by Kyla P'an (Portugal) | Jun 30, 2011 | Education, Family, International, Japan, Kids, Language, Motherhood, Multicultural, Parenting, Preschool, Technology, USA, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
I live just outside of Boston, Massachusetts, USA. If you are familiar at all with the Boston Marathon, we’re half way in, half way out (13.1 mi from the start or finish line).
No, I’m not from here. I grew up outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, an area known as the “Main Line.” But also in New England, where I spent my summers and attended boarding school from an early age. My husband and I met in Boston, moved to Washington, DC for a few years and then returned here for business school and to raise our kids.
What language(s) do you speak?
I speak English and Japanese. My husband and kids speak English and Mandarin Chinese. If I want to keep up, I better start learning Chinese soon or my two-year-old is going to start plotting cookie jar raids with his sister and I’ll never know! (more…)
Kyla was born in suburban Philadelphia but spent most of her time growing up in New England. She took her first big, solo-trip at age 14, when she traveled to visit a friend on a small Greek island. Since then, travels have included: three months on the European rails, three years studying and working in Japan, and nine months taking the slow route back from Japan to the US when she was done. In addition to her work as Managing Editor of World Moms Network, Kyla is a freelance writer, copy editor, recovering triathlete and occasional blogger. Until recently, she and her husband resided outside of Boston, Massachusetts, where they were raising two spunky kids, two frisky cats, a snail, a fish and a snake. They now live outside of Lisbon, Portugal with two spunky teens and three frisky cats. You can read more about Kyla’s outlook on the world and parenting on her personal blogs, Growing Muses And Muses Where We Go
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by Alison | Jun 15, 2011 | Child Care, Childhood, Communication, Education, Family, International, Malaysia, Parenting, Technology, Toys
We live in a world of iPads, flat screen televisions, smartphones, GPS navigation systems, electric cars, the Internet.
Our children are growing up in the fast-moving digital age.
Our children are growing up watching television, loving shows like Barney, Sesame Street, Baby Einstein, Dora the Explorer, Spongebob Squarepants and many more. They’re growing up learning the alphabet with Elmo using the iPad. They’re growing up learning to use a smartphone before they can even talk.
There is much dialogue about the extent of technology our children are immersed in, whether voluntarily, as permitted by their parents, or involuntarily, where they’re surrounded by these things when they go to school, to a mall, or even, their friends’ homes. (more…)
Alison is a former PR professional turned stay-at-home mother to two boys. Growing up in a small city of Ipoh, Malaysia, Alison left home at 17 to pursue her studies in the big city of Kuala Lumpur. At 19, she headed to University of Leeds in England and graduated with a degree in Communications. Returning home to Malaysia in 1999, she began a 10-year career in public relations, event planning, and marketing, working for various PR agencies and one of the world's biggest sports brands. After a decade of launch parties and product launches, concerts and award shows, international press junkets and world travel, Alison traded all that in for a life as a first time mother in 2009, and has not looked back since. Aside from writing for her blog, Writing, Wishing, Alison is the Founder and chief social media strategist for Little Love Media.
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by Eva Fannon (USA) | Jun 14, 2011 | Being Thankful, Breastfeeding, Child Care, Eva Fannon, Family, Kids, Motherhood, Preschool, Sleep and Children, Working Mother
Picture the inside of a clock, with all its gears working in teams to keep the time. Sometimes, it feels like life is going smoothly like that. Other times, it feels like time may be moving a little bit too fast…which has been the case for me over the past three months.
The last three months have brought about changes in my life. They aren’t bad changes, they are changes that come with reasons to celebrate growth. It’s just that as a full-time working mom, I may not have slowed down to truly observe, mark, and/or take notes in my kids’ journals to remember them.
So, here I am, taking a moment to slow down and commemorate three milestones and share them with you. (more…)
Eva Fannon is a working mom who lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her hubby and two girls. She was born and raised on the east coast and followed her husband out west when he got a job offer that he couldn't refuse. Eva has always been a planner, so it took her a while to accept that no matter how much you plan and prepare, being a mom means a new and different state of "normal".
Despite the craziness on most weekday mornings (getting a family of four out the door in time for work and school is no easy task!), she wouldn't trade being a mother for anything in the world. She and her husband are working on introducing the girls to the things they love - travel, the great outdoors, and enjoying time with family and friends. Eva can be found on Twitter @evafannon.
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by World Moms Blog | May 20, 2011 | Being Thankful, Birthing, Breastfeeding, Communication, Education, Eva Fannon, Exercise, Family, Friday Question, Motherhood, Parent Care, Parenting, Polish Mom Photographer, Pregnancy, Preschool, Salma, Sleep and Children, Third Eye Mom
This week’s Friday Question comes from World Moms Blog writer Karyn Van Der Zwet of New Zealand. She asked our writers,
“What are three bits of parenting advice you’d give a friend who was pregnant for the first time?”
Here is the advice some of our World Moms would give their friends…
Kally Mocho of New Jersey, USA writes:
“1. Read “Twelve Hours Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old: A Step-by-Step Plan for Baby Sleep Success” by Suzy Giordano. The title says it all.
2. Baby wipes can be used for so much more than just wiping your baby’s bottom. I use them to clean my children’s shoes. (It’s one item some moms can’t live without!)
3. Take all advice with a grain of salt (including mine). Everyone and their mother will tell you how you should handle your newborn. Only you will know what’s best for your child. Know that the advice given to you comes from a place of love, not judgment.” (more…)
World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children.
World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.
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by Astrid Warren (Norway) | May 5, 2011 | Bilingual, Communication, Culture, Education, Family, International, Language, Motherhood, Norway, Parenting
As some of you may already know, I am Norwegian, and my husband is English. So, our wee lad will have to learn both, Norwegian and English, at the very least, to communicate amongst our families.
But, learning these two languages is also the norm for all Norwegian children, as English is taught early on in our school system. I also hope that he will speak French, Spanish or Italian, as well, some day.
I have read that it is easy for children to learn two languages, but also that they may start to speak later than other children. No wonder! Learning to talk is hard enough, but having to learn two languages at the same time can’t possibly make it any easier! (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.
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by Purnima Ramakrishnan | May 2, 2011 | Childhood, Education, Exercise, Family, Health, Hobby, Holiday, India, Kids, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Parenting, Sports, The Alchemist
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When we were little kids, my brother and I used to look forward to summer holidays. Usually, it was a full two months in most parts of South India. Both of us were book worms, and being the voracious readers we were, our parents had no problem in managing us during the summer holidays.
We both learned to read by the age of six because we were products of a strict education system, unlike today where the education system requires children to learn by themselves. And, most kids learn to read by eight or nine.
To make matters simpler for both us and our parents, there was a library just across the street where we used to live. We used to go there together, select our books, return the previous day’s books, pay our dues and come back home with a fresh huge stack to pour over.
The librarian became a great friend of ours. Life and holidays were indeed benevolent. We used to visit our maternal grandparents during part of the holidays, and there too, we became members of the local libraries.
In those days, in our little town in India, the concept of summer camps, summer activities for kids, special fun classes, and the like was still a novelty. And, even if some such classes sprung up in our locality, not many kids garnered enough interest to go over and check them out.
Everyone was more or less satisfied and well pleased with their own thing to do during the holidays. And, we were more than happy that our summer pleasure of reading from morning to bed time was not disturbed. Oh yes, our parents were a lucky lot in this aspect. They never had rambunctious kids at hand.
Ah, and now fast forward to the present day and, it is summer holidays for my son. He will be in the next grade sometime in mid June. I have 2 full months stretching in front of me, and I need to keep him entertained not only in the most educative way, but also with fun things in mind. (more…)
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
