Denise Schipani / 2 Comments / guest posts / Caren Chesler, New York Times, The Dancing Egg /
Today, Day 12 of the WordCount Blogathon, is a guest-post exchange day, so I’m swapping posts with writer and mom Caren Chesler, who blogs at The Dancing Egg, which is about having conceived her only son, Eddie, in her forties — through IVF and with a donor egg. Here, she writes about her struggle to […]
Denise Schipani / 33 Comments / guest posts, in the news/media / Frank Bruni, Mom Without a Filter, New York Times, Parenting.com /
Okay, taking fun photos with the webcam aside, how would you answer the question of whether childless folks — your sister, your friend, the checkout lady at the market, a New York Times writer — have opinions about childrearing you should take to heart? It’s a tough question. Have you looked back — with honesty […]
Denise Schipani / 42 Comments / bullying, education, family life, guest posts, kids and friendship, play / Heather Shumaker, It's Okay Not to Share...and Other Renegade Rules for Raising Competent and Compassionate Kids /
I have to say, when I read the title of Heather Shumaker’s new (and terrific!) book It’s Okay Not to Share…and Other Renegade Rules for Raising Competent and Compassionate Kids (Jeremy Tarcher/Penguin), I breathed a sigh of relief. Because to be honest, when my kids were very little, I couldn’t bear the sharing emphasis. Good […]
Denise Schipani / 4 Comments / discipline, family life, guest posts / Duct Tape Parenting: A Less is More Approach to Raising Respectful, Resilient Kids, Responsible, Vicki Hoefle /
Last Friday, as the rain and sleet that had been falling since early morning turned to swirls of snow and strong winds — the beginnings of the Northeast’s so-called Winter Storm Nemo (don’t get me started!) — I was on the phone with parent educator, author and mother of five Vicki Hoefle. I don’t know […]
Denise Schipani / 14 Comments / discipline, family finances, guest posts, mom bloggers, mothers and work, Uncategorized / Emma Johnson, Wealthy Single Mommy /
A big part of my Mean Mom approach is being married to a Mean Dad. My husband is old-school in the right ways (he’s tough and consistent) while eschewing some of the old-school-dad stuff like hiding his face behind a newspaper and leaving all the child-rearin’ to me. He’s out there (literally) kicking a soccer […]
Denise Schipani / 0 Comments / guest posts, parenting research / Dirty Minds, Kayt Sukel, mommy brain, your brain on motherhood /
A slightly belated Happy New Year, everyone! As the next month or two progress, I’ll be hard at work preparing for the publication of MEAN MOMS RULE, WHY DOING THE HARD STUFF NOW CREATES GOOD KIDS LATER. I’m so excited about the possibilities for this fresh, new year, and I hope you are, too. But […]
Denise Schipani / 1 Comment / discipline, family life, guest posts / gratitude, Monkey Mind book, Phoebe Lee, www.monkeymindbook.com /
One major thing I struggle with is teaching my sons to be grateful for what they have. It’s not easy — as I’m sure many of you would agree with. It’s hard to just say “be grateful!” Reminds me of a story my mother used to tell about how her own mom would prod […]
Denise Schipani / 30 Comments / family life, guest posts, mom bloggers / Meagan Francis, The Happiest Mom book /
I first “met” writer and mom Meagan Francis on an online forum for writers. She was awaiting the overdue delivery of her fourth son. Since then, we’ve become friends on- and off-board, and have met in person at more than one writer’s conference (which tend to include margaritas at some point in the weekend, which […]
Denise Schipani / 2 Comments / family finances, family life, guest posts, shopping / Keep Toss Sell! The Suddenly Frugal Guide to Cleaning Out the Clutter and Cashing In (Adams Media), Leah Ingram /
I hate clutter. I’m constantly weeding through boxes and bins of toys (not that we have many) and throwing out broken parts, mismatched bits, and goodie-bag swag. I keep our crap to a minimum (and I’m grateful that I have family, on both sides, who don’t overwhelm my boys with gifts). Usually when I have […]
Denise Schipani / 5 Comments / guest posts, kids and food, The Experts Aren't Always Right, Uncategorized / AAP.org, choking hazards, Debbie Koenig, Stats.org, Words to Eat By /
Two things this week: One, I’m starting a new occasional series, this one called “The Experts Aren’t Always Right.” And two, I’m going to treat you to a guest post as Part One of the series, by my colleague and fellow blogger, Debbie Koenig, who writes the (seriously) delicious blog, Words to Eat By. The […]