This week’s Saturday Sidebar Question comes from World Moms Blog writer Ruth Wong. She asked our World Moms,
“What are some of the best ways you have discovered in dealing with toddler tantrums?”
Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…
Polish Mom Photographer of California, USA writes:
“Ignoring them! It works like a charm.” (more…)
My son recently celebrated his ninth birthday. Like most parents I delighted in giving him a special day and honoring him for the kid he is, the man he’ll become, and (with a feeling just-this-side of sadness) the little guy he once was.
He was once a little guy, it’s true. During the days preceding his birthday thoughts bubbled up from my memory, imprints from the little-guy-days, with a visceral intensity.
There they were: my first contractions, the evening ride downtown to the hospital, the delicate blue knit cap the nurse pulled onto his tiny head. The first feeding, then the first steps, the story of The Three Little Pigs announced in his little-guy-voice. The whole experience displayed in my mind’s eye and my tender heart.
It was my son’s whole experience but from my perspective, filtered through everything we’d shared together and also through the realities that had shaped me as a mom. (more…)
Author’s father with his French grandchildren
I am not an ex-patriot, technically speaking. When my ten year resident visa expires in three years I’ll be taking the test to become a citizen of France—well, actually, a dual citizen of France and The United States.
For one thing, it’ll be easier that way not to have to endure the bureaucratic process of renewing my resident visa, even as seldom as once every ten years. For another thing I will be able to vote in both countries, and as I am living here, the politicians elected and the policies implemented will affect my quality of life; in that I want to have a say.
And then there’s the fact that I’ve sort of become French.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’ve perfectly mastered “the pout” or have the art of dining in a moderate and lively way under my (tiny little designer) belt. I may also stick out like a sore thumb in the schoolyard with my friendly waves and “bonjours” accompanied by a big smile, even after all these years. (more…)
I had a wonderful Mother’s Day, being loved and cared for by my husband and sons. The day prior, I had been out to brunch and observed several multigenerational families getting a jumpstart on the holiday over pancakes. It reminded me of the nagging longing that I have felt for the past 14 years of living in the Pacific Northwest.
I love where I live, but I am a plane ride away from any blood relative. As someone who grew up in a big family and lived walking distance to my grandmother’s house, it is not something I have fully made peace with.
Part of me wished that I could be sitting around a table with my mother and grandmother at that moment. I decided to do what I always do when I need to mentally regroup. I went walking in the woods. (more…)
I had a wonderful Mother’s Day, being loved and cared for by my husband and sons. The day prior, I had been out to brunch and observed several multigenerational families getting a jumpstart on the holiday over pancakes. It reminded me of the nagging longing that I have felt for the past 14 years of living in the Pacific Northwest.
I love where I live, but I am a plane ride away from any blood relative. As someone who grew up in a big family and lived walking distance to my grandmother’s house, it is not something I have fully made peace with.
Part of me wished that I could be sitting around a table with my mother and grandmother at that moment. I decided to do what I always do when I need to mentally regroup. I went walking in the woods. (more…)
