The relationship between a mother and daughter can be harrowing. It holds within its lifeline the expectations and assertions of all the mothers that have come before and all the children that will come after. The balance of such a connection shifts with age, vocation, and relationship status. It is not a thing to take lightly. Beneath Yi Shun Lai’s humor, expectations cut deep for both the mother and daughter in her debut novel, Not …

I spent the first three decades of my life running away from home. During my teenage years, I bided my time until college. Then in college, I bided my time until adulthood. I managed to come home only for holidays, despite the fact that I went to a university in the city where I grew up. How did I do that? How did I not run into my parents at the park or the grocery store …

One night, in the not so distant past, I found myself cooking three meals, three times a day. If you’re doing the math, that’s nine different meals every single day for three very different types of eaters. Dinner was the worst. By 6 pm, I would begin prepping a meal for me and my husband to eat after all the kids went to bed. By 6:30 I’d whip up an easy-ish toddler dish for my …

Oktoberfest, the world’s greatest beer festival, is held annually in Munich and other cities around the world. Stretching from September to October, this salute to beer seems off-limits for kids at first glance. But this isn’t touring wine country with the littles. It is, if done right, the coolest state fair and carnival and concert wrapped in to one. This is one family event where every single one of you can have fun. It’s ironic …

Amazon bought Whole Foods. Robots are stocking the warehouse shelves. My cable company representative is a staccato automation. This is not Blade Runner. This is the world. I bussed tables in a meat-and-three at age 15. That was my first job. Despite the fact that I wasn’t allowed near any food that hadn’t been chewed or manhandled, I still had to dress the part. I was issued black pinstriped pants with an elasticized waist – …

Having taught public school, private school, home school tutorials, and one-on-one, I’ve seen it all. There will always be discipline problems and tired kids and non-interest (not everyone loves a good John Donne poem). But one key to a child’s success both socially and behaviorally is the relationship between the teacher and the parents. Yet this is often one of the hardest relationships to keep positive. If you let it, it can become the cog …

“Wonder” is coming to theaters in November. You can watch the trailer here. Chances are, if you have kids anywhere from eight to 18, you’ve already heard the premise, which is based on the best-selling novel by R. J. Palacio. The tale is about a child named Auggie who was born with a genetic abnormality that caused facial deformities among other things. The story follows his first attempt, as a fifth grader, to attend a …

“Three under three.” “Three in diapers.” “Twins…double trouble.” “The days are long, but the years are short.” I’ve heard these phrases many times over the last few years (less so now that the kids are 5 and 3) and while it is usually spoken with wonder and sympathy, I always want to laugh a little, because yeah…I know the math. Click on the picture below to see our reality on Scary Mommy.   *Linking up …

The world, and the technology in it, is evolving. Self-driving cars are rolling in, robots are stocking Amazon shelves, and computers are working their way up the corporate ladder. We tend to approach change like a round of “Pop Goes the Weasel,” cautiously and with all systems firing so that when it does burst in on us, we can be ready. We look at the predictions for the price of college in five or 10 …

Summer beckons you outdoors. It waves from open windows and whispers, “Come play.” It’s easy to throw swimsuits and t-shirts on the kids and launch them into the big wide open. Autumn, though, takes a bit more effort: one more layer of clothing, a little less daylight, a little more scheduling around homework. But nature is a necessary part of our existence. It’s the reset button we all need for our minds and bodies, and …