I’m away from my desk for the next several days. Even we professional gripers need to take a break once in awhile. I’ll be republishing a few posts from the previous year for the next week or so. This post was first published on Nov. 5, 2011. When I decided to…
Talking to young children about death can be a difficult conversation for parents. Talking to children about death and zombies raises the level of difficulty exponentially. The other day I entered the dining room while my 6- and 4-year-old sons talked at the dinner table. My family had just recently…
I have been a parent for almost 6 years now, and have come to realize that raising children can be a hard, tedious slog, filled with frustration, setbacks and no small amount of mucous. With all the hassles and difficulties children consistently offer us, it still surprises me that our…
When I decided to write about circumcision, I was a bit wary. The mere mention of skin on the end of an infant penis sends many into paroxysms of spittle-flecked rage. So, I’m going to proceed cautiously. I began writing this post after reading about a recent debate on the…
I think my children love Halloween more than Christmas, and it’s easy to see why. What’s not to love about dressing up as your favorite hero, staying out past your bedtime, and acquiring an enormous amount of candy? This is a kid’s dream. I enjoy the holiday myself, if only…
My children, ages 3 and 5, are well-practiced in the fine art of humiliation. They carry black belts in the subject of embarrassment. They are Ninjas of shame. I suspect they even have a creed: “I will humble my parents to the best of my ability.” A recent trip to…
An Illinois appeals court recently dismissed a case in which two grown children sued their mom for “bad mothering.” According to the Chicago Tribune: “The alleged offenses include failing to take her daughter to a car show, telling her then-7-year-old son to buckle his seat belt or she would contact…
If you get a moment, set a timer to 30 seconds, close your eyes, and just experience what this amount of time feels like. Time moves faster for some, slower for others. By the 20th stroke of the second hand, some will be fidgeting with impatience, while others will be…
While removing some water-logged cheese from the cooler, I gave some thought to this past weekend’s camp-out with my kids. I’d like to tell you about it, but I need to give you some brief history first. For a few years BC – Before Children – my wife and I…
I didn’t receive a whole lot of abuse for my previous post on corporal punishment. If my circle of viewers were large enough to include the 19 states that allow corporal punishment in schools, I’m sure I would have been a little sore today. I guess I got away with…
