replacement. I can’t remember him ever doing what he did today, though: wearing two regular t-shirts simultaneously.
I got him dressed as usual, picking a cute blue t-shirt. He ripped it off and brought me an orange one from his dresser. Okay, not surprising - he loves bright colors and always... READ MORE
Stimulate with Literature
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Friday, September 24, 2010
Here’s a great article: “How to Raise Boys Who Read.”
It’s full of common sense, and the crux seems about right to me: “The secret to raising boys who read, I submit, is pretty simple—keep electronic media, especially video games and recreational Internet, under control (that is to say, almost completely absent). Then fill your shelves with good books.”
Read the whole thing here. Especially if you have boys of your own.
When Siblings Rival
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Thursday, September 23, 2010
I adore my children, and I’m glad to have both of them. That goes without saying.
But you know what never happened when I only had one kid? Infighting.
Sometimes I’ll be in the bathroom brushing my teeth, and suddenly I hear the telltale shrieking that means I must scrub faster to get those molars clean and my mouth rinsed before I run to the living room and separate the children. If I don’t move... READ MORE
Obey When?
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Thursday, September 09, 2010
Earlier this week I read a fascinating piece about children and discipline, at the blog Like Mother, Like Daughter.
The piece’s attention-grabbing title is “Six-to-eleven year olds need less patience from you,” but at heart it’s about how to raise children to practice true charity, defined by the author (“Mom” blogger Leila) as “simply treating people with that very love you would like to receive.”... READ MORE
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