Parenting Blog

"The French aren't perfect, but they have some parenting secrets that really do work." - Pamela Druckerman

“An internet poll by the Paris-based Union of Families in Europe shows that 65% of children in France think la fessée - French for a smack on the bottom - is a normal part of their upbringing...More than 95% of the 2,000 grandparents, parents, and children polled said they had been spanked at some point in their lives. Punishing a child with a fessée does not seem to be a generation thing. A nationwide poll carried out nearly 10 years ago revealed that more than 85% of French parents spanked their children, compared with 87 % in the new survey."- Emile Boyer King writing in The Guardian Newspaper

Did you see the Wall Street Journal article Why French Parents Are Superior?  It's by Pamela Druckerman, promoting her new book.  The WSJ loves to criticize American parents, as they did last year when they told us that Tiger Mothers raise more successful kids. (If you're still wondering whether that's true, here's an article on What We Can Learn from Amy Chua).  READ POST

This is Part 6 in our series on Nurturing Yourself while Raising Your Child

“Don’t look at it as exercise — instead, play games and have a ton of fun! The main thing is just to get outside every day and do something you think is fun. You can play sports like soccer, basketball, or badminton. You can play games like freeze tag or ride a bike or do running races with your friends or family. You can go on hikes with your family or go swimming or paddling. Do lots of different things, and again, focus on having fun, and doing it often.” – Leo Babauta

You're a parent, so you don’t have time to exercise, right?   I can relate.  But moving our bodies is a basic part of self-care.  We can't talk about nurturing ourselves without figuring out a way to get physical.    READ POST

This is Part 5 in our series on Nurturing Yourself while Raising Your Child.

“There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost.” -- Martha Graham

Raising a child takes so much out of us that we often sacrifice most everything else that's important to us. But if we don't stay connected to what keeps us energized, we run dry.  READ POST

This is Part 4 in our series on Nurturing Yourself while Raising Your Child.

"The only way to help our child is to do the work ourselves. Our child needs a guide through the tsunami." – Leslie Potter, Purejoy Parenting

Life has a way of doling out lessons that we didn't ask for, but that help us develop more wholeness. When we resist those lessons, they land in our lap again in exaggerated form, until we finally tackle them.   READ POST

This is Part 3 in our series on Nurturing Yourself while Raising Your Child.

"What I start to feel is not just anger appropriate to the situation, but old feelings I carry from the past.  And those feelings have nothing to do with my child or the situation.  They have come up for me to take a look at them.  They are part of me.  But they don't belong in my relationship with my child.  They have to do with me and the person who raised me."  -- Laura Davis & Janis Keyser  READ POST

So many parents have told me they wish they could just pick up the phone and call me.  So I'm experimenting with a weekly chat, sort of "office hours" when you know I'll be in.  Make yourself a cup of tea, pick up the phone, and let's chat.  You can ask me a question, listen to me talk with other moms, or just chat about child development.  Next Chat:  TODAY! Thursday January 26 at 2pm ET/1pmCT/ Noon MT/11amPT  READ POST

This is Part 2 in our series on Nurturing Yourself while Raising Your Child.

“I know one thing for sure. It is impossible to find one’s own balance from the outside in. I now know beyond a doubt that finding—and maintaining—our balance is an inside job.” – Lu Hanessian

As you go through your day, you have a running list.  Change the baby, feed the toddler a snack, teach the preschooler to pick up her toys, help the elementary schooler with homework, help the tween braid her hair, negotiate with the teen, make dinner, fold laundry, pay the bills, email the boss, connect with your spouse... the list never stops.  But have you fallen off your own list?  READ POST