Creating a Family » General parenting

Which is Your Favorite Child?

Dawn — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:26:53 +0000

Do you have a favorite child? Don’t be so quick to deny it. Last month in Time Magazine’s cover story on parental favoritism, the author, Jeffrey Kluger, states: “It’s one of the worst kept secrets of family life that every parent has a preferred son or daughter… . And on pain of death, parents insist none of [this] is true.” … [visit site to read more]

Labeling Kids — How Much To Share and With Whom

Dawn — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:00:50 +0000

I posted a blog on Friday about over-sharing (TMI (Too Much Information) – Should We Tell Our Child’s Story) and received this thoughtful question. I’ll give my thoughts, but this is one where I’d really like to hear how you have handled similar situations.

My son has FASD and ADHD and I often need to bring this to … [visit site to read more]

Ambassador to the Land of Teens

Dawn — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:10:46 +0000

I am further along the parenting path than many of our Creating a Family community—in fact I am the mom to teens and beyond (gulp!). I hear often from younger parents that they are dreading their children’s approach to double digits. Who could blame them if you consider all that you read about teenagers. Teens have truly received a bad rap from the media. So as a self-appointed ambassador to Teenland, let me share some of the fun things you have to look forward to. If you are … [visit site to read more]

Perils of Friending Your Kids on Facebook

Dawn — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 16:16:16 +0000

Being the Responsible Parent that I am, when my kids wanted to get a Facebook account, I made them abide by the age limits (yes, contrary to what your kids tell you, there are actually age limits), and then as a condition of joining, I asked (read: insisted) that they friend me. I reasoned that knowing that I could see their Facebook wall, would act as a … [visit site to read more]

Is it Selfish to Want a Second, Third, or Fourth (etc.) Child?

Dawn — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:12:56 +0000

If you’ve been blessed to have had a child either through infertility treatment, the “old fashioned way”, or through adoption, is it selfish to want another one or two or three? Are you tempting fate? No one questions your desire when you’re trying for your first. In fact, most folks assume you’re somewhat suspect if you don’t want one. The decision to go to two is also usually beyond reproach. After all, our society frowns on only children. But, speaking for myself, … [visit site to read more]

Five Things I Know for Certain about Parenting

Dawn — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:14:10 +0000

Back in my pre kid (PK) days, I knew a lot about parenting. I dreamed of parenting, I studied parenting, I read endless parenting books. By the time my first child arrived, I was certain I’d be close to the perfect parent. I maintained this certainty right up until our daughter was about 6 months old and still waking up a couple of times a night. The books said she should be sleeping through the night; my friends’ babies were sleeping through the night. My kid was definitely not … [visit site to read more]

A Bedwetting Plan of Attack

Dawn — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 14:04:21 +0000

If I remember right, you blogged about your kids having issues with bed-wetting and letting them take some ownership with the clean-up? We are 2 weeks home with our 4-year-old adopted from China. In China, she had 1 accident per week. Since home, she has an accident every night. So we bought pull-ups. But sometimes she takes the pull-up off, and then there is a middle of the night bath, tears, load of laundry, etc. The bed-wetting is a physical thing. The taking the pajama … [visit site to read more]

A Much Needed Pause

Dawn — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 14:41:52 +0000

We’re now on our third day of being snowed in. This is not a regular occurrence where we live. It happens seldom enough that we don’t have all the equipment necessary to go on with life when you get dumped on with snow. I am not oblivious to the fact that for those without enough heat or food, there is nothing inspiring or heart warning about being snowed in, but by the grace of God, I am not in that boat, and I am luxuriating in being surrounded by my family, in our house, with no … [visit site to read more]

Life’s Guarantees (Or Lack Thereof)

Dawn — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:56:33 +0000

At the end of last week’s show on Raising a Child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), we received an email from someone who said she was considering adoption and was terrified of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and that … [visit site to read more]

The Problem with Parenting

Dawn — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 15:53:07 +0000

The longer I parent, the less I know. I don’t mean in the eyes of my teens, although that is certainly also true. (My all knowing son helpfully advised me this week that I’d be happier if I worried less. The alliterative irony that the sage was also the subject of my worry was apparently lost on him.) What I mean is that I am far less certain of the right answers than I used to be. You wouldn’t think it would be this way, would you? I’m used to working hard, finding The Right … [visit site to read more]