by Jennifer Burden | Dec 7, 2010 | Bilingual, Canada, Culture, Education, Family, International, Kids, Language, Motherhood, Multicultural, Parenting, USA
I’ve started to buy my daughter’s gifts for under the Christmas tree this year, and I’m on the hunt for fun things that will excite her imagination and curiosity about the fascinating world that we live in (short of actually jumping on a plane to a different country). With this in mind, I’ve come up with a bunch of “around the world” gift ideas for children… (more…)
Jennifer Burden is the Founder and CEO of World Moms Network, an award winning website on global motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. World Moms Network writes from over 30 countries, has over 70 contributors and was listed by Forbes as one of the “Best 100 Websites for Women”, named a “must read” by The New York Times, and was recommended by The Times of India.
She was also invited to Uganda to view UNICEF’s family health programs with Shot@Life and was previously named a “Global Influencer Fellow” and “Social Media Fellow” by the UN Foundation. Jennifer was invited to the White House twice, including as a nominated "Changemaker" for the State of the World Women Summit. She also participated in the One Campaign’s first AYA Summit on the topic of women and girl empowerment and organized and spoke on an international panel at the World Bank in Washington, DC on the importance of a universal education for all girls. Her writing has been featured by Baby Center, Huffington Post, ONE.org, the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life, and The Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists.” She is currently a candidate in Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in the Executive Masters of Public Affairs program, where she hopes to further her study of global policies affecting women and girls.
Jennifer can be found on Twitter @JenniferBurden.
More Posts - Website
Follow Me:
by Kirsten Doyle (Canada) | Dec 6, 2010 | Being Thankful, Canada, Family, Health, International, Kids, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Multicultural, Parenting, South Africa, Travel
Six years ago today, my Dad lost a brief but excruciating battle with cancer. He had been diagnosed just three months previously, and he had gone through rounds of crippling chemotherapy, as well as a ten-hour long operation. Although Dad had been so desperately ill during the last weeks of his life, I had held onto the hope that he would survive and grow old with my Mom.
And so, when my Mom called from the other side of the world with the news that Dad was gone, I went into immediate denial. What do you mean, gone?
This is the man who raised me, played with me and read to me as a kid, gave me financial advice as an adult, watched an entire Olympics with me when we both had the flu, attended father-daughter dances with me and helped sell my Girl Scout cookies, and so much more. Gone? It just didn’t seem possible. (more…)
Kirsten Doyle was born in South Africa. After completing university, she drifted for a while and finally washed up in Canada in 2000. She is Mom to two boys who have reached the stage of eating everything in sight (but still remaining skinny).
Kirsten was a computer programmer for a while before migrating into I.T. project management. Eventually she tossed in the corporate life entirely in order to be a self-employed writer and editor. She is now living her best life writing about mental health and addictions, and posting videos to two YouTube channels.
When Kirsten is not wrestling with her kids or writing up a storm, she can be seen on Toronto's streets putting many miles onto her running shoes. Every year, she runs a half-marathon to benefit children with autism, inspired by her older son who lives life on the autism spectrum.
Final piece of information: Kirsten is lucky enough to be married to the funniest guy in the world.
Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Be sure to check out her YouTube channels at My Gen X Life and Word Salad With Coffee!
More Posts
Follow Me:
by Astrid Warren (Norway) | Dec 2, 2010 | Culture, Family, Kids, Motherhood, Norway, Parenting
I have heard and read lots of discussions and debates about gender roles, and in a book called “First-time Parents“, by Dr. Miriam Stoppard (I have been using this as reference book these last 10 months), there is a section about the differences in behaviour and development between boys and girls and how we should help the baby develop the skills that do not come as naturally.
I read about this when I was pregnant, and to be honest, I hadn’t really thought that much about it since. I was just taking it for granted that, as a parent, I would want my wee lad to be a balanced person who would get the opportunity to play with whatever he wanted to play with. (more…)
Astrid is a Norwegian thirty something, married, working mum to a wee lad who is almost three and a baby born in 2012! She grew up in Norway, but moved to London, England after she met her husband. After living there during her twenties, she has since returned to Norway and settled down in her nation's capital of Oslo to raise her family.
She finds herself slowly turning into her own mother as her free time is spent reading, walking, knitting and meeting up with other mums for coffee. (Ok, she still secretly loves going to the pub, too!). However, there isn't much time for any of the above, as she now enjoys spending most of her time crawling around on the floor, while playing with her children! Check out her blog, Quintessentially Burrows. She's also on Twitter @MrsSWarren.
More Posts
by Angela Y (USA) | Dec 1, 2010 | Culture, Family, Health, Kids, Motherhood, Parenting, USA
I breastfeed my daughter. There, I said it. My little girl turned 1 and I feel embarrassed to admit that I am still feeding her 3 times a day.
In San Francisco it is the norm to exclusively breastfeed your child for the first 6 months. If you are a stay-at-home mom, like myself, most of us will breastfeed the first 12 months. And at one-year old, it is over!
With my first daughter, I don’t recall weaning being a big deal. I do remember 2 – 3 nights of a little complaining when I offered her a bottle of warm milk instead of the boob. Our second is a different story… (more…)
Angela Y. is in her mid-thirties and attempting to raise her two daughters (big girl, R, 3 years; little girl, M, 1 year) with her husband in San Francisco, CA. After spending ten years climbing the corporate ladder, she traded it all in to be a stay-at-home mom! Her perspective of raising a child in the city is definitely different from those who have been city dwellers all their lives, as she grew up in rural Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) surrounded by her extended family.
Angela Y. and her husband are on their own on the west coast of the United States — the only family help they receive is when someone comes for a visit. But, the lifestyle in San Francisco is like no other for them, so there, they stay! This exercise conscious mom is easily recognized, especially when she is riding around her husband-built bike with two seats on the back. And, when she’s not hanging out with the girls, you can find Angela Y. in the kitchen. She loves to cook for her family, especially dessert, and then eats some herself when no one is looking! Sneaky, mom!
More Posts
by Allison Charleston (USA) | Nov 30, 2010 | Culture, Education, Family, Kids, Motherhood, Parenting, Preschool, USA
At times, life for a family in Manhattan feels like it moves at a faster pace than the rest of the universe. We enroll our kids in music classes at four months, movement and art classes at six months and vie to get accepted into play groups and toddler classes that are deemed to be “feeders” to the best nursery schools in the neighborhood — the so-called “Baby Ivies”.
In Manhattan, preschool madness begins at 7am on the Tuesday after Labor Day every year. Anxious parents flood the phone lines of these bastions of the ABC’s and some schools run out of applications by lunchtime.
To get admitted to a nursery program, you need to apply the September before you’d like to attend, and the admissions process takes nearly a full calendar year. So, if it’s a 2’s program you want, you need to start the application process right after your baby blows out that first birthday candle! (more…)
Allison is a 35-year-old attorney-turned stay at home mom. This New York City mom lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with her 2-year-old son, Chase, and her husband, Andy. She is also expecting baby #2!
In her former life, she was an attorney practicing in a mega firm on NYC’s Park Avenue, putting in long hours, working hard and reveling in the fast pace of her life. She loved living in “the city”, and when she could, she took advantage of all it had to offer. But, when Chase was born over 2 years ago, that all changed. These days, the work has changed from writing legal briefs to changing diapers and the hours are longer, but she wouldn’t have it any other way!
Allison is enjoying her adventures as a metropolitan mommy, raising Chase in New York City and has gained strength from her longer-than-she-wanted-to-wait journey getting pregnant with her second child.
More Posts
by Amy Hillis (USA) | Nov 29, 2010 | Adoption, Family, International, Kids, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Multicultural, Parenting, USA
This is the story of a girl who adopted the world……
Okay, well maybe not the whole world. One baby adopted locally, and just recently traveling all the way to Uganda to adopt another, is pretty close. This picture says it all. The joy is tangible and brings tears to my eyes.
Deb and I went to high school together. I have had the privilege to partake in the adoption process, albeit vicariously, through Deb’s personal blog. It’s been an amazing journey for her and her family. And, in honor of National Adoption Month, I wanted to bear witness to this extraordinary love story. While the main focus of this Adoption Awareness Campaign is to encourage adoptions of kids in foster care, I think it should be a time to reflect on all types of adoption.
I’m sure you’re asking yourself why I would be interested in adoption given the quiver full of kids I already have. The answer is simple ~ I was adopted. As an adult adoptee, I am interested in the process. I am interested in the outcome. I am interested in the mindset of someone who searches out a child to make them their own. I am interested because my story is not like Deb’s story of love and adoration. (more…)
Amy is a native Chicagoan that currently resides just outside of Cincinnati, OH. A city girl, through and through, she’s still adjusting to small town life. Amy has a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art with a minor in French from Elmhurst College. She was working on her Master’s degree at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, when she became pregnant with her 3rd child. Although this angel boy was only here for a very short time – he left quite a legacy.
Nathaniel was born with a rare genetic disorder called Citrullinemia. Amy and her husband, James, went on to have 4 more boys, 3 of whom were also born with Citrullinemia. In January 2011, her youngest son, David passed away from complications of a liver transplant performed to 'cure' the Citrullinemia. Now a stay-home mom of 5, she started blogging in October 2010, while David was still in the hospital. Two of her other sons have had successful liver transplants to cure their genetic disorders.
Her 2 older children still live in Chicago. When not hanging out with her kids, she spends her ‘me’ time writing, sewing, reading & walking. Amy also spends a generous amount of time online. She can be found on Twitter @transplantedx3. On Facebook and on her Website <a href="http://mytearstainedlife.com"My Tear-Stained Life
More Posts - Website
Follow Me:
I’ve started to buy my daughter’s gifts for under the Christmas tree this year, and I’m on the hunt for fun things that will excite her imagination and curiosity about the fascinating world that we live in (short of actually jumping on a plane to a different country). With this in mind, I’ve come up with a bunch of “around the world” gift ideas for children… (more…)
