Motherhood Archives - Page 104 of 155

Saturday Sidebar: What has been your favorite moment on WMB?

by World Moms Blog | Nov 5, 2011 | Babies, Blogiversary, Breastfeeding, Eva Fannon, Family, Friday Question, India, Kids, Motherhood, Norway, Parenting, Saturday Sidebar, Tara B., The Alchemist, World Moms Blog

Since we celebrated World Moms Blog’s 1^st Blogiversary this week, Jen Burden, our founder, asked,

“What has been your favorite moment so far on World Moms Blog?”

The Alchemist of India writes:
“I got my first paid writers’ job after my employer read my first post at World Moms Blog. It was India: In the eyeglasses of the beholder.

I have come a long way from there. I got two editing offers after someone checked out my posts at WMB and another site (Awesome Cuisine). These have been some “Awww, is it me?” moments. The power of affirmations, like Jen mentioned in the Blogiversary post.

I have especially liked Dr. Jeanelle’s post on taking time out for oneself as a mom, and about the emotions when the child leaves the nest. That is one great post and mothers have to always be cautious about their individual identity. I always had that in mind and her post reinstated the same.” (more…)

World Moms Blog

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.

HUMAN RIGHTS: GENEVA: In Small Places, Close To Home

by Jennifer Prestholdt (USA) | Nov 1, 2011 | Human Rights, Motherhood, World Voice

Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Photo courtesy of Franklin D. Roosevelt Library via Wikipedia Commons.

“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt knew what she was talking about when she said these words. She was the chair of the UN Human Rights Commission and even wrote part of the text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948. Eleanor Roosevelt was, of course, also the mother of six.

Mothers have an important role to play in making the world a better place for all children. (more…)

Jennifer Prestholdt (USA)

Jennifer Prestholdt is a lawyer and the Deputy Director of The Advocates for Human Rights, a volunteer-based human rights organization that works locally, nationally and internationally. Her work in human rights takes her around the world, but she spends most of her time in Minneapolis, MN, where she lives with her children (two sons and one daughter), her husband, an elderly cat and a dwarf hamster.

As Jennifer’s kids are now all in school (1st, 4th and 6th grades), she is finally finding more time to do the things that she used to love to do, especially running, writing and knitting. Jennifer loves to travel and has had the dubious distinction of having been accidentally locked in a bathroom on five continents so far. Australia and Antarctica await!

In January 2011, Jennifer made a New Year’s Resolution to start writing about her experiences in order to share with her children the lessons learned from 15 years of work in human rights. The result is her personal blog, The Human Rights Warrior. The name comes from her son Simon, who was extremely disappointed to learn that his mother is a lawyer, not a warrior.

You can find her on her blog The Human Rights Warrior or on Twitter @Jprestholdt.

BLOGIVERSARY: Year 1!

by Jennifer Burden | Nov 1, 2011 | Blogiversary, International, Motherhood, World Moms Blog, World Motherhood, World Voice

This time last year I was repeating the affirmation, “International moms will write for World Moms Blog.” (I can’t believe I just admitted that.) But, I was really nervous about launching the new blog, and it was nearing November 1^st, 2010, my planned launch date.

Today we have over 50 international writers and maintain a wait list for USA writers.

And the list of countries that I hoped to be starting the blog with numbered to just three. It was more difficult than I thought to recruit mothers in other countries who wanted to write.

Today we write from 16 countries.

Back then, I decided our first post had to be from outside the United States, since we had a bunch of USA writers, and many of our first fans were, well, my friends in the US. So, I told Asta Burrows of Norway that she was first up!

And she immediately gave me a confident, “No, you go first!” (more…)

Jennifer Burden

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 .

UNITED KINGDOM: Window on Another World

by Sophie Walker (UK) | Oct 31, 2011 | Holiday, Motherhood, Special Needs, UK

There’s one day every year to which Grace counts down with unparalleled shiny-eyed fervour. It’s not Christmas, or her birthday, or the start of the summer holidays, though of course all of these are also proceeded by repeated questioning, date-checking and suppressed thrills.

Her anticipation of this year’s event started precisely one day after last year’s event. On that day Grace drifted dreamily past me, trailing her fingers along the furniture, her mind turning on internal images of the night before. I asked her if she was alright: she barely heard me.

When I went upstairs later to monitor her progress towards bed, I found her at the sink in the bathroom, gazing into the mirror at herself, her tortoiseshell eyes lit with the amber light of her imaginings. As I entered the room she turned to me and said, as though continuing a conversation started much earlier: “… so then, Mummy, next year I can be – .” (more…)

Sophie Walker (UK)

Writer, mother, runner: Sophie works for an international news agency and has written about economics, politics, trade, war, diplomacy and finance from datelines as diverse as Paris, Washington, Hong Kong, Kabul, Baghdad and Islamabad. She now lives in London with her husband, two daughters and two step-sons. Sophie's elder daughter Grace was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome several years ago. Grace is a bright, artistic girl who nonetheless struggles to fit into a world she often finds hard to understand. Sophie and Grace have come across great kindness but more often been shocked by how little people know and understand about autism and by how difficult it is to get Grace the help she needs. Sophie writes about Grace’s daily challenges, and those of the grueling training regimes she sets herself to run long-distance events in order to raise awareness and funds for Britain’s National Autistic Society so that Grace and children like her can blossom. Her book "Grace Under Pressure: Going The Distance as an Asperger's Mum" was published by Little, Brown (Piatkus) in 2012. Her blog is called Grace Under Pressure.

MINNESOTA, USA: Leaving is the Hardest Part

by Nicole Melancon (USA) | Oct 31, 2011 | China, Motherhood, Parenting, Social Good, Third Eye Mom, Travel, USA, World Voice

As I pack up my belongings and go over for the hundredth time the list that I have prepared for my caregivers in my absence, a sharp panic rises in my blood. I flush and realize I am sweating profusely and almost in tears.

For what I’m about to do feels about the most unnatural thing a mother could ever do: Freely leave her children.

In only forty-eight hours, I will be boarding a fifteen hour flight to China leaving my two young children at home with my husband and mother who will watch them while I’m away. It is my choice. (more…)

Nicole Melancon (USA)

Third Eye Mom is a stay-at-home mom living in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her two children Max (6) and Sophia (4). Her children keep her continually busy and she is constantly amazed by the imagination, energy and joy of life that they possess! A world wanderer at heart, she has also been fortunate to have visited over 30 countries by either traveling, working, studying or volunteering and she continues to keep on the traveling path. A graduate of French and International Relations from the University of Wisconsin Madison, where she met her husband Paul, she has always been a Midwest gal living in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Chicago. This adventurous mom loves to be outside doing anything athletic (hiking, running, biking, skiing, snowshoeing or simply enjoying nature), to travel and volunteer abroad, to write, and to spend time with her beloved family and friends. Her latest venture involves her dream to raise enough money on her own to build and open a brand-new school in rural Nepal, and to teach her children to live compassionately, open-minded lives that understand different cultures and the importance of giving back to those in need. Third Eye Mom believes strongly in the value of making a difference in the world, no matter how small it may be. If there is a will, there is a way, and that anything is possible (as long as you set your heart and mind to it!). Visit her on her blog, Thirdeyemom, where she writes about her travels and experiences in other lands!